[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1439 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1439
Recognizing Robert ``Bob'' A. Hand for 40 years of service to the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 18, 2022
Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Wilson of
South Carolina, Mr. Aderholt, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Cleaver, and
Mr. Smith of New Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing Robert ``Bob'' A. Hand for 40 years of service to the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Whereas Robert (Bob) Hand has given 40 years of faithful service to the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, making him the longest
serving staff of the United States Helsinki Commission to date;
Whereas he is a highly respected expert on the Western Balkans with his work
being invaluable during the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s,
he was focused on holding accountable those responsible for atrocities
such as the Srebrenica genocide in 1995 and the murder of the Albanian-
American Bytyqi brothers in Serbia in 2001, and he kept Commissioners up
to date on developments in the region, including in Albania, where he is
also known for his expert analysis;
Whereas having served on numerous United States delegations to Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meetings, observed dozens of
elections, and served as a mission member on one of the OSCE's first
field missions, the OSCE Missions of Long Duration in Kosovo, Sandjak,
and Vojvodina while stationed in Novi Pazar in 1993, Bob's institutional
expertise and memory on the OSCE has been vital to both the Helsinki
Commission and the Department of State;
Whereas in his role as the Secretary of the United States delegation to the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly (PA), Bob deftly and tirelessly guaranteed that
the delegation was always well-prepared to engage with our counterparts
from other countries and that our proposals and resolutions had the best
possible chance for adoption;
Whereas his deep expertise on procedural matters and election monitoring, among
other processes, made him an extraordinarily effective advocate and
negotiator for United States interests and for human rights and
democracy throughout his time as Secretary of the United States
delegation;
Whereas no major meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly could be considered
``typical'', with an enormous variety of subjects discussed, new
procedures created, and different Members of Congress participating on
the United States delegation from meeting to meeting, Bob rose to a huge
diversity of challenges as Secretary of the United States delegation,
and he ensured that Members could meaningfully participate and
contribute, and that the United States presence was impactful in every
meeting he coordinated;
Whereas during annual sessions in particular, Bob's calm demeanor and deep
knowledge of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly processes helped all members of
the delegation, whether Commissioners or not, whether it was their 1st
or 15th time at an OSCE PA meeting, to know where they were supposed to
be, when they were voting, what issues were at stake, and when they were
scheduled to speak;
Whereas ahead of OSCE's yearly gatherings, Bob skillfully collected signatures
from other delegations for United States initiatives in the
Parliamentary Assembly as well as secured support from Members for
important supplementary items and amendments fielded by other
delegations;
Whereas at the 2022 OSCE PA Annual Session in Birmingham, Bob worked diligently
with several other delegations to ensure that a critical resolution
condemning Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine was adopted with the
strongest possible language;
Whereas the United States delegation had a 100-percent success rate at the 2022
OSCE PA Annual Session with the joint Ukraine resolution submitted by
the United States, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian delegations, and all United
States amendments to committee resolutions and supplementary items
adopted;
Whereas over the years, Bob guided the United States delegation through
elections for OSCE PA leadership and helped secure positions for United
States Members as OSCE PA President, Vice Presidents, and committee
Chairs to make up the OSCE PA Bureau as well as positions on ad hoc
committees and appointments as Special Representatives on Anti-Semitism,
Racism and Intolerance, Human Trafficking Issues, and on Political
Prisoners;
Whereas Bob was instrumental in ensuring that the COVID pandemic in no way
diminished the United States delegation's consistent and meaningful
impact, and that United States objectives were advanced at each and
every opportunity despite the unprecedented shift to online formats
spanning multiple time zones;
Whereas Bob was always guided by a clear sense that what the United States says
matters in a body such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, he
prioritized principles over dialogue for its own sake, and he served the
Commission's mandate faithfully and tirelessly; and
Whereas his longstanding relationships with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
leadership, staff, and other parliamentarians mean his departure will be
felt not only by the Commission but by many of our friends in the OSCE
region who have worked with him over the years: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes Robert A. Hand's 40 years of dedicated
service to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
(United States Helsinki Commission);
(2) appreciates his sound policy guidance on the Balkans
and other regions throughout his time with the Commission;
(3) congratulates him on his successes as Secretary of the
United States delegation to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly; and
(4) wishes him all the best in the next chapters of his
personal and professional endeavors.
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