On December 17, 2014 the United States and Cuba agreed to begin restoring diplomatic and economic ties that have been severed since January 1961. According to a statement by President Barack Obama, going forward, the United States will take steps to ease restrictions on commerce, travel, and telecommunications and will reestablish an American embassy in Havana. The Cuban government has decided to “provide more access to the Internet for its citizens” and to increase cooperation with international organizations like the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Obama also stated that he has directed Secretary of State John Kerry to “review Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.” Although his policy changes will not end the decades-long economic embargo, Obama announced that he will seek congressional approval to lift it.  In a press release, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also stated that it “welcomes the announcement as a sign of strengthening of relations between two Member States of the [Organization of American States], and hopes that such measures will benefit the population of both countries.”