[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
UPDATE ON THE OSCE: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM,
ANTI-SEMITISM, AND THE RULE OF LAW
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 11, 2016
__________
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Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
[CSCE 114-2-1]
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COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
HOUSE
SENATE
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi,
Chairman Co-Chairman
ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
ALAN GRAYSON, Florida TOM UDALL, New Mexico
RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania
LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER,
New York
EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
Vacant, Department of State
Vacant, Department of Commerce
Vacant, Department of Defense
[ii]
UPDATE ON THE OSCE: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM,
ANTI-SEMITISM, AND THE RULE OF LAW
----------
February 11, 2016
COMMISSIONERS
Page
Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 1
Hon. Joseph R. Pitts, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 3
Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Ranking Member, Commission on Security
and Cooperation in Europe...................................... 4
MEMBER
Hon. David Schweikert, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Arizona............................................... 6
WITNESS
Michael Georg Link, Director, Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights............................................... 6
APPENDICES
Prepared statement of Hon. Christopher H. Smith.................. 24
Prepared statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin.................... 25
Prepared statement of Michael Georg Link......................... 27
MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Prepared statement submitted by Bryan Ardouny, Executive
Director, Armenian Assembly of America......................... 30
[iii]
UPDATE ON THE OSCE: RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM, ANTI-SEMITISM,
AND THE RULE OF LAW
----------
February 11, 2016
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Washington, DC
The hearing was held at 1 p.m. in room HVC-210, House
Visitor Center, Washington, DC, Hon. Christopher H. Smith,
Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe,
presiding.
Commissioners present: Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman,
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Hon. Hon.
Joseph R. Pitts, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe; and Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Ranking
Member, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Member present: Hon. David Schweikert, a Representative in
Congress from the State of Arizona.
Witness present: Michael Georg Link, Director, Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Smith. The Commission will come to order. And good
afternoon, and welcome to our very distinguished guest and
witness, the head of ODIHR, Michael Link. Thank you for being
here. We deeply appreciate it.
Today we'll discuss several human rights issues and human
rights crises in Europe and Eurasia. With the collapse of the
Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, many people expected
that freedom, democracy and peace would spread throughout
Europe and Eurasia. And I remember--I have been in Congress now
for 36 years, and we all talked about the peace dividend.
Unfortunately, the peace dividend was very short on dividend,
and new challenges very quickly emerged.
And yet now the religious freedom of Christians and people
of other faiths is being regularly violated. Russia invaded its
neighbor Ukraine, illegally annexed Crimea, and is fueling and
funding violent proxies in Eastern Donbas region of that
country. Deadly anti-Semitism is again stalking European Jewish
communities. The worst refugee and migrants' crisis in Europe
since World War II has engulfed the entire continent. Autocrats
are using the law and acting outside the law to crush
democratic opposition to their despotism.
Violent anti-Semitic attacks increased 100 to 400 percent
in some European countries between 2013 and 2014. Anti-Semitism
and the evil goal of killing Jewish people is hard-wired into
ISIS and those it inspires.
Perhaps no other group in Europe is more at risk from ISIS
attacks than European Jewish communities. That is why I
authored House Resolution 354 as a blueprint for vital actions
that are needed to prevent another Paris, Brussels or
Copenhagen. The House of Representatives passed it unanimously,
and I intend to hold a hearing over the coming weeks to explore
what is necessary to ensure that these actions are taken.
In Crimea, the occupying authorities have targeted and
retaliated against the Crimean Tatar people for opposing the
annexation and the rule that has followed. Crimean Tatars have
been arrested, detained, interrogated, and sometimes charged
with extremism, illegal assembly, or belonging to an
unregistered religious group.
Religious minorities, including the Ukrainian Greek
Catholic Church, have likewise been repressed. Crimeans who
opposed or oppose the Russian takeover of Crimea or who have
been unwilling to seek a Russian passport have been at risk of
a crackdown. Restrictions have proliferated, including even on
the teaching of the Ukrainian language or access to Ukrainian
culture.
Repression is also rife in Azerbaijan. The Commission
recently held a hearing on the terrible plight of political
prisoners in Azerbaijan, particularly the imprisoned of Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Khadija Ismayilova.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Azerbaijan
leads all the countries of Eurasia in jailing journalists.
In 2015, the government imprisoned many well-known
activists, including Anar Mammadli, the courageous head of
EMDS, the leading election monitoring organization in
Azerbaijan. He spoke the truth about the fraudulent 2013
presidential election and is still paying the price.
I met with Anar's father--a very gentle man--just a few
months after he was arrested and saw how the entire family is
suffering from that injustice.
More than 40 years ago, all the countries of Europe and the
United States, Canada, formed the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe to prevent and respond to these kinds of
crises. Today we'll hear about how the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, the successor to the
Conference, is responding to these challenges.
Our very distinguished witness today, Michael Georg Link,
is the director of the OSCE's ODIHR, which stands for the
Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and has
done a wonderful job in that position. And we thank him for
being here.
Director Link has held that position since July of 2014.
Previously he was Minister of State for Europe in the German
Government, focusing on the OSCE-EU Council of Europe and NATO.
From 2005 to 2013, Director Link was a member of the Parliament
in Germany. And for most of that time he was an active member
of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, a key part of the OSCE. He
is former chairman of the supervisory board of the Center for
International Peace Operations, or ZIF; the board of the German
Foundation for Peace Research; and past council member of the
Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation.
Director Link continues to be active in many international
NGOs, including the German Council on Foreign Relations, the
German Association for Eastern European Studies, the Southeast
Europe Association and the German Atlantic Association. I'd
like to now yield to Commissioner Pitts for any opening
comments he might have.
HON. JOSEPH R. PITTS, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Pitts. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much for
hosting this important hearing.
And welcome, Director Link.
The ongoing reports of crackdowns on civil society, of
religious persecution, of other human rights abuses coming out
of occupied Eastern Ukraine, the Crimea, Central Asia, have
made the need for this hearing and the work of this Commission
and the work of OSCE more generally abundantly clear.
In particular, I would like to draw attention to the
horrific abuses committed against Protestants, Catholics, and
Orthodox Christians not loyal to Moscow by pro-Russian forces
during the occupation of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. On June 8,
2014, four evangelical ministers were abducted from church at
gunpoint, later executed by pro-Russian militants.
These murders were just the tip of the iceberg. Using
accusations of, quote, ``supporting Western governments,'' end
quote, pro-Russia militants proceeded to abduct dozens of
religious leaders and members of religious communities in
Crimea and in Ukraine. Many of the abductees who escaped or
were released reported being beaten, stabbed and subjected to
electrical shock and other forms of torture. In addition,
dozens of structures and places of worship belonging to faith
groups were destroyed or appropriated for military use. Some
were also reportedly transferred to the ownership of the Moscow
patriarchy of the Orthodox Church.
To date these abuses have never been acknowledged by the
Russian Government or the separatists operating in Eastern
Ukraine and no serious efforts have been made to bring the
perpetrators to justice. This has contributed to the widespread
climate of impunity for human rights violators in Crimea and
Eastern Ukraine, a climate that will only serve to deepen the
already cavernous divide between the U.S., Europe and a Russian
Government intent on expanding its sphere of influence,
regardless of the cost to human life, human dignity.
Lastly, I would like to reiterate a call that the Tom
Lantos Human Rights Commission, which I co-chair, has already
made--one of the immediate release of Ukrainian fighter pilot
Nadiya Savchenko. Ms. Savchenko continues in her unlawful
imprisonment by the Russian Federation. Her relocation to
Russia, the Russian effort to prosecute her, are illegal.
The Russian Federation's treatment of Nadiya Savchenko is
inconsistent with its international legal and humanitarian
obligations. And I join the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe, the European Union and others in the
international community in calling for the immediate and
unconditional release of Ms. Savchenko and other Ukrainians
unlawfully imprisoned in Russia.
So again, thank you, Director Link, for appearing before
the Commission today, for your work to combat many of the
abuses I've just referred to and others.
And thank you again to Chairman Smith for holding this
event. Together I believe we can shine a light on this part of
the world and, in doing so, bring much-needed hope to the
oppressed and to the hopeless.
With that, I yield back.
Mr. Smith. Commissioner Pitts, thank you so very much.
As you know, Director Link, this is a bicameral commission,
and we also have members of the executive branch. We are joined
by a man that has served on this Commission for decades, a good
friend and colleague, Ben Cardin, Senator Cardin, who is also
the Special Representative for the Parliamentary Assembly on
Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance.
HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, RANKING MEMBER, COMMISSION ON SECURITY
AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Cardin. Well, Chairman Smith, first, thank you very
much. I'm just trying to catch up in years to you. Chairman
Smith has been on this Commission for a very, very long time
and has done incredible service to all three of the priorities
of the OSCE, but particularly human rights dimensions.
So Director Link, it's a pleasure to have you here. And I
mean that. First of all, you represent in ODIHR our highest
priority in the Helsinki Commission. And secondly, you
personally have been a real champion on this issue. Chairman
Smith referred to the days of being a parliamentarian and the
days of working together. It was the German delegation and the
American delegation that brought forward the anti-Semitism
strategies that have led to so many changes in how we deal with
anti-Semitism in the communities. And your personal leadership
here was critical. So I just want everyone to understand we
have a person who's really been one of the champions on human
rights. And it's a pleasure to have you here today.
