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Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations

Our Mission

The Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) is charged with leading the formulation and implementation of U.S. conflict prevention and stabilization strategies, policies, and programs. It provides the secretariat for the U.S. government’s multi-agency Atrocity Prevention Task Force and is the State Department’s lead implementer of the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability. CSO houses the Department’s Negotiations Support Unit, which advises U.S. diplomats and other officials on resolving some of the thorniest and most intractable international disputes. CSO’s efforts to reduce fragility, strengthen democratic institutions, and increase social cohesion with and within priority partner countries directly advance U.S. foreign policy objectives.

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U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future