[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
POLAND'S LEADERSHIP OF THE OSCE IN A TIME
OF CRISIS
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 3, 2022
__________
Printed for the use of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe
[CSCE117-9]
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via www.csce.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
48-883 WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION
U.S SENATE U.S. HOUSE
BEN CARDIN, Maryland Chairman STEVE COHEN, Tennessee Co-Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi JOE WILSON, South Carolina Ranking
Ranking Member Member
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas EMANUEL CLEAVER II, Missouri
TIM SCOTT, South Carolina BRIAN FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire RUBEN GALLEGO, Arizona
TINA SMITH, Minnesota RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina
THOM TILLIS, North Carolina GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island MARC VEASEY, Texas
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Department of State - to be appointed
Department of Defense - to be appointed
Department of Commerce - to be appointed
C O N T E N T S
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Page
COMMISSIONERS
Hon. Ben Cardin, Chairman, U.S. Senator from Maryland............ 1
Hon. Steve Cohen, Co-Chairman, U.S. Senator from Tenessee........ 10
WITNESSES
Zbigniew Rau, Polish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-
Office......................................................... 4
POLAND'S LEADERSHIP OF THE OSCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS
----------
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN
EUROPE,
U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Thursday, February 3, 2022.
The hearing was held from 10:05 a.m. to 11:03 a.m., room
419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC, Senator
Ben Cardin [D-MD], Chairman, Commission for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, presiding.
Committee Members Present: Senator Ben Cardin [D-MD],
Chairman; Representative Steve Cohen [D-TN], Co-Chairman;
Senator Roger Wicker [R-MS], Ranking Member; Representative
Ruben Gallego [D-AZ]; Representative Marc Veasey [D-TX].
Witness: Zbigniew Rau, Polish Foreign Minister and OSCE
Chairperson-in-Office.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BEN CARDIN, U.S. SENATE, FROM
MARYLAND
Chairman Cardin: The Commission will come to order.
Mr. Rau, it is a pleasure to have you here and we thank you
very much for your willingness to serve the OSCE as the chair-
in-office. As we were talking privately, it is a real challenge
with all the participating states and the consensus
requirements. It requires a real diplomat, and we know with
your experience, serving in the parliament in Poland both in
the senate and the house, that you bring incredible experience
to this position, and we appreciate your commitment to not only
the human rights agenda in the OSCE but also in Poland itself,
so it is a pleasure to have you before our committee.
This is a traditional hearing that we have had with the
chair-in-office. It underscores the importance that the U.S.
Congress and the members of our commission pay toward our
participation in the OSCE. We are extremely engaged both in
Vienna with our--with Ambassador Carpenter and our mission
there, as well as active in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
where several of our members are in key leadership positions
within the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
I know that Congressman Cohen will be leading a
congressional delegation to Vienna in 2 weeks for the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly winter meeting. I know that Senator
Wicker will participate in that as well. We have a robust
participation in the OSCE and we look forward to this
opportunity to review with you your priorities and to share
with you some of our thoughts about the key issues that need to
be confronted within the OSCE.
This year, the OSCE is facing one of the most serious
crisis in decades. Russian troops are amassed on the border
with Ukraine. I am going to just point out there is an all
Senate briefing on Ukraine--classified briefing--that occurs at
11. That is going to have some conflicts with this hearing. We
recognize that, but as I told the minister, the minister's
presence before us is our top priority today and we very much
appreciate that, so we will take the time that is necessary.
The Kremlin threatens menace not only to Ukraine and the
wider region, including Poland, but also the long-cherished
dream of Europe--whole, free, and at peace. President George
H.W. Bush first raised that concept in a speech in Germany in
1989 and said that the foundation of lasting security comes not
from tanks, troops, or barbed wire; it is built on shared
values and agreements that link free people. These are the same
values that the OSCE has built since the Helsinki Final Act in
1975.
The United States stands ready to find areas of common
purpose and cooperation with Russia if it is willing and
sincere. The sovereignty of Ukraine and the freedom of Europe
is not something we can bargain away at a point of a gun. I
welcome that Poland is offering Ukraine military support,
including defensive arms. It is now up to Russia to consider
its place in Europe, in the world, and in the OSCE.
The Kremlin must choose to make war on Europe and risk
scathing international isolation, crushing economic penalties,
and invite the full defensive power of the Euro-Atlantic to
Eastern Europe, or Moscow can recommit itself to diplomacy and
its obligations under the Helsinki Final Act and we can forge a
new future based on mutual respect, cooperation, human rights,
and democracy.