There's a lot we can talk about. I'm sorry there's so many
issues that the urgencies require our attention. And I start
with the 1991 Moscow document that said the participating
states emphasize that issues relating to human rights,
fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are
international concerns, as respect for these rights and
freedoms constitutes one of the foundations of international
order. They categorically and irrevocably declare that the
commitments undertaken in the field of human dimension of the
OSCE are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all
participating States and do not belong exclusively to the
internal affairs of the state concerned.
And yet one of our States, Russia, continues to challenge
that statement, the Moscow Declaration. So it's challenging.
And I start with Russia because Russia's just disregard for all
the fundamental principles of the OSCE with its incursion into
Ukraine, the eastern part, and then taking over Crimea, it's a
matter of urgency that we continue to keep the spotlight on
Russian behavior. It's of all our concern.
And it's not just limited to Ukraine. I could talk about
our visits to Moldova and Georgia and the scars from the
Russian interference. And now we see that Russia is trying to
influence the internal affairs of other countries through its
actions. And we could go well beyond the OSCE region and talk
about Syria, but we won't put that burden on you today. But we
do have the burden of the OSCE region, and we really need to
deal with that.
The chairman mentioned that--and we had a chance to talk--
that I have the responsibility as the Special Representative on
Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance. And we've worked
together on that, and I think the Commission should know that.
The ODIHR and your staff has been particularly helpful to us as
we planned a strategy.
Our priority is the safety of the Jewish communities in
Europe, and it's a matter of urgency. It's still a very high-
risk factor where there's still a rise of the security issues
of many of the Jewish communities in Europe. We are very
concerned about dealing with the discrimination in our
communities on refugees. We talked about that. Some countries
that have been historically strong on human rights are showing
real concerns as to the language and policies that they're
adopting in regards to vulnerable refugees.
We're going to deal with profiling, racial profiling, by
law enforcement. It's a problem in Europe. It's a problem in
the United States. I've introduced legislation to deal with it.
We've taken some actions. But it's a matter of major concern.
So we want to protect all vulnerable populations.
This Commission has taken a direct interest in the Roma
population. That's a continuing concern, and we will continue
to press ODIHR to help us as we deal with countries that have
discriminatory practices against the Roma population.
We could talk about a lot of particular countries. I need
to mention Azerbaijan. We were there, as you know, last year.
And Leyla and Arif Yunus are no longer being held in prison,
but they're not free to leave. And they have urgent medical
needs. There should be no charges against them. They should
have their freedom. We've fought many battles about the rights
of people to be able to have their ability to travel. And I
would hope that they're able to have their ability to travel,
and I would hope that that will remain high on your agenda.
Let me just conclude with this one observation. When the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE institutions,
including ODIHR, work together, we're a lot stronger. And I
think we have improved the relationships dramatically in the
last couple of years, thanks in large part to your leadership.
And your visit here demonstrates your sensitivity and
commitment to having a strong policy by engaging the
parliamentarians in your work. We look forward to doing that
with you.
And one last point, Mr. Chairman. We have to here make sure
that the participating States give ODIHR the resources they
need. And I wish the budgetary systems at ODIHR--at OSCE were
different than they are. But they are what they are. And the
direct supports given by governments for particular missions is
a critical ability for ODIHR to be able to do its work. And we
have certain responsibilities to assist you in that. And I can
assure you that the members of this Commission will do what we
can here in the United States.
Again, thank you for being here.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Senator Cardin.
I'd like to now yield to a good friend and colleague, Mr.
Schweikert, who has been on parliamentary assemblies and has
been a very active member on behalf of all the issues that we
are concerned about here today, human rights.
Mr. Schweikert. You didn't warn me you were going to do
that.
Mr. Smith. OK.
HON. DAVID SCHWEIKERT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF ARIZONA
Mr. Schweikert. Senator, it's good to see you. Very well.
I've missed you.
Look, for many of us--and I'm blessed to have some staff in
our office who are just brilliant at trying to track the number
of moving parts. And on a personal basis, I have a great
interest in the corruption and banking issues that have
happened in Moldova and the cascade effects that will happen
there and the potential effect of, you know, do we end up with
losing a lot of the ground, particularly in that region, the
continuing threats of the frozen conflicts, and particularly
considering the current financial status of what's happening in
Russia and their ability to continue these sort of proxy
territories. Are we heading towards a potentially dangerous
environment where the falling of resources produces an
opportunity where we have flare-up of conflicts in fairly
unstable areas?
So that sort of cascade effect of what are the threats
right now in front of us that would be laid out, both--
everything from what appears to be the rise of anti-Semitism,
whether it be driven by demographic changes in France and other
areas, all the way down to some of the economic stresses and
the threats they're going to bring to us from stability in the
region. And with that, I yield back.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much.
Director Link, the floor is yours.
MICHAEL GEORG LINK, DIRECTOR, OFFICE FOR DEMOCRATIC
INSTITUTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Mr. Link. Chairman Smith, distinguished members of the
Helsinki Commission, thank you very much for having me here.
And when I speak here today, I speak especially also on behalf
of the very dedicated team, which I have the honor really to
lead in ODIHR. It's about 150 staff based in Warsaw, great
experts in all areas. We are working in the human dimension,
and therefore my first word of thanks is also to them, because
I couldn't--wouldn't be here if we didn't have that team. And
we are dedicated to that.
Thank you, as parliamentarians, for your interest in that--
bipartisan, bicameral. You mentioned it, Chairman Smith. That
is ever more important when we have to defend these so
important achievements which we have together in the OSCE. And
let me say, on a personal note, for me OSCE is also a very
transatlantic and important instrument in a time where very
often so many go it alone. No, we need more action together.
And therefore, OSCE, 40 years after its foundation, is as
important as on day one, especially when it comes to the human
dimension of security. Nobody else talks about human dimension
of security, because that is what the colleagues back then in
1974 said, that there is no lasting security without respect
for human rights.
And Senator Cardin rightly reminded about the Moscow
Declaration. Let me add it was even recommitted in Astana in
2010, and not only by a ministerial meeting but by a summit, by
a summit in Astana, meaning the highest decision-making body
signed also by Russia. Then, therefore, these commitments, they
are valid. And our job is to work in assisting to implement
these commitments.
So thank you for having me here indeed. And let me say that
in the 25th year of our existence, of ODIHR, the scope of our
work is as broad and deep as ever, whether in the fields that
we are probably most known for, election monitoring, or, as we
call it, election observation, or in fighting anti-Semitism, or
in the areas of fighting discrimination--I will speak about
that also against Christians or Muslims--or fostering
integration of the Roma minority in our societies, or combating
trafficking of human beings, or the extremely important area in
democratic institution-building, human rights monitoring. All
these areas certainly are areas where we can, with our team,
offer a broad set of activities in assisting the participating
States of the OSCE, and this despite our dwindling resources.
Let me start by expressing a serious concern of mine. I am
deeply troubled about the decreasing attention human rights are
receiving in the OSCE area. And I don't speak about the
attention among parliamentarians. We have gladly this very
close cooperation with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. And
indeed, we invest at ODIHR a lot in that. And I think this
cooperation must even go beyond electoral observation.
In so many areas, we can--with the combined visibility and
credibility of parliamentary activities and expert activities--
we can really achieve something together.
The OSCE is a major regional organization whose very
essence is to connect human rights to security. But its
commitments in the field of human rights are less and less
respected--you have mentioned it also in your introductory
statements--in numerous participating States.
The OSCE is therefore no longer able--I'm sorry to say
that--in its ministerial meetings, the last time in Belgrade in
2015, to agree in consensus on a new text in its human
dimension. That was a disappointment, certainly. There was a
lot of effort by the Serbian chairmanship at the time, but
consensus was not possible. And therefore, its main
institutions in the human dimension, like ODIHR, are not very
often also funded properly, because the consensus also needs to
be made on the budget in order to fulfill our mandates.
That is why our work depends, as it has been mentioned,
more and more also on voluntary contributions from outside the
official budget. And I would like to ask you for your support
to continue ODIHR's work, driven by our common values.
So that is the situation we are in: an increasing number of
States, not respectful of their commitments, dwindling
resources, but more and more crises.
Let me, in my answers, before--I will gladly answer, all
sort of additional questions. Let me first maybe focus on three
aspects--fighting anti-Semitism; Ukraine, that has been
mentioned both by Congressman Pitts and by Chairman Smith; and
certainly, then the whole area, what we can do also in the area
of migration.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power put it
last year at the 2014 Berlin declaration event, and I quote--
she said rising anti-Semitism, quote, ``is often the canary in
the coal mine for degradation of human rights more broadly,''
end of quote.
All OSCE participating States agree on this principle.
Anti-Semitism is indeed an alarm bell signal for human rights
overall. ODIHR's activities, therefore, today are very, very
much active in this area. We revolve our activities around
three pillars that are constantly mentioned in our commitments:
hate crimes, education and Holocaust remembrance.
First, some words on hate crimes. Anti-Semitic hate crimes
remain a challenge throughout the region. A recent attack and
many more attacks also in other countries--in France, but all
over Europe--it was happening that Jewish people, wearing
religious symbols like the kippah, have been increasingly often
attacked on the streets in daylight. Also, in the U.S., civil-
society organizations have reported an increased number of
registered anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses.
ODIHR has a strong mandate to collect and report on hate-
crime data and on capacity-building for law enforcement.
Unfortunately, only 10 out of 57 States really here honor their
commitments, because only 10 out of 57 States annually report
in our hate-crime reporting official data collection. And in
many other countries, in 29 out of 57 countries, civil-society
actors are reporting to us. So there is a huge gap to be
filled, and we think that there is much more to be reported.
