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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.”
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Articles

35 Years After the Baltic Way: Regional Unity in the...

Aug 23, 2024

On August 23, 1989, approximately two million people created a human chain from Tallinn to Vilnius to peacefully demonstrate their resistance to Soviet occupation. Held on the 50th anniversary of […]

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Briefings

Russia’s Ecocide in Ukraine: Environmental Des...

Jul 16, 2024

In the ten years since Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, Ukraine estimates that Russia has inflicted some $60 billion in damages to Ukraine’s natural and man-made environments […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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