Yesterday, as I explained to the minister, the Commission
held a hearing to discuss the threat with a panel of experts.
That discussion, I thought, was extremely helpful, and it was a
very lively discussion that took place before the Commission.
Of course, your chairmanship at the OSCE will also have to
address other concerns as well. Kazakhstan has recently seen
surprising unrest, and for the first time ever, intervention by
the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. Last
year's war between Azerbaijan and Armenia has left an enlarged
Russian military presence in the South Caucasus along with its
continuing military occupation of major portions of Georgia.
All participating states continue to mitigate the impact of
COVID-19 pandemic and the way that it has been used in some
countries to rationalize restrictions on critical voices,
journalists, political demonstrations, and civil societies.
In addition to serving as the chair of the Helsinki
Commission, I also served as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's
Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and
Intolerance. In this role, I have focused on the growing
manifestations of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Muslim bigotry in the
region, including in the United States, as well as
discriminatory policing, racism, and xenophobia, including
toward migrants and refugee populations.
These problems have been made worse by the pandemic and
reflect the need for the OSCE states to strengthen the
implementation of our human rights commitments.
At this hearing--as this hearing is taking place following
recent commemorations of January 27, the International Day of
Holocaust Remembrance, I would be remiss if I did not raise the
recent attack of the Jewish synagogue Congregation Beth Israel
in Texas. This is yet another example of the threat many Jewish
synagogues, schools, and cemeteries have been under, forcing
the need for increased security for Jewish institutions. We
must act, and I urge the OSCE to make this an even greater
priority.
In July, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's annual meeting
adopted a resolution I drafted entitled ``Addressing the Rise
in Hate, Intolerance, Violence, and Discrimination Across the
OSCE Region.'' This resolution calls for an OSCE strategy to
strengthen the implementation of existing commitments,
especially those concerning Anti-Semitism and discriminatory
policing. I hope you will make this a priority during your
chairmanship.
I also urge that you prioritize the holding of the Human
Dimensions Implementation Meeting in Warsaw this year. Russia
must not be allowed to again block this essential meeting,
which not only revised--reviews the human rights records of all
OSCE states but also provides a unique forum for civil society
to bring their concerns directly to the governments' concern.
I am encouraged that your chairmanship has already released
draft decisions on the arrangement for the meeting. I would
also like to stress the importance of fighting corruption. I
hope that the OSCE can step up its efforts in this regard.
President Biden, rightly, has declared the countering
corruption as a core U.S. national security interest, and there
is no doubt in my mind that corruption poses a threat to
democracy.
As you can see, that is just scratching the surface at the
agenda, and we know that you have extremely challenging agenda
items to cover during your year as chair-in-office. We are
joined by Congressman Cohen, who is the House chair of the U.S.
Helsinki Commission. We also have Representative Gallego, who
is with us today, who is a member of our commission, and others
will be attending in person and virtually.
If the Co-chair is prepared, or we can go right to the
minister, whatever--all right.
I have already, I think, pointed out that Minister Rau has
a distinguished record of government service, having served in
both the upper and lower houses of Poland's parliament and as a
Governor. He is also an active member of Poland's first
independent trade union, Solidarity. The Solidarity movement
challenged Soviet authorities 40 years ago and is credited with
contributing to the eventual collapse of the ruling Communist
Party in Poland and across the Soviet bloc.
We are really honored to have you before the Committee and
you may proceed as you wish. Your written statement will be
made part of our record, but you may proceed as you would like.
TESTIMONY OF ZBIGNIEW RAU, POLISH FOREIGN MINISTER AND OSCE
CHAIRPERSON-IN-OFFICE
Mr. Rau: Thank you very much. Thank you.
Honorable Chairman Cardin, Honorable Co-Chairman Cohen,
distinguished members of the Helsinki Commission, thank you for
the opportunity to speak to you today in my capacity as the
OSCE chairman-in-office. We highly value and greatly appreciate
your leadership and commitment in advancing the principles of
the organization.
I am, particularly, looking forward to working closely with
you on fulfilling the OSCE mandate and its important mission.
Allow me to open with a personal remark. When the SCCE final
document was signed in Helsinki back in 1975, I was a law
student at the University of Lodz. Poland was a country
subjugated to the Soviet Union. The Iron Curtain seemed to
divide the continent permanently.
However, the final document signed in Helsinki inspired
people throughout the communist bloc. Despite repressions, they
were not afraid to follow the idea of freedom and to defend
human and civil rights. There were not many of them and they
risked a lot.