The second pillar of our work in fighting anti-Semitism is
related to the development of educational materials, which are
shaped by the local reality on the spot. Our teaching materials
have been implemented in 12 participating States--that is quite
a number--with the potential for expansion to additional
countries. We would like to do that very much. These teaching
materials are more important than ever, when expressions of
anti-Semitism on the Internet are various, and often go hand in
hand with declarations that aim at rewriting Second World [War]
history and its atrocities.
And this leads me to the third pillar of the fight of our
work against anti-Semitism. That is Holocaust remembrance. To
date, 34 States out of 57 commemorate the Holocaust on 27th of
January, while many countries hold commemorations on different
dates. In almost two thirds of OSCE participating States, at
various levels of education, children are taught about the
tragedy of the Holocaust. Where education and remembrance do
not suffice, we should strengthen our efforts in ensuring the
security of Jewish communities, it has been said. So these
activities in securing Jewish communities and that they will
have a future on the European continent is absolutely key also
to our activities. Otherwise, if we are not ready here to read
the alarm bells and to read the alarm signals and to draw the
consequences, Jewish communities are threatened to disappear.
All these pillars we combined in our newest project, called
Turning Words Into Action. It's a project set out to help turn
these words into action by providing government officials,
parliamentarians, and civil society with the knowledge and
skills they need to effectively address anti-Semitism. The
project was, by the way, made possible thanks to a generous
contribution, multiyear generous contribution, by Germany, very
much driven by colleagues of you also in the Bundestag, and
giving us some possibility, how we can long-term work on
projects and not being here stopped by needs of dwindling
budgets.
We would like to do more of this work, for instance in the
field of fighting discrimination of Christians--a topic of huge
importance in the OSCE States to which I am personally very
committed. With more funds in this area, we could do much more
work in this field. And let me also say very clearly certainly
that stretches, as well, to fighting intolerance against
Muslims.
Let me switch to Ukraine. You have mentioned also in your
introductory statements your huge concern about the situation
there. Let me give you a short update on our activities in
Ukraine, where we are and will be very active.
The situation in the country is still difficult--we all
know that--despite some progress made in the past two years.
Let's not neglect what has been made --achieved also by
Ukrainian lawmakers. But still, the burden, what is to be done,
is enormous. Therefore, we try, and we are supporting, reform
in Ukraine through strengthening its civil society. We are
supporting reform in Ukraine through observing its elections
and giving recommendations on how to improve in this area. When
I say strengthening civil society, we do it very concretely
with grassroots initiatives, which we support all over the
country.
We are supporting reform in Ukraine through giving legal
advice to the Parliament on how best draft laws in accordance
with international human rights standards can be adopted. A
little bit of a hidden duty, or hidden championship what ODIHR
has, very often people think we are only about election
observation and human rights monitoring. No, legal advice--
giving legal opinions on draft laws, that is one of our key
resources. And we are very actively working with the Rada on
this area.
And we are supporting reform in Ukraine in bringing
religious communities together--you mentioned that as well--to
become engines of national dialogue. It is extremely important
that the different religious communities of Ukraine--the
different Orthodox groups, Catholic, all sorts certainly also
of Protestant or Evangelic[al], but also including Jews--the
Jewish communities--it's very important that these different
religious communities work together and do not fall in the trap
of mutual misunderstanding and of different hate speech. It's
very important, this last point, and therefore we are
invigorating our efforts in that area.
Let me stress two more points. The human rights situation
on Crimea is deeply worrying. We have published our human
rights monitoring report on that, and I'm glad to give this
report also additionally to you today in a hard copy. You have
it certainly since long, but it's a very important thing, I
think--a very important report we did this last year. Despite
not having been granted access, ODIHR was able to publish this
comprehensive report on the situation six months ago, a strong
document showing the difficult state of the rights of national
minorities and other citizens. We are ready to follow up on
this report, but for this we need access for ODIHR monitors to
the peninsula.
We have to make--that's my second point here--to make all
possible efforts to bring peace to Ukraine. I believe that the
so-called Minsk package, agreed upon last year, is still the
best way to achieve it. ODIHR stands ready to do its part in
observing possible local elections in the conflict areas of the
Donbas regions as part of a political settlement. But these
elections are contingent upon a sustainable ceasefire and the
political will to hold it, and then also the political will to
hold the elections. Both needs to be there: the political will
to hold the ceasefire and to hold the elections. The equation
is simple: where there is war, there is no voting. Elections
are only possible where there is peace, or at least a lasting
ceasefire. Bullets have to be replaced by ballots. We,
therefore, fully share the view of the German chancellor, who
reconfirmed last week after a meeting with Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko that a ceasefire is the essential precondition
for the implementation of the Minsk package.
Having said this, Mr. Chairman, I think I will, with my
introductory statement, stop here and be ready to answer your
questions in all other areas you would like to address me. We
are again, as ODIHR, we are happy for the opportunity, really,
to be here. And let me underline again I think the
Parliamentary Assembly is the absolute key partner for ODIHR.
When we join our efforts, when we work hand-in-hand, then we
can really make a difference. Thank you.
Mr. Cardin. Mr. Chairman, if I might just excuse myself. We
have votes starting in the Senate. But I again thank you very
much for your----
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Commissioner Cardin.
And thank you, Director Link, for that excellent testimony.
And, without objection, your full statement will be made a part
of the record and excerpts from those reports, or any reports
you think are important, we'd like to make a part of the record
as well.
Let me just ask a few opening questions, then I'll yield to
my colleagues. First, on the issue of anti-Semitism: As I said
in my opening, the House passed a very comprehensive resolution
that not only reiterates the importance, as you pointed out, of
Holocaust remembrance, which we have passed previous
resolutions in the House and Senate, but it focuses on the
importance of what we call the Department of Homeland Security
here--we have them at every one of our state levels--of
partnering with Jewish communities, synagogues, to ensure that
resources that are real are expended to detect and protect
against acts of anti-
Semitic hate. And I can tell you, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, most of our states really work very closely, as
well as our Department of Homeland Security here in Washington,
to make those resources available because, sadly, regrettably,
even our own FBI and its statistics on hate crime shows an
absolute disproportionality of hate crimes committed against
Jewish individuals and sites vis-a-vis Christian or Muslim here
in this country. Despite being less than 2 percent of the
population, we're talking about 65 to 70 percent, depending on
the year, committed against Jewish individuals and Jewish
institutions. It is--there's no comparison. Muslims, it's about
10 to 11 percent, and Christians approximately the same amount.
And the numbers of Christians far exceeds, in this country, all
other populations.
So it's something that I think, from an actionable point of
view, huge progress can be made if we could get the countries
to say--don't just say you're chronicling, and that's
important--remember, Sharansky at the Berlin conference said if
you don't chronicle it, you can't fight it, and you're doing a
wonderful job trying to get countries to provide that important
data. But this whole idea of tangible assistance, making sure
that vulnerabilities are found, threats followed up
aggressively. I remember, when we first started this, some of
our friends in certain countries, including France, were
calling these acts of hooliganism and other--and desecrations
that were clearly--swastikas on a synagogue, what is that if
not anti-Semitic hate? And it gets even worse when people are
targeted because they're wearing a yarmulke and beaten. So if
you could speak to that.
I would also ask, if I could, on the issue of trafficking.
Again, thank you for your work on that. We met with Ambassador
Madina Jarbussynova yesterday, and she's doing her level best,
and her staff, to promote the--and as you know, I'm the OSCE PA
special rep for trafficking, so we talk the same language and
we're working on many of the same initiatives. But I would ask
you, if you could, tell us what the status is of the United
States seconding an expert to ODIHR to work on issues related
to trafficking. And maybe elaborate a little bit on the refugee
crisis as it relates to trafficked persons, women in
particular, and children, because as you've pointed out
previously as well, there's thousands of children who are
separated, unaccounted for.
I would note parenthetically on Monday the President signed
the International Megan's Law, and I will give you a copy of
that text and an op-ed I did for The Washington Post. It seems
to me that more countries need to have a Megan's Law to begin
with, with registries so we know when there is a convicted
pedophile and sex offender who presents a risk in their own
locale but also may travel and then abuse children in other
countries in secret. We're trying to get International Megan's
Law sharing to become much more robust so that we know when
people go from here to Germany and vice versa, or from here to
any other part of the world. So if you could speak to that.
And then I'll come back to some other questions after
yielding to my colleagues.
Mr. Link. Thank you very much, Chairman. And I will
certainly also--I'm sorry, I forget--did forget to answer,
also, the question of Congressman Schweikert regarding Moldova.
I will include it.
And, well, with the Jewish communities, let's take an
example. I think all of us have been shocked by the events in
Denmark. And why could that happen? Well, there are a lot of
explanations. But certainly one thing, which--what makes it
easier for everybody in terrorist attacks is that traveling
across the borders is relatively easy, especially in the
Schengen Area. But therefore, the right solution would not be
to close down the borders completely, but to increase the
security by the necessary means without reducing the liberty to
travel. It's a challenge which we face in every area: How do we
provide security while not reducing liberty, and to bring that
together in the right balance?
We try, first of all, to raise awareness that Jewish
communities, that their security is also our security. And then
we welcome very much that Denmark now has increased a lot, the
security of synagogues. I think that needs to be done in many
more countries, in many more places, because Jewish communities
must be actively protected. It's not a question of passive
protection. It's very important to work with them on that, and
certainly not in a way that says, OK, we know what is good for
you. No, it needs to be defined together with Jewish
communities. Therefore, for us to work with the Jewish
communities and then with the governments and parliamentarians
concerned is absolutely key.
