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Territorial Integrity

Respect for territorial integrity - the principle under international law that nation-states should not attempt to promote secessionist movements or to promote border changes in other nation-states, nor impose a border change through the use of force - is a guiding principle among OSCE participating States under Article IV of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975.  It goes hand in hand with Article VIII: equal rights and the principle of self-determination.

 

Unfortunately, these principles are often invoked simultaneously, allowing states to disregard one in the name of the other. As a result, independence movements, border disputes, interference, and even invasions and annexation in places such as Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transdniestra, Abkhazia, and Georgia, and most recently Ukraine, repeatedly demonstrate that the OSCE still has a vital role to play in resolving territorial disputes.

 

While the basis for some of these disputes are quite complicated, others are clear cut, none perhaps more so than the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The views of the Helsinki Commission on the matter are reflected in the U.S. Mission’s statement to the Permanent Council, condemning in the strongest terms “Russia’s continued disregard for its international obligations and commitments which obstructs the path toward a peaceful and united future for Ukraine.”

 

Staff Contact: Alex Tiersky, senior policy advisor

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Press Releases

CHAIRMAN WILSON LEADS BIPARTISAN DELEGATION TO GERMA...

May 12, 2023

WASHINGTON—From May 1st to May 7th, Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) led a bipartisan U.S. delegation to Germany, Poland, and Ukraine to coordinate support for Ukraine and examine current wartime challenges. The delegation consulted with high-ranking government officials and civil society actors regarding ongoing military and humanitarian responses to the Russian invasion. Chairman […]

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Press Releases

BIPARTISAN UKRAINE VICTORY RESOLUTION INTRODUCED IN ...

Apr 26, 2023

WASHINGTON— Yesterday, Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Ranking Member Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) introduced the Ukraine Victory Resolution in the House of Representatives. Commissioners Sen. Richard Blumenthal (CT) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), introduced the resolution in the Senate. The resolution affirms that it is the policy of […]

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Press Releases

U.S. Delegation to the OSCE PA presents Joint Statem...

Feb 24, 2023

WASHINGTON— Today, the U.S. Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) endorsed the “Joint Statement of Action on the One-Year Anniversary of Russia’s War Against Ukraine and the International Legal Order,” which was endorsed by the OSCE PA Bureau and published today at the conclusion of the […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Announces Briefing on US-Europe ...

Dec 12, 2022

WASHINGTON—At a virtual kickoff event on December 13, Co-Chairman Cohen and Ranking Member Wilson launched the US-Europe Coalition on Russia Sanctions. NO SAFE HAVEN Launching the US-Europe Coalition on Russia Sanctions Tuesday, December 13, 2022 8:30 a.m. EST Since February 24, 2022, Western countries have imposed sanctions against Russian officials, businessmen, and public figures who […]

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Articles

OSCE’s 2022 Ministerial Council in Lodz: Russia Isol...

Dec 09, 2022

By Janice Helwig, Senior Policy Advisor, Demitra Pappas, Senior Advisor Department of State, Shannon Simrell, Representative of the Helsinki Commission to the U.S. Mission to OSCE Foreign Ministers and senior officials from the 57 participating States and 11 Asian and Mediterranean partners of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) convened the OSCE […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Announces Hearing on Crowdsourci...

Dec 07, 2022

WATCH LIVE                                                                                                           […]

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Hearings

Crowdsourcing Victory

Dec 07, 2022

A unique aspect of Ukraine’s decentralized defense has been the rise of civil society organizations marshalling grassroots support for the Ukrainian war effort and humanitarian response. Unlike the USO or care packages Americans send our overseas troops, NGOs are effectively serving as the quartermaster for Ukraine’s troops, supplying tactical gear such as commercial drones, night […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Announces Briefing on RussiaR...

Dec 02, 2022

           HELSINKI COMMISSION COMMISSION BRIEFING NOTICE Members of the Commission and their staff are respectfully invited to attend the following Commission staff-led briefing: RUSSIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE TERRORISTS Thursday, December 8, 2022 3:30 p.m. Please Register Here Russia, in its brutal war against Ukrainians, has been ruthlessly and methodically targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure […]

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Articles

The Case for Getting Tough on Hungary

Nov 28, 2022

Sixty-six years ago, ordinary Hungarians bravely stood up to Moscow’s empire of oppression. Yet, on its anniversary, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took aim at Europe, a curious choice given Russia’s imperialist war against Ukraine right at Hungary’s doorstep. “Let’s not bother with those who shoot at Hungary from the shadows or from the heights of […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Briefing on Russia’s Genoc...

Nov 14, 2022

Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep Steve Cohen joined a panel of four experts moderated by Helsinki Commission Senior Policy Advisor Michael Cecire to discuss Russia’s genocide in Ukraine. The four panelists included Dr. Timothy Snyder, Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University; Ms. Maria Kurinna, Ukrainian human rights activist and international advocacy advisor at […]

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Press Releases

Joint Statement by Members of the Caucus Against For...

Nov 01, 2022

Washington, DC – Today, Helsinki Commission Cochairman Rep Steve Cohen and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson, Counter-Kleptocracy Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Rep. Tom Malinowski, and caucus members Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Rep. Peter Meijer, Rep. Maria Salazar, and Rep. Abigail Spanberger, issued the following statement on their joint efforts to authorize the President to transfer the legally […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Condemns Putin’s Attacks o...

Oct 21, 2022

WASHINGTON—In light of Vladimir Putin’s continuing terror attacks on Ukraine, Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS), and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following joint statement: “Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin has no right, or military ability, to claim swathes of Ukraine’s […]

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