In my home country, Poland, the Workers' Defence Committee
was established as well as the Movement for Defence of Human
and Civic Rights. It openly said as its objective the
pressuring the authorities of a communist Poland to comply with
the provisions of the Conference for Security and Cooperation
in Europe.
In neighboring Czechoslovakia, the Charter 77 Movement was
founded and the Prague Appeal was published. Revision of Europe
as a common area of peace and freedom was developed. At that
time, these were dreams which required civil courage to follow
them. It is with the great things of this world that there are
always few to begin with and the task seems difficult.
When I was helping to establish the Solidarity movement in
the early 1980's, I had a conviction that the movement is only
a branch of a community of free people that saw no walls, no
curtains, and no borders. The same conviction was ventured by
10 million of Poles who joined Solidarno?
At the time, I could not have imagined that 40 years later,
already as foreign minister of a free Poland and the OSCE
chairman-in-office, I would be appearing in Washington, DC,
before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
I am now of a similar age of the first chairman of the
Commission, Dante Fascell, who assumed that position nearly 45
years ago. Chairman Fascell was a man of action. He and his
friend decided to join National Guard when Hitler and Stalin
invaded Poland in 1939, giving a start to World War II. He was
also a man of principles, a sincere anti-communist, but at the
same time a politician aware that military force alone cannot
solve the problems of this world.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Commission, I am
honored to visit you here but I do not bring you good news. The
drums of war are heard again in Europe. My intention for
today's meeting was to present Poland's priorities for its
chairmanship, which cover all aspects of the OSCE agenda.
However, I must start with the developments concerning the
growing threat to Ukraine, which are deeply alarming. We are in
a critical moment for European and global security, and we
should talk about the role of the OSCE in addressing the
ongoing tensions.
As a matter of fact, the risk of a major war in Europe is
now greater than has been anytime in the last 30 years. This is
not just a rhetorical figure. We need to be aware that any
escalation of a country in and around Ukraine would not only
bring human suffering but would also bring about profound
political, strategic, economic, and military consequences.
Once war is unleashed, nobody can foresee its outcome. The
situation can spiral out of control very quickly and push whole
Europe into a massive, multi-dimensional security crisis with
suffering of millions on the scales unseen in the--since World
War II, but the stakes could not be higher.
Europeans and our allies in North America are facing a
threat to the very principles of a security system which the
SCCE and OSCE has been designed to underpin and promote. The
European security architecture as we know it could quickly
descend into chaos. If this attempt succeeds, a threat of force
and the use of force can gradually become a new standard in
international politics.
In the past half century, the number of interState arms
conflicts dropped down significantly. If we allow the return of
the war of aggression into the foreign policy toolbox of
states, the interState conflict can become a norm again, and
the rules-based international order established with a great
deal of effort by the greatest personalities of humankind, from
Woodrow Wilson to Mikhail Gorbachev, from Mahatma Gandhi to
Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, from Andrei Sakharov to
Vaclav Havel, and my great compatriot, Pope John Paul II, will
be lost.
The order they helped to build can be destroyed and
replaced by another order based on one contradicting their
beliefs--that is, the principles of might makes right.
Violation of the rules enshrined in the U.N. Charter, the
Helsinki Final Act, Paris Charter for a New Europe, and other
fundamental documents would have detrimental impacts not only
in the Euro-Atlantic area but also globally.
I cannot say it strongly enough. The consequences of
erosion of peace in Europe would go beyond the old continent.
The desire to redraw maps and expanse by territorial grabs is
becoming widespread around the world. If we fail to defend
peace in Europe, the aggressors around the world would unite in
using force against less powerful neighbors or rivals, and the
conventional warfare could easily escalate to the nuclear
level.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Helsinki
Commission, the OSCE can and should step up to the challenge
and this commission's support is of the essence. Since the
middle 1970's, the SCCE and, later, the OSCE has become a
pillar of Euro-Atlantic security and stability. It brought
stability to millions of people living from Vancouver to
Vladivostok. It offered mechanisms of arms controls,
transparency, and predictability and helped ease tensions among
states.
It also linked the security of states to security and
rights of individuals. At least four generations, from our
parents to our grandchildren, have benefited from this
stability. It is our duty to protect it for future generations.
The United States and Helsinki Commission played a
fundamental role in transforming OSCE into a pillar of our
collective security. As members of this commission, you
understand that the security on both sides of the Atlantic is
closely interconnected and that the U.S. is an indispensable
part of European security order.