In trafficking, this is an old standing point, and I thank
you that you mentioned our colleagues in Vienna. As you know,
we have a division of labor. Part of the job is done by the
colleagues in Vienna. The Secretary General of the OSCE has his
team. We are, especially when it comes to human rights, human
dimension, we are doing our part. And by request, especially
from the United States, ODIHR is now relaunching its activities
on combating trafficking of human beings.
The post--what you mentioned, the seconding--we are very
happy that we enjoy a lot of support now by the United States
of America. The post will be filled soon. There are several
very, very qualified people in the recruitment right now, and
we are happy to announce that we can start where we suspended
our work some years ago. We have the guiding principles on
human rights in the return of trafficked persons. We have [the
reigning ?] measures for States that the human rights of
trafficked persons are being respected. The focus of human
rights of trafficked persons in the context of criminal justice
and migration policies, and a special focus on women and
children also in the context of refugee crisis.
Maybe you ask, why do I say we can start where we suspended
our work some years? Well, that is, unfortunately, also linked
to the fact that dwindling resources do not make us--do not put
us in a position to be active in all areas where we would like
to be. Thanks to the support also from the United States, now
we can do that again.
That brings me directly to your linked question with that,
the refugee crisis. It is, indeed, an enormous challenge for
Europe and the OSCE area as a whole. But right now--especially
in the light of the unfortunately ever-increasing conflict in
Syria; also with unpredictable amounts of refugees and
migrants, especially refugees--those who flee bombings, when we
see the last pictures of Aleppo and what happens there at the
borders between Turkey and Syria. They are certainly, I think
nobody is untouched by that.
I think that the lack of regional cooperation between many
States in the OSCE, despite their commitments in the OSCE, is a
problem because this refugee crisis cannot be solved by one
alone, only with a joint approach. There is, unfortunately, for
the time being no consensus by the States to decide on concrete
action by OSCE structures. And, as you know, we need consensus
in order to act in the OSCE.
ODIHR, therefore, tried to do as much as we can alone. We
prepared to do human rights monitoring of treatment of
refugees, especially in the so-called corridor leading from the
Mediterranean to the Northern European countries--or, some call
it, the Balkan route. Last fall, ODIHR organized an expert
panel, a meeting on the refugee crisis and related hate crimes.
We produced findings and written. We shared it with the
participating states and the Parliamentary Assembly. Our main
findings, in brief, were that there are numerous vulnerable
groups that need special attention. And here we come back to
the situation of children--especially children, but also women
in general and unaccompanied minors, elderly people. Roma, by
the way, as well. There are, I repeat, numerous vulnerable
groups where we need--definitely need very much to point to
states that there must be a human rights-based approach in
dealing with this crisis. We cannot treat these people coming
as refugees as criminals or potential criminals. Yes, we need
exactly to increase security; that is clear. But while doing
that, we need a human rights-based approach to fighting this
crisis.
We have to study, therefore, also impacts on areas like
anti-
Semitism and discrimination of Muslims because one phenomenon
can follow on the other. And let me repeat again this need for
a human rights-based approach must be hold also when it's
difficult. In the end, let us not forget it is also important
to find a way on the answer which is respectful of the Geneva
Convention of the Status of Refugees.
Mr. Smith. Before yielding to Commissioner Pitts, on
December 9th, I convened a hearing. It was the second in a
series on the need to declare that what is happening to the
Christians is a genocide. The President was contemplating doing
such a designation for the Yazidis. So we put together a
hearing. We had--even the head of the Yazidis said there's no
doubt that the Christians are suffering a horrific genocide in
terms of large numbers of people being beheaded, being told
they must change their faith, or lose their life or be raped or
otherwise maltreated. That hasn't happened yet, but we're
pushing hard for it.
So my hope would be--because we know the Christians very
often are excluded from refugee flows, particularly in the
origination--in camps and places where they are just unwelcomed
a second time. I do hope that there will be an effort to make
sure that there is a full embrace of those Christians who are
fleeing this tyranny.
I'd like to go to Commissioner Pitts.
Mr. Pitts. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Again, thank you, Director Link, for being here today.
On Ukraine, what's your current assessment on the current
human rights and rule of law in the so-called Donetsk People's
Republic and Luhansk People's Republic? And have the number or
the severity of human rights abuses changed in the last few
months, or do you see any prospects of change, given this
current status?
Mr. Link. Thank you, Congressman.
The human rights situation in these certain areas, however
we call it, in the Donbas area in the so-called People's
Republic, they are increasingly affected the longer the war
goes. The longer the conflict goes, the more affected is the
region, certainly. And therefore, the population remains and is
partially even more affected by this armed conflict. Vulnerable
groups especially suffering--again, children, the elderly,
minority groups. Roma community, by the way, as well; we have
alarming reports on that. And all other persons in need.
It begins already with the question, where do I get my
money from? Pensions, water supply. So the situation certainly
is of concern. There are severe humanitarian conditions.
Electricity, I could add to that as well, is of concern.
And we have the problem of internal displacement, which is
a huge challenge throughout the country. According to the
latest UNHCR--the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees--has published on its homepage--I looked at it
yesterday again to give you the concrete figure--is, again,
speaks about 1.8 million--1.8 million internally displaced
persons in Ukraine and several hundred thousands displaced into
Russia. So that shows the sheer dimension of the problem. And
let's not forget that Ukraine is taking care of these refugees,
the 1.8 [million], mostly themselves. These people are not
coming to Germany or other places, France as well. But Ukraine
therefore deserves even more our support because they care
about--they have to really be there for these internally
displaced persons.
We are working very closely with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights. We have a little bit of a
division of labor there because we take care to mutually
reinforce our activities. And we try--sometimes they feed into
our reports or we feed into their reports. Mostly active in
eastern Ukraine, Donbas, is the high commissioner with his
team. And therefore, we share the findings of his regular
reportings. But independent of that, we support civil society
groups to monitor human rights violations in the Donbas in the
framework of our ODIHR project on capacity building of the
Ukrainian civil society.
If I may, a brief word on Moldova? I'm sorry.
Mr. Pitts. Let me just follow up on Crimea.
Mr. Link. Yes.
Mr. Pitts. Your office--the Office of the OSCE High
Commissioner on National Minorities released a comprehensive
report on the human rights situation in Crimea. The report
identified widespread human rights violations and
discrimination against religious, national minorities;
repression of individuals, groups opposed to the illegal
annexation and who did not possess a Russian passport; and
legal irregularities of the Russian-occupied peninsula. And it
flagged a failure to investigate Russian so-called self-defense
forces accused of these extrajudicial killings and torture.
Have you seen any improvement at all in the last six months?
You had a number of concrete recommendations. Can you tell if
any of these recommendations have been acted on?
Mr. Link. No, we have for the time being no concrete
possibility to check, because it needs to be checked now, on
the spot. We would call and we would like to have access on the
spot, on the peninsula, in order, indeed, to make an update on
that. As you know, this report has been made in a sort of
distant monitoring. This is certainly not what is now the next
step. The next step would be to be to go on the spot.
We did the report, by the way, together with the High
Commissioner on National Minorities of the OSCE, with our
colleagues based in The Hague. And what we see, what we follow,
is still alarming reports. Chairman Smith talked about the
situation of the Crimean Tatars. I could add a couple of
additional examples to that. We are very, very concerned here
about the situation of the Crimean Tatars.
In general, the whole problem is that, because of a lack of
access to the situation there is not the possibility for any
impartial watching and observation of the situation. We think
that the latest reports on suppression of the activities of the
so-called Mejlis, the congregation or parliament, the self-
governing body of the Crimean Tatars, as well as intimidation,
expulsion or incarceration of prominent leaders of the Mejlis
of the Crimean Tatar people, has and will have a detrimental
effect on the exercise of political and civil rights.
Intimidation is going on, and therefore it is very important
that actors such as ODIHR and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
keep this issue on the agenda.
Mr. Pitts. Good. Now if you want to begin your conversation
on Moldova, I'm interested in that, too. [Laughter.]
Mr. Link. I'm sorry. That is way too late.
No, I just wanted to--you mentioned rightly that Moldova is
an area where we need, certainly, to be engaged and to assist
the Republic of Moldova in a very critical time of its history.
We are not engaged in controlling financial flows. That is not
our mandate. We are a mandates-based organization. We can only
work in the framework formatted. But certainly what we do--what
we try to do is to help in institution building and certainly
also in fighting corruption.
Mr. Schweikert. Mr. Chairman and Member Pitts, if you'd
allow me to----
Mr. Smith. Please.
Mr. Schweikert. Director Link, I guess the context I'm
trying to sort of put that in--and I don't want to sound
ethereal--is I look at a country like Moldova, which we have
visited--you know, we all had some high hopes for in the
direction they were going. And now, with the banking fraud. But
it's more the concept of, as an organization where, OK, you've
already shared with us that, what, only 10 out of the 57
countries provide you formal data in bad acts towards
designated populations. But there's a next level. If I see
something such as we do in Moldova right now, or some of the
stories that we've picked up at a very low level of financial
situations in some of the frozen conflict areas, how do you as
an organization not just be someone that documents bad acts or
tries to get other groups to provide you the data and talk
about them, but also how do we have a warning system that's
saying, a mass banking fraud in Moldova, this could cause a
cascade of a collapse of government, a cascade back towards a
more totalitarian, this causes--these particular groups are at
threat? And now take that all the way through Georgia and other
places where you also have difficulty--I'm trying to
understand, for those of us who try to advocate, is there a
pre-warning system? Is there a tripwire? Is there something
saying we're fearful this frozen conflict is about to no longer
be frozen, understand the cascade effect of such a thing? So
that helps put it in context.
