The Department of State has called back the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Robin Bernstein, the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador Jean Manes, and the U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Panama Roxanne Cabral for consultations related to recent decisions to no longer recognize Taiwan. Our three Chiefs of Mission will meet with U.S. Government leaders to discuss ways in which the United States can support strong, independent, democratic institutions and economies throughout Central America and the Caribbean.

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Under the Iraqi constitution, the right to peaceful protest and the duty to protect public and private property go hand in hand. The United States condemns violence against diplomats, including that which occurred today in Basrah. We call on all parties, including security forces and protesters, to uphold the right of peaceful protest and to protect diplomats and their facilities.

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The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert: ‎

Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met today with Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo. They discussed the need for continued action to reduce coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia. They reaffirmed U.S. support for a just and lasting peace in Colombia, shared interest in continuing economic prosperity, and reviewed the Hemisphere’s support for the Venezuelan people and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela.

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Ambassador Michael G. Kozak will lead the U.S. delegation to the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to be held in Warsaw, Poland, September 10-21, 2018. This annual meeting will bring together hundreds of civil society representatives and government officials from North America, Europe, and Central Asia for talks to advance human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The participants will take stock of how the 57 OSCE participating States are implementing the full range of their human rights commitments, including those on: fundamental freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association and religion or belief; the rule of law, democratic elections and governance; media freedom online and offline, and combating anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance.

A major U.S. focus will be Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, including abuses by Russia-led forces in the Donbas and occupation authorities in Crimea, as well as Russia’s serious human rights violations at home. We also will spotlight concerns in multiple countries of the OSCE region, such as: the shrinking space for civil society, persecution of human rights defenders, the safety of journalists, repressive measures against peaceful members of ethnic and religious groups, and hate crimes.

Members of the U.S. delegation to the 2018 HDIM include:

• Ambassador Michael G. Kozak, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Head of Delegation;
• Ambassador Samuel D. Brownback, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom;
• Michael J. Murphy, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs;
• Chargé d’Affaires Harry Kamian, U.S. Mission to the OSCE;
• Kristina Arriaga, Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom;
• Kyle Parker, Chief of Staff, U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission).

For more information about the HDIM: https://www.osce.org/odihr/hdim_2018.

For more information about the U.S. Mission to the OSCE: http://osce.usmission.gov/.

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External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, reiterate our outrage at the use of a chemical nerve agent, known as Novichok, in Salisbury on 4 March. We welcome the progress made in the investigation into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and take note of the attempted murder charges brought yesterday against two suspects. We commend the work of the UK Police and all those involved in this investigation.

We also note the UK’s analysis, independently verified by the OPCW, that the exact same chemical nerve agent was used in the poisoning of Dawn Sturgess and Charles Rowley as was used in the poisoning of the Skripals. We urge Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok programme to the OPCW. And we encourage those with information about the attack in Salisbury on 4 March, as well as the further poisoning in Amesbury, to come forward to the UK authorities.

We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level. We have already taken action together to disrupt the activities of the GRU through the largest ever collective expulsion of undeclared intelligence officers. Yesterday’s announcement further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies.

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