I greatly appreciate your support, which is a visible
manifestation of indivisibility of our security in the Euro-
Atlantic area. I am sure that, together, we can find a way out
of any crisis.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Helsinki
Commission, against this backdrop, Poland wants to act
diligently and innovatively in pursuit of its OSCE agenda.
Mindful of our common principles and the values, we want to use
existing instruments and also create frameworks that will allow
to ease tensions, improve the climate of cooperation, and the
return to Helsinki culture of resolving problems.
To this end, I have proposed an initiative to start a
dedicated informal process within the OSCE which aims to
reinvigorate the European Security Dialogue. We would focus on
strengthening a broad set of confidence-and security-building
measures to cover such areas like military transparency, risk
reduction, incident prevention, and nonmilitary aspects of
security.
As a part of the process, I am going to invite the
participating states to a dialog on the relationship between
the main principles related to the political and military
aspects of European security as developed within the OSCE and
on the application of its principles in the current situation.
There is a need to compare notes about understanding of the
concepts of comprehensive security, indivisibility of security,
and peaceful coexistence and favored relationship with other
OSCE principles such as the freedom of adherence to alliances.
I believe that this is an enormous opportunity for the OSCE to
show its relevance and effectiveness in the 21st century.
The modalities of this initiative is now being discussed in
Vienna, and I call on all participating states to engage in
this process in good faith. We greatly appreciate strong
support and commitment to this initiative from the U.S.
Government. At the same time, I hope this effort will be well
received by members of the U.S. Congress.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Commission, all
the ongoing conflicts in the OSCE area present serious
challenge--or, rather, challenges--to European security. Very
often they have resulted from flagrant violations of
international law and OSCE principles and commitments.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict remains the most blunt example
of violations of our commonly agreed principles and, therefore,
I will focus on this crisis. The situation in Eastern Ukraine
deserves our constant attention and care. Any sustainable
political solution must fully respect sovereignty, territorial
integrity, and independence of Ukraine.
We strongly support the political settlement process
undertaken in the Normandy format, and I am glad we have seen
some positive signals over the last few days. As the OSCE
chair, Poland will facilitate further talks between Ukraine and
Russia within the Trilateral Contact Group. The negotiations
cannot be reduced to mere politics alone. As I mentioned in
Vienna a few weeks ago, behind any protracted conflict there
are people that suffer the most.
Therefore, we will also spare no efforts that the prisoners
exchange based on the principles all for all finally takes
place, as provided in the Minsk Agreements, and the
humanitarian situation in the conflict areas is improved.
Of course, we are aware that the reality does not always
reflect our expectations and that the resolution of the
conflict will not come overnight. Therefore, it is of crucial
importance that the security situation in Donbas is conducive
for further dialog.
In this respect, Poland will continue efforts of the
previous OSCE's chairperson-in-office to facilitate
implementation and monitoring the cease-fire agreement in
Donbas, which requires that the OSCE's Special Monitoring
Mission to Ukraine is strengthened and its mandate
systematically extended. The most urgent challenge is to ensure
that SMM monitors have unrestricted and unconditional access
throughout Ukraine. We will spare no efforts to facilitate the
extension of the SMM mandate beyond March 31st.
We deeply regret the Russian decision not to support the
extension of the mandate of another OSCE observer mission at
the Russian checkpoints of Gukovo and Donetsk at the border
with Ukraine, which was an important confidence-building
measure. I am determined to work with all parties involved to
hammer out a working solution of the problem.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Commission, the
economic and environmental aspects will remain crucial for the
comprehensive concept of security in the OSCE area. The COVID-
19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on many aspects of our
economic and social life. It is, therefore, only natural for
our chairmanship to focus on sharing experience and best
practices in solving challenges related to the pandemic.
The same is true of the OSCE's possible role in advancing
climate and energy policies that are key to the security and
stability of the participating states. We can build on the
premise that we all are interested in a just, effective, and
sustainable energy transformation of our economies.
We will also focus on anti-corruption, promotion on--of
investment, business, good governance, promotion of trade and
transport, as well as human capital development. The first in-
depth discussion on these issues will take place soon in Vienna
and will be followed by events organized in Poland.
Combating corruption is among the long-term goals of the
OSCE. We fully support the activities of Ms. Anita Ramasastry,
special representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office on
combating corruption, and we look forward to cooperating with
her.
I highly appreciate the Helsinki Commission record in
adoption legislation introducing U.S. sanctions against
individuals violating human rights and corruption. All states
should follow this example and codify the rule that no one can
profit economically from actions which breach basic OSCE
commitments. This includes both companies and individuals. The
U.S. could lead the way in adopting such legislation.