Mr. Link. Thank you, Congressman.
Well, there is fortunately one very important element in
Moldova, because there is still a local office of the OSCE.
There is a local OSCE representative, Ambassador Michael
Scanlan--by the way, seconded by the United States of America.
So we are in close contact with him. And among others, this is
also the job of the local office, to give information and early
warning.
We certainly--we have, as ODIHR, we have our formal
instruments. We go there when we observe elections, then we go
back. So we are not permanently there. But therefore, the hate
crime reporting is so important, it is an element in mosaic.
In close cooperation, we have convinced the parliament
there, and with the help of a lot of stakeholders, for example,
that they really need to improve in many ways how they treat,
for example, history of the Holocaust. Moldova is one of the
few countries now in that region having the 27th of January as
an official Holocaust remembrance day. It was this year, for
the first time, celebrated there in their parliament. So it is
also some positive steps which we can note, but it's a very
long way to go.
But what you mentioned, the early warning in general, and
to prevent worsening of the situation--cascade effects and
whatever effects--they can be only fully operational--and let
me say that very clearly, even if that transgresses a little
bit my mandate, that can only work if OSCE is really on the
spot. Therefore, the remaining officers on the spot are so
important. They are the eyes and ears, in many ways, because
they are permanently there--the office in Bosnia, the office in
Yerevan, the office in Moldova, they are extremely important.
And we work with these colleagues very closely.
Independent of that, what we can do--and sometimes we get
these requests from Moldova--is to give, as I said, opinions--
opinions on draft laws, on others. And these questions, these
requests, can come both from government or from parliament, on
both persons.
Mr. Schweikert. I appreciate--and, Mr. Chairman, you know,
maybe, you know, what is bouncing in my thoughts is, as I look
at some of the economic stress in the region, the fear that
there may be bad things that may happen to particularly certain
populations. And it would be honorable to have an early warning
system to maybe use what influence we have to step in before
instead of reporting on it after.
And with that, I yield back.
Mr. Smith. Just a few final questions, unless my colleagues
have any additional questions. Let me just ask you about
Azerbaijan, if I could.
Members of our Commission have twice now visited Baku. We
met with President Aliyev in a rather lengthy meeting on human
rights issues in his office on both occasions. When more
individuals, including journalists, including Khadija
Ismayilova, who was arrested and given a draconian jail term of
over seven years for doing investigative journalist work--we
put together a very comprehensive Azerbaijan Democracy Act, and
I introduced it. And to me, the reaction by the Aliyev
government, including the Parliament, has been startling--
foolhardy, in my opinion--because they have claimed things that
are absolutely untrue. They claim that the Armenians put me,
Chris Smith, up to it. The Armenians had absolutely no input,
advance notice or anything else about the bill, nothing.
So when I hear this coming from the Parliament and coming
from major media and presidential spokesmen, I wonder about
their credibility on other things because I know what we did,
and the Armenians reacted to it long after the fact. They had
no advance notice that we were even doing it, because it's all
about human rights in Azerbaijan or the lack thereof. And so
that took me by surprise in the sense that it was a very
foolish response, and a false accusation, at that.
There's no doubt that I have long been a strong believer
that the Armenian genocide needed to be recognized, held a
hearing on that more than 10 years ago, 15 years ago, that is,
and then another one recently. But that doesn't mean that
holding any country, including my own, our own, to account on
human rights abuses is something that we shy away from.
So your thought on that. I know the EU has sent one of
their top human rights groups to investigate because again,
Journalists Without Borders and other groups have been very
critical of this crackdown on journalists, and it's not just
journalists that are being thrown into prison, as you know so
well.
Maybe you could speak to Azerbaijan, because my hope is--
we're looking for reform, that's it. Let people out of prison
who have committed no crime. When investigative journalists do
things here, on corruption or anything else, they get prizes,
Pulitzer prizes and a whole host of other awards. In
Azerbaijan, they go to jail. So that would be the first
question.
The second again, if I could, on Nagorno-Karabakh,
obviously one of the frozen conflicts. It seems to be an ever-
present tinderbox. Your thoughts on what might be done there to
mitigate harm there on either side. We don't want to see anyone
hurt, and there have been flare-ups very, very recently.
And again on trafficking, I would like to share with you
our International Megan's Law, which I think will work. I'm
working with Ernie Allen and others. He used to be with the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children here. He's
also been involved with the international version. And the
belief is that if more countries had a better handle on where
convicted sex offenders are, where they're living--if you were
to go to online in your hotel later on today and put in any
state, any township, any city in the United States under
Megan's Law, you would find where these individuals are. The
registry is a very, very effective means of helping to track to
ensure that these individuals don't become soccer coaches or,
you know, go to the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or whatever it
might be, to prevent abuses of children. And now International
Megan's Law will let Germany know when a convicted pedophile is
traveling to your country. It's up to you to deny access or
entry or to watch them.
Two days ago I met with the Thai delegation for trafficking
in persons. They themselves prevented 98 convicted pedophiles
from the United States from coming into their country in 2014
because they know where they're going. They're going to
Bangkok, Phuket, all these other places, and they're going
there to abuse Thai citizens, and especially children.
So it's something we got into the Parliamentary Assembly
resolution, as I think you know, strong language on Megan's
Law. I'm going to do it again at the Tbilisi Parliamentary
Assembly--hopefully, it will pass--to try to really get these
protections. It's all about protecting kids and vulnerable
individuals from these predators who have a high propensity of
recommitting. So if you could take a look at that, we'll share
that language with you. But if you could speak to those other
issues as well.
Mr. Link. Chairman, we would--that is one of the areas
where we clearly have the intention, and not some when, but
soon, really to intensify our activities. We need to take that
very serious, protecting of children's rights, especially when
it comes here to activities in the light of the increasing
refugee crisis and of the increasing problems with human
trafficking. That needs to be on the forefront of activities,
and we will do that. We will develop additional programs in
that end.
We are very interested in the examples you mentioned. We
are working closely, by the way, in this area as well with the
Council of Europe. And there is, maybe you know, these very,
very comprehensive new proposals by the Fundamental Rights
Agency of the European Union, which does tremendous work in the
area of children's rights. So there is a clear agenda for us
here to follow up and to get even more active.
On Azerbaijan, you mentioned the journalists. The
journalists are key to early warning, by the way. A free media
landscape, a free media press is part of the normal early
warning process that should happen in a civil society. So if
you shut down independent media, if you don't have a
pluralistic approach in media as diverse as possible, then a
society can go very, very wrong. Therefore, it is so important
indeed here what, for example, the representative for the
Freedom of the Media of the OSCE, our colleague Dunja
Mijatovic, what she is doing, speaking out here and pointing to
problems in the area of prosecution of journalists.
We as ODIHR have repeatedly spoken out on limitations of
our work when it comes to election observation and in our work
with and for human rights defenders. We also mentioned the
person you mentioned in your introductory statement, Khadija
Ismayilova, and who was a participant in one of our meetings
and then later on had problems after the meeting.
So, certainly human rights defenders' activities in favor
of and supporting civil society is absolutely crucial and we
remain active certainly in that area also in connection with
Azerbaijan. And we would like very much also in future to be
able there to observe elections.
On the Karabakh process itself, I cannot have an active
input because we are not part of these negotiations there. But
we can just hope that free elections are also helping to build
confidence and security, because elections, it's not only about
human rights. Yes, that is at the forefront and decision
making, but free elections are also a confidence and security-
building mechanism.
Look at the parliamentary elections in Ukraine shortly
after the events on the Maidan and the presidential elections.
That was an enormously important confidence and security-
building measure accepted by all 57 states in the OSCE because
it was critically observed, and fundamentally observed also by
ODIHR.
All these things, if you apply these mechanisms right, they
can, let me repeat it, also help to be a sort of not only
classical human-dimension work but also have an aspect in the
first dimension because it is also security--concretely
security and confidence-
building.
Mr. Smith. I just have one final question, and I thank you
for your very incisive answers. It really is helpful to the
Commission.
We held a hearing in the Commission in September on the
refugee issue and had a representative from the European Union,
a man by the name of Pitterman, who is with the UNHCR,
providing one of the biggest takeaway insights at that hearing
as to why so many people were put to flight. He said that it
was the gross underfunding--my word, but his sentiment--of the
UNHCR's appeal, 40 to 45 percent year over year, so the refugee
housing, medicines, food, education was on a shoestring; and
that the trigger--his word--was that when the World Food
Program cut the foodstuffs going to the refugees by 30 percent,
the refugees said, we're out of here.
And I'm wondering--you know, in all of our conversations,
we need to make sure that those who still remain don't feel
like they've been abandoned, because again, that's one of the
systemic causes, the trigger, according to Mr. Pitterman. And
you got your great inflow of refugees in part, at least if he
has that right, and I think he does, because of an underfunding
of refugee camps, and refugees are living outside the camps,
but of concern for the UNHCR.
Any thoughts on that? Or have we rectified that, do you
think, as an international community of Germany, U.S., OSCE
countries?
Mr. Link. Well, we are just flagging very clearly--for
example, there will be a large conference in two weeks in Rome
on--OSCE conference in Rome on that where we will flag again
that again the human rights in treating the crisis and the
necessary funding are crucial; otherwise, people in the camps
will leave the camps and will go on the trail.
Mr. Smith. Right.
