As the threat of hostage-taking persists for U.S. citizens overseas, our government’s response to these crises requires that we do all we can to both facilitate the safe return of our citizens and provide information and support to the families of those victims.
As we recently marked the first anniversary of President Obama’s announcement of the new United States Government hostage policy, and appointment of a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, it is worth reflecting on our efforts and vision for the future. This announcement, called for the creation of an office at the Department of State to lead and coordinate diplomatic efforts to reunite U.S. citizens held hostage abroad with their families and Special Presidential Envoy James O’Brien was selected to lead the charge.
This newly-created office works closely with many international partners to pursue the goal of bringing U.S. citizens who have been taken hostage home safely. Not only do we actively consult with foreign governments and leaders regarding our citizens’ safe release, we also work with senior U.S. policymakers to design and implement hostage recovery strategies. This includes collaborating closely with the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, an interagency permanent body responsible for coordinating the recovery of hostages abroad. Our efforts also include coordinating with experienced officers from the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Consular Hostage Assistance Group to support families as they are faced with the shock and emotion of having a loved one fall victim to hostage takers.
The President authorized the U.S. government, through Presidential Policy Directive 30 – Hostage Recovery Activities, to “assist private efforts to communicate with hostage-takers, whether directly or through public or private intermediaries, and the United States Government may itself communicate with hostage-takers, their intermediaries, interested governments, and local communities to attempt to secure the safe recovery of the hostage.” At the same time, we maintain our “no concessions policy” to terrorist and criminal enterprises. Doing so would place more U.S. citizens in harm’s way by incentivizing hostage taking activity and benefiting these illicit networks.
One year later, our work does not stop. We have built a core team focused on the safe recovery of our citizens and established deeper lines of diplomatic engagement world-wide. Coordination between our agencies have improved and continue to expand on sharing best practices. We have had successful recoveries of U.S. hostages, not all of which have been made public, but U.S. citizens still remain held hostage overseas by a variety of terrorist groups. Family engagement is a top priority for our office, and we will continue to work hard to build confidence among the families of these victims by doing everything possible to bring their loved ones home. Each of these individuals merits the highest attention and priority of our government to bring them home safely.
About the Author: Julia Nesheiwat serves as the Presidential Deputy Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
For More Information:
- Visit the website of the Office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
- Read the White House announcement of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
- Check out the State Department’s latest guidance about traveling to high-risk areas.