Mr. Link. This is a logical consequence, if they are not
feeling secure, safe, at least with a minimum degree of supply
in the camps. Therefore, everything, what can be done to help
Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey in that crisis is absolutely crucial.
We are doing--we're flagging that. But here again, when it
goes over the OSCE area, we have limited possibilities. So
Lebanon, Jordan, that is certainly not a point where we can
directly be active, but Turkey is certainly.
Mr. Smith. Sure.
Mr. Link. Yes, I have also myself visited several camps of
refugees, and I think the efforts of Turkey to provide shelter
for refugees need to be supported, need to be much more, even,
supported because it is absolutely crucial that Turkey is not
alone in giving shelter to the refugees in that situation and
giving them also a shelter until, hopefully, one day they can
return to Syria.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much. Anything else, David?
Mr. Schweikert. May I?
Mr. Smith. Yes, please.
Mr. Schweikert. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Director, do you
believe in your area of authority, rule of law, promotion of
rule of law is part of your mandate?
Mr. Link. Oh, yes, absolutely.
Mr. Schweikert. With that--and I can't take credit for the
quote, I have to steal it from a staffer, sort of picturing the
fine dinner party of a series of our Western European friends
pounding on the dinner tables, saying, we need to find
something to do about the corruption in Central Europe. And we
have a great conversation about it, but not knowing if we have
the same mechanisms that, when we come to try to promote
democratic institutions and fidelity to honest elections, are
we doing the same thing in showing up and institutions to
ferret out, whether it be using technology or others, to
eliminate corruption in some of the very countries that we've
spent, you know, the last 20 years trying to bring into, shall
we say, a conformity of civility?
Mr. Link. I think we can be very concrete here. We talked a
lot about Ukraine. We talked a lot about other countries. But
all the reforms in the end will be wane if it is not possible
to find the endemic corruption, for example, in that country.
It is corruption which has been mentioned again and again. We
all witnessed the latest political crisis around the possible
stepping down of minister of economy and back and forth and
back and forth. This is key. And it is not only key of the
expectation of the U.S. or German or French citizens, it is key
also to the expectations of Ukrainian citizens that this time,
after Maidan, finally really something substantial is being
done. And corruption can be fought. There are countries who
showed it, who showed it very, very substantially. Take, for
example, some--take our host country, Poland, where, in the
1990s and in the early years of the 2000s, enormous progress
has been made in fighting corruption, and that needs to be
enforced.
Mr. Schweikert. The Polish example is a brilliant one, and
the ability to export, you know, the independent prosecutor
model and some of those that were done there. Are we succeeding
at populating that in--I'll go back to our Moldova or other
countries in that region, because I have this intense fear that
both during--if it were in a time of economic slowdown, with a
layer of corruption, cascades of very bad things happen to
people and it almost is a domino. If we allow one to exist, the
next is coming.
Mr. Link. Yes, but we should be careful because here this
is a job which is never really finished. It comes back again
and again.
Mr. Schweikert. And it's a constant vigilance.
Mr. Link. Exactly. A good point in case here can be, if you
see the latest report, the latest progress that has been made
in Romania in fighting corruption, that is really tangible.
Maybe the pressure exerted on Romania by the European Union in
order to become a member helps here.
Mr. Schweikert. Where this continues is the movement right
now in Montenegro and the discussions of how close do we, you
know, pull it in--even in sort of a military umbrella, but we
do know we have a series of--the corruption index is still
quite too high to be acceptable to many of us. And being
someone who, before getting this job, used to actually, even
with a little gray hair, backpack through Serbia and Montenegro
and those things, and, you know, I've never accidentally left
cash in my passport so I could get, you know, certain things.
But, OK, that's petty in the scale of the world we look at, but
that's not--I mean, these are countries we're having
discussions with on security compacts and yet we still have
concerns about corruption. So I'm just --in future
conversation, maybe, what else can we do? Should we be
providing other resources or other mechanisms?
And then there's a one-off. Later this year under the
parliamentary elections in Russia, what input do you believe
you'll have?
Mr. Link. Let me briefly just finish the part with fighting
corruption. For us, that is something we can partially deal
with, partially support. Unfortunately, we have no legal ways
to enforce because the commitments in the OSCE are political
ones, but we can raise our voice. And therefore, I also
personally, also publicly in numerous occasions, raised it
especially in connection with fighting corruption.
Mr. Schweikert. I know this is--and I'm speaking off the
cuff, and I know how dangerous that is, because how often,
particularly with the professional staff in here, have you had
to apologize for things your members say? I look at some of the
model that we've seen happen in Central America now, where the
ability to prosecute, to pursue bad actors who are within the
governmental structures, could not be done internally, so they
actually brought in external prosecutors. Is it time to start
looking at that model and promoting it in the organization?
Mr. Link. I think it is mostly time to reform the judiciary
in general in Ukraine, because--
Mr. Schweikert. And I see this much more than just Ukraine.
Mr. Link. External prosecutors can be a possibility, yes,
certainly. But what we underline is that there is a serious
effort to do it. We don't recommend a special model, but it
needs to be tackled. I mention only Ukraine because this was
the topic of the last two weeks, especially began and the
actual topic. The other countries can be equally mentioned. You
could mention Georgia, where whole parts of the judiciary have
been replaced and there are substantial--all the police, for
example, the famous example with the traffic police, which
worked actually very well. That has been emulated also in
different places. So sometimes these harsh measures are really
needed in order to do the trick.
Mr. Schweikert. And in that case, have we done--I thought a
couple years ago we did a quality job praising Georgia for
doing that, the EU Economic Compact or--and forgive me if I use
the wrong title--you know, its rewards and those things. So,
hopefully there has been some, as our colloquialism is, carrot
and stick.
Mr. Link. Certainly incentives are important. Incentives
are extremely important in order for some people really to have
the courage to do the necessary work. Incentives are important.
That means also encouragement from the outside. And as I
mentioned--that is why I mentioned the EU example with Romania,
very clear sequencing of measures. If there is a real ongoing
fight on corruption, then future measures of integration in the
EU can be possible. So this, I think, was good sequencing.
Regarding to the Russian Federation----
Mr. Schweikert. And that will be my last.
Mr. Link. ----Regarding to the Russian Federation, indeed
elections are coming up on the 18th of September, so two large
elections in the second half of the year: Russian Federation,
U.S. general elections. And we indeed, therefore, are in close
contact and we will certainly be ready to observe. And
therefore we hope very much that there will be the possibility,
and we count on that, for unrestricted access for our observers
in Russia.
Mr. Schweikert. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Smith. Thank you.
Before we close, again, Director Link, thank you for
providing us so many extraordinary insights and thank you for
the work you're doing.
You know, in talking about corruption, Spencer Oliver has
just joined us. Spencer did yeoman's work, exemplary work as
Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for
decades, was one of those who helped conceive the very idea.
And I have traveled and other members have traveled with
Spencer, even when he was with our Commission, into the Soviet
Union during the darkest days on behalf of political prisoners,
as the Duma was matriculating from members being appointed to
being elected.
We had probably the most interesting roundtable, three days
of roundtable discussions with members of the Duma before they
had to subject themselves to a popular election. And I'll never
forget in one of our roundtables a member of the Duma saying--
we were talking about press freedoms and what happens when you
are criticized, which we all are here, and you are in Germany
frequently. And when we gave answers about writing op-eds and
the like, a member of the Duma said, shouldn't they just go to
the gulag? It was a very insightful authoritarian dictatorship
orientation.
But Spencer actually put together a conference on--in
Bucharest, in the house that Ceausescu built--on corruption as
the hijacker, really, of democracies. And it was an
extraordinary conference. So your points about corruption in
your answers, Director Link, thank you for that. Because that's
why we're raising issues vis-a-vis Aliyev, because that's what
some of the journalists, including the Radio Free Europe
journalist was raising: Where did all that money come from? And
just for doing that, they found themselves in prison with a
seven-year-plus sentence.
Thank you for joining us. And thank you, Director Link, for
being here. The hearing's adjourned.
Mr. Link. Thank you very much for all the cooperation, for
the strong support for ODIHR.
[Whereupon, at 2:22 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
=======================================================================
Prepared Statements
----------
Prepared Statement of Hon. Chris Smith
Good afternoon and welcome to everyone joining us today, especially
Ambassador Michael Link, Director of the OSCE's Office of Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights. Today we'll discuss several human rights
crises in Europe and Eurasia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and
end of the Cold War, many people expected that freedom, democracy, and
peace, would spread throughout Europe and Eurasia. And yet now, the
religious freedom of Christians, and people of other faiths, is being
regularly violated. Russia invaded its neighbor Ukraine, illegally
annexed Crimea, and is fueling and funding violent proxies in the
eastern Donbas region of that country. Deadly anti-Semitism is again
stalking European Jewish communities. The worst refugee and migrants'
crisis in Europe since World War II has engulfed the continent.
Autocrats are using the law, and acting outside the law, to crush
democratic opposition to their despotism.
Violent anti-Semitic attacks increased 100 to 400 percent in some
European countries between 2013 and 2014. Anti-Semitism, and the evil
goal of killing Jewish people, is hardwired into ISIS and those it
inspires. Perhaps no other group in Europe is more at risk from ISIS
attacks than the European Jewish community. That is why I authored
House Resolution 354 as a blueprint for vital actions that are needed
to prevent another Paris, Brussels, or Copenhagen. The House of
Representatives passed it unanimously and I intend to hold a hearing
over the coming weeks to explore what is necessary to ensure these
actions are taken.
In Crimea, the occupying authorities have targeted and retaliated
against the Crimean Tatar people for opposing the annexation and the
rule that has followed. Crimean Tatars have been arrested, detained,
interrogated, and sometimes charged with extremism, illegal assembly,
or belonging to an unregistered religious group. Religious minorities,
including the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, have likewise been
repressed. Crimeans who opposed or oppose the Russian takeover of
Crimea, or have been unwilling to seek a Russian passport, have been at
risk of a crackdown. Restrictions have proliferated, including even on
the teaching of the Ukrainian language or access to Ukrainian culture.
Repression is also rife in Azerbaijan. The Commission recently held
a hearing on the terrible plight of political prisoners in Azerbaijan,
particularly the imprisonment of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
journalist Khadija Ismayilova. According to the Committee to Protect
Journalists, Azerbaijan leads all of the countries in Eurasia in
jailing journalists. In 2015, the government imprisoned many well-known
activists, including Anar Mammadli, the courageous head of EMDS, the
leading election monitoring organization in Azerbaijan. He spoke the
truth about the fraudulent 2013 presidential election and is still
paying the price. I met with Anar's father--a very gentle man--just a
few months after Anar was arrested and saw how Anar's family is
suffering from this injustice.
More than 40 years ago, all the countries of Europe, the United
States, and Canada, formed the Conference on Security and Cooperation
in Europe, to prevent and respond to these kinds of crises. Today we
will hear about how the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, the successor to the Conference, is responding to these
challenges. Our witness is Ambassador Michael Georg Link, Director of
the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights--ODIHR
for short.
Director Link has held this position since July of 2014 and has
been an excellent, effective director. Previously, he was Minister of
State for Europe in the German government, focusing on the OSCE, EU,
Council of Europe and NATO. From 2005 to 2013, Director Link was a
Member of Parliament in the German parliament, and for most of that
time, he was an active member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, a key
part of the OSCE. He is a former chairman of the supervisory board of
the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), the board of the
German Foundation for Peace Research and a past council member of the
Foundation for
German-Polish Cooperation. Director Link continues to be active in
international NGOs, including the German Council on Foreign Relations,
the German Association for Eastern European Studies, the Southeast
Europe Association, and the German Atlantic Association.
Director Link, thank you for being here today. We look forward to
your testimony.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Benjamin Cardin
I welcome today's hearing with Michael Georg Link, the Director of
the OSCE's flagship institution for the protection and promotion of
human rights.
Director Link, every OSCE participating State, including my own,
has freely undertaken a body of commitments to respect fundamental
freedoms, to build democratic institutions, to safeguard the rule of
law, and to protect minorities. None of us has a perfect record; none
of us can ever consider the job done. For that reason, one of the most
important commitments of the Helsinki Final Act comes from the 1991
Moscow Document:
``The participating States emphasize that issues relating to human
rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are of
international concern, as respect for these rights and freedoms
constitutes one of the foundations of the international order. They
categorically and irrevocably declare that the commitments undertaken
in the field of the human dimension of the [OSCE] are matters of direct
and legitimate concern to all participating States and do not belong
exclusively to the internal affairs of the state concerned.''
Unfortunately, in the years since the Moscow Document was adopted,
Russia has created a model for anti-democratic measures. It has
violated the territorial integrity of Georgia and Ukraine, supports
extremist parties outside of Russia and, in effect, represents the
greatest threat to human rights and democracy in Europe and Eurasia.
Just two weeks ago, on January 31, Chechen Republic leader Ramzan
Kadyrov--who was appointed by Vladimir Putin--posted a surveillance-
style video of former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Vladimir
Kara-Murza as if the two men are viewed through the scope of a rifle.
This video, and its accompanying text, are widely understood as a death
threat.
The fact is that critics of the Kremlin are assassinated at an
alarming rate. Vladimir Kara-Murza nearly died last year after being
poisoned. Kasyanov has assumed the leadership of a leading opposition
party that was previously headed by Boris Nemstov. Nemstov was
assassinated near Red Square in Moscow early last year while preparing
a report documenting Russian troop involvement in the war in Ukraine,
contrary to the Russian Government's assertions. In October 2015, Kara-
Murza testified at a Helsinki Commission hearing on the rule of law in
Russia. I deplore the death threats made against these two men.
The threats against Kasyanov and Kara-Murza are more than the
latest salvo in Russia's attacks on civil society. They are clearly
intended to send a warning message to any and all in the political
opposition before parliamentary elections in September. As such, they
are also an attack on commitments to free and fair elections that the
Russian Federation has freely undertaken in the Helsinki process.
I am keenly aware that many OSCE participating States have called
on the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to do more--
even while they are giving less. The OSCE as a whole faces acute
challenge across the region and I believe the organization must be
given resources commensurate with the tasks assigned by the
participating States.
The refugee and migrant crisis is at the forefront of these
challenges, and continues to test not only OSCE participating States in
Europe, but also OSCE Partner States and neighboring countries. I
welcome an assessment from you on your recent efforts to monitor human
rights concerns related to the crisis and your recommendations on how
the OSCE and participating States can play a greater role in
transferring knowledge gained during earlier conflicts that resulted in
significant refugee streams.
In my capacity as OSCE PA Special Representative on Anti-Semitism,
Racism, and Intolerance, I have been monitoring the hateful reaction to
the influx of refugees and migrants, often from officials in countries
whose own nationals had been given refuge in the past to escape from
war or oppression. Racism and anti-Muslim bigotry are key obstacles to
moving policy making beyond border security to long-term integration
and resettlement efforts. I welcome efforts to partner with you on
initiatives, including combating hate and racial or religious profiling
by law enforcement.
Of course, these are issues that I am not only monitoring abroad,
but also here at home in the United States and in Maryland. I have
introduced a legislative package known as the BALTIMORE Act, which
would help communities nationwide by ``Building And Lifting Trust In
order to Multiply Opportunities and Racial Equality'' (BALTIMORE). The
Act would make a number of critical law enforcement reforms, including
ending discriminatory profiling and insisting on state and local
accountability for law enforcement officers. I am pleased that a number
of provisions consistent with the BALTIMORE Act and my Law Enforcement
Trust and Integrity Act were included in the FY '16 omnibus
appropriations measure.
As we observe Black History Month in February and the International
Decade for People of African Descent, I commend ODIHR's efforts to
identify and support practical measures to combat hate crimes and other
forms of bigotry impacting persons of African descent in the OSCE
region. I hope that the OSCE will continue to address racism and
xenophobia and build coalitions across communities to combat hate.
ODIHR's work in defense of vulnerable populations, from Roma to
religious minorities to refugees, is a cornerstone for stability of the
region and reflects the core humanitarian commitments of the Helsinki
Final Act.
Your leadership in expanding OSCE efforts to combat anti-Semitism
in the aftermath of some of the most heinous attacks on the Jewish
community in recent history is laudable. I look forward to working with
you and your staff on this momentous effort.
Among OSCE institutions, the ODIHR has a partner in the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly. It has always been our view that each brings
their own unique contribution to a common goal, and the Helsinki
Commission actively engages in the activity of both. We are
particularly proud of the efforts of Spencer Oliver, the recently
retired Secretary General of the OSCE PA, to make sure that the
Assembly is integrated into the OSCE diplomatic framework. We hope
cooperation between the ODIHR and the Assembly continues. The Assembly
can bolster the ODIHR as it faces recalcitrance from the participating
States resisting democratic transition. The coordinated response to
Azerbaijan's attempt to condition election observation is a case in
point, and many of the parliamentarians are outspoken human rights
advocates. I would welcome the Director's thoughts on intensified
cooperation between the OSCE PA and ODIHR.
Unfortunately, Azerbaijan has distinguished itself negatively by
the large number of people it has imprisoned in violation of Principle
VII of the Helsinki Final Act, which recognizes the right of
individuals to know and act upon their human rights. While I am
heartened that Leyla and Arif Yunus have been released from prison, I
urge the government of Azerbaijan to drop all charges against them and
allow them to leave the country for medical treatment.
While our focus in the OSCE has shifted to more problematic regions
and countries, one legacy of the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s is the
Organization's relatively strong presence in the region. The improved
performance of Western Balkan countries in the last two decades can be
credited, in part, to the ongoing engagement of the OSCE--but the work
to be done in the region is not complete.
At a time of renewed tensions between Russia and the West, as well
as dwindling enthusiasm by European and Euro-Atlantic structures to
enlarge membership, several of these countries feel they are in a state
of limbo--not becoming part of Europe but being kept on its perimeter--
with little incentive to make serious progress to achieve their
aspirations for integration. Migrants and refugees transit the region,
nationalism remains a potent force, and local populations can be
vulnerable to violent extremism. Some countries face political crises
and may be losing ground in terms of implementing Human Dimension
commitments. I would like to hear the Director's views on how ODIHR can
respond to the challenges in the region, perhaps with additional focus
on preparations for the Macedonian elections in a few months.
Finally, I want to commend you for your excellent stewardship of
the Europe's largest annual human rights meeting, held every year in
Warsaw, and your leadership on the full range of commitments to protect
human rights and democratic institutions and to combat discrimination
and bigotry.
Prepared Statement of Michael Georg Link
Dear Chairman Smith, Esteemed Members of Congress, Commissioners,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure and an honour for me to speak in front of
you today. As you know, the Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its foundation
this year, and I can only thank you for your continuing interest and
support of our work in all these years. It was the United States
government who proposed to create specialised OSCE institutions to
assist participating States in the implementation of their human
dimension commitments a quarter of a century ago, and I am happy to
report that this commitment to our work has never faded. We truly
appreciate the fact that this Commission has always kept human rights
and the human dimension of security at the top of the OSCE's agenda.
In the 25th year of our existence, the scope of our work is as
broad and as deep as ever. Whether in the fields that we are probably
most known for, election observation or fighting anti-Semitism, or in
the areas of fighting discrimination against Christians or Muslims,
fostering integration of the Roma minority or combating trafficking of
human beings, our extremely dedicated and able team of experts is able
to offer a very broad set of activities in assisting our participating
States, despite ever dwindling resources.
Let me, however, start by expressing a serious concern of mine: I
am deeply troubled about the decreasing attention human rights are
receiving in the OSCE.
The OSCE is a major regional organization whose very
essence is to connect Human Rights to Security, but its commitments in
the field of human rights are less and less respected in numerous
participating States.
The OSCE is about connecting Human Rights to Security,
but it is no longer able in its Ministerial Meetings to agree in
consensus on new texts in its human dimension.
The OSCE is about connecting Human Rights to Security,
but its main institutions in the human dimension like ODIHR are not
funded properly in order fulfill their mandates.
That is why our work depends more and more on extrabudgetary
funding outside the official OSCE budget and I would like to ask you
for your support to continue ODIHR's work, driven by our common values.
This is, for example, the fight against anti-Semitism. As
Ambassador Power put it last year at the 2014 Berlin declaration
commemorative event: rising anti-Semitism ``is often the canary in the
coal mine for degradation of human rights more broadly.'' All OSCE
participating States agree on this principle: anti-Semitism is indeed a
worrying signal for human rights overall.
Anti-Semitism was first condemned in an OSCE document in 1990.
Other declarations have been adopted afterwards, including the 2004
Berlin declaration, reinforced 10 years later by the Basel Ministerial
Council decision. In this decision, participating States have expressed
their concerns about the rise in anti-Semitic incidents. They declared
unambiguously that international developments, including with regard to
the situation in the Middle East, never justify anti-Semitism. In
addition, they called for enhanced efforts in combating anti-Jewish
hatred, including through education and remembrance of the Holocaust,
and in monitoring, reporting and investigating of hate crimes.
ODIHR's activities today revolve around three pillars that are
constantly mentioned in our commitments: hate crimes, education, and
Holocaust remembrance.
First, hate crimes. Anti-Semitic hate crimes remain a challenge
throughout the region. A recent attack against a Jewish man in France
has opened a debate on the opportunity to wear religious symbols. In
the US, civil society organisations have reported an increased number
of registered anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses. ODIHR has a
strong mandate to collect and report on hate crime data and on capacity
building for law enforcement. Unfortunately, only 10 of the 57
participating States have submitted official information on anti-
Semitic hate crimes for the latest reporting cycle, whereas civil
society information covered 29 countries.
The second pillar of our work against anti-Semitism is related to
the development of educational materials which are shaped by the local
reality. Our teaching materials have been implemented in 12
participating States, with the potential for expansion to additional
countries. This teaching material is more than ever important today,
when expressions of anti-Semitism on the internet are various, and
often go hand in hand with declarations that aim at rewriting Second
World War history and its atrocities.
This leads me to the third pillar of our work in this field--
Holocaust remembrance. To date, 34 participating States commemorate the
Holocaust on 27 January, while many countries hold commemorations on
different days. In almost two thirds of OSCE participating States, at
various levels of education, children are taught about the tragedy of
the Holocaust.
Where education and remembrance do not suffice, we should
strengthen our efforts in ensuring the security of Jewish communities.
All these pillar will be combined in our newest project, called
``Turning words into action.'' This project is set out to help turn
these words into action by providing government officials,
parliamentarians and civil society with the knowledge and skills they
need to effectively address anti-Semitism. It will enable governments
to respond to the security needs of Jewish communities, counter anti-
Semitism through education and finally foster coalition building. The
project was made possible thanks to a generous contribution of the
German government--thus giving an excellent example of how countries
can support ODIHR's work through extra funding.
We would like to do more of this work, for instance in the field of
fighting discrimination of Christians--a topic of huge importance in
the OSCE states to which I am personally very committed. With more
funds, ODIHR would be able to do much more work in this field.
Let me give you an update on our activities in Ukraine, where we
are very active in different areas. The situation in the country is
still difficult, despite some progress made in the past two years. We
need to redouble our efforts to stabilize the country through reform.
We are supporting reform in Ukraine through strengthening
its civil society.
We are supporting reform in Ukraine through observing its
elections and giving recommendations on how to improve in this area.
We are supporting reform in Ukraine through giving legal
advice to the parliament on how best draft laws in accordance with
international human rights standards.
We are supporting reform in Ukraine in bringing religious
communities together, to become engines of national dialogue.
Let me stress on two points:
1. The human rights situation on Crimea is deeply worrying. Despite
not having been granted access, ODIHR was able to publish a
comprehensive report on the situation six months ago, a strong document
showing the difficult state of the rights of national minorities and
other citizens. We are ready to follow up on this report, but for this
we need access for ODIHR monitors.
2. We have to make all possible efforts to bring peace to this
country. I believe that the so called Minsk package, agreed upon last
year, is still the best way to achieve it. ODIHR stands ready to do its
part in observing possible local elections in the conflict areas of the
Donbas regions as part of a political settlement. But these elections
are contingent upon a sustainable ceasefire and the political will to
hold them. The equation is simple: Where there is war, there is no
voting. Elections are only possible where there is peace: ``Bullets
have to be replaced by ballots.'' We therefore fully share the view of
the German Chancellor, who reconfirmed last week after her meeting with
the Ukrainian President, that a ceasefire was the essential pre-
condition for the implementation of the Minsk package.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, let me thank you and this Commission,
as well as the United States of America, for their support to our
activities. I would be very happy to answer your questions now.
Thank you.
M A T E R I A L F O R
T H E R E C O R D
=======================================================================
Prepared Statement of Brian Ardouny
Chairman Smith, Co-Chairman Wicker, distinguished Commissioners,
the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomes today's important
hearing. We share the concerns of the Commission with respect to
threats to religious freedom and the rule of law as well as the specter
of anti-Semitism, whether in Europe or beyond.
The Assembly especially appreciates the Commission's ongoing
vigilance in shining a bright light on human rights violations in an
effort to bring about much needed change and to protect religious and
minority communities. In particular, we remain deeply concerned about
the safety and well-being of Christians and other minorities at risk in
the Middle East and elsewhere. As ISIS continues its brutal targeting
of innocent civilians, images of which evoke the horrors of the
Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and other crimes against humanity, it
reminds us all about the urgent challenges before us and the need to
redouble our efforts to prevent atrocities from occurring.
We also appreciate the work of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (ODIHR), as well as the OSCE Minsk Group which seeks
to find a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We
welcome the introduction of the Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015 by
Chairman Smith, which sends a strong message that the United States
takes the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms seriously.
As the Commission is aware, the Assembly remains deeply concerned
about the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan, its jailing of
journalists and abandonment of democratic values, and the impact it has
on the region, particularly for America's ally Armenia. Unfortunately,
these authoritarian trends have spilled over into the OSCE-mediated
Nagorno Karabakh peace process wherein the Azerbaijani government
continues to violate the 1994 cease-fire agreement at an alarming rate
and with more powerful weaponry.
According to reports filed with the United Nations (UN) and the
OSCE, there were over 11,500 cross-border violations committed by
Azerbaijan against Armenia from 2014 through 2015, constituting an
estimate of more than 200,000 shots fired. In Armenia's Tavush region,
a kindergarten has been the repeated target of sniper fire. This is an
outrageous violation. The targeting of innocent civilians and children
must end.
With respect to the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijan, there have been over 54,000 cease-fire violations committed
by Azerbaijan during the same period. These violations constitute an
estimated total of nearly 1 million shots fired.
Some of the weapons used by Azerbaijan in its attacks against
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh in 2014-2015 include: grenade launchers,
large caliber machine guns, large caliber sniper weapons, mortars, and
howitzers. Not surprisingly 2014 and 2015 have been marked by increased
civilian deaths and casualties. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in a
Joint Statement in December 2015 said ``there is no justification for
the death and injury of innocent civilians.'' ``We especially condemn
the use of mortars and other heavy weaponry,'' the joint statement
highlighted ``and regret deeply the civilian casualties these weapons
have caused.''
These violations constitute a clear disregard for the rule of law
and pose a direct threat to fundamental freedoms. Given these egregious
violations, the Assembly welcomed last year's initiative by House
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot
Engel to address the dramatic increase of deadly cease-fire violations.
In their letter to Ambassador James Warlick, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group, they called for three concrete steps to be taken. These
include: (1) an agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers along
the line of contact; (2) the placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced
gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the
source of attacks along the line of contact; and (3) the deployment of
additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor
cease-fire violations. The letter was signed by 85 Members of Congress.
We hope that these recommendations are implemented to help ensure
the safety and security of the people of Armenia and Karabakh. Further,
we strongly urge the Commission to support this important initiative by
convening a special hearing to examine the scope and nature of these
violations as well as review steps needed to bring about a peaceful
resolution of the conflict. The United States has a vested interest in
advancing peace and bringing stability to the region--and a key to
stability is respect and adherence to the fundamental tenets of the
rule of law and human rights.
Chairman Smith and Co-Chairman Wicker, we commend you for holding
this hearing and look forward to working with the Helsinki Commission
on these and other pressing issues as we pursue shared values in
promoting democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.
[all]
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