I strongly encourage the Commission to extend this kind of
legislation on those who signed with aggressors and are making
money on aggression by taking positions in leadership or boards
of the companies controlled directly or indirectly by
perpetrators of war of aggression, entities, and individuals.
These sanctions should also affect people who engage in
transactions with state-controlled companies run by the
aggressor State.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, let me stress the human-centered
perspective that will apply in daily operation of our
chairmanship. I will continue advocating for promotion and
protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms. and
democratic institutions in the OSCE area. In fact, since the
very beginning of the democratic transition in Poland, my
country has always been active in this field offering our
support, assistance, and sharing experience with other
partners.
Only in the last year, Poland offered a safe harbor for
members of the Belarusian democratic opposition. We should not
forget about more than 1,000 political prisoners in Belarus.
This is, indeed, heartbreaking for all of us. Thousands of
families are affected. We should keep Belarus on the agenda.
As the host country of the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights, we will maintain close
cooperation with the OSCE autonomous institutions, firmly
supporting their independent mandates. We want to dedicate more
attention to the humanitarian aspects in the zones of conflict,
including, in particular, the situation of children and persons
with disabilities.
I would also like to stress the necessity of the protection
of women's rights in countries not only ravaged by war but also
in those societies in which oppression of women is still
commonplace and socially acceptable. Similarly, promotion of
freedom of religion or belief will remain pivotal importance
for the chair. We should not let violence, hatred, and
discrimination become a new normal in our societies.
Let me remind you that it was my country that put forward
the resolution establishing the international day commemorating
the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief
approved by the U.N. General Assembly in May 2019.
Let me also underline that Poland opposes any attempts to
weaken the role and impact of the OSCE Human Dimension. As the
OSCE chair, Poland will spare no efforts to facilitate and
support preparations for the Human Dimension Implementation
Meeting that should take place in Warsaw in September and the
beginning of October.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Commission,
taking over the important role of the OSCE chair, I do feel the
burden of responsibility. Being fully aware of the challenges
laying ahead of us, I also look to the opportunities that we
can collectively use to improve the security environment around
us, and I am confident that we will successfully manage through
the current problems together by showing our unity, cohesion,
and resolve.
I believe that the only way out of the current crisis is to
firmly stick to the fundamental principles of the peaceful
relations between states, as agreed in the U.N. Charter, the
Helsinki Final Act, the Paris Charter, and subsequent OSCE
documents. We must recommit to these principles which we all
have already endorsed and for long considered a guidance in our
approach to building security in Europe.
Europe dreams to be whole, free, and at peace. We cannot
allow to turn it instead into Europe divided, at despair, and
war. Thank you.
Chairman Cardin: Well, Mr. Minister, thank you for that
very comprehensive report outlining your priorities, which are
very much in tune to the priorities of the U.S. Helsinki
Commission. We intend to strongly support your leadership
within the OSCE on the agenda that you have laid out.
On a personal note, I appreciate you mentioning Dante
Fascell. I came to the Congress in 1987, and Chairman Fascell
was chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He had
turned over the leadership of the Helsinki Commission to my
good friend, Steny Hoyer, at that time, and I started my work
on the Helsinki Commission when it was the CSCE, not the OSCE.
Thank you for taking me back to some of those memories.
I also appreciate your emphasis on the current security
crisis, and you outlined how serious the current crisis is not
only related to the two countries directly involved but to the
region and even beyond the region. I strongly support a process
within the OSCE aimed at reinvigorating the European Security
Dialogue.
We hope that that will be the path that Russia will seek
rather than using force, contrary to the Helsinki commitments,
and your support for expanding and extending the mandate in
regards to the Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is one
that we also strongly support. We need to have the objective
OSCE monitors on the ground to know exactly what the
circumstances are. We very much support your efforts in that
regard.
I also just want to underscore how I appreciate your
emphasis on the anti-corruption agenda. We recognize that
corruption is the fuel for breaking down democratic
institutions. We have seen that playbook being used by Mr.
Putin and it is now being copied in other countries, including
within the OSCE region. No country is free from corruption. All
of us have responsibilities to root out corruption, and I
appreciate your commitment in that regard.
Thank you. It was either good staff work or whatever that
you mentioned our work here in regards to sanctions,
particularly, individual sanctions. We do believe that
individual sanctions can play a critical role in reversing the
type of human rights violations that we have seen.
We do believe that these individual sanctions need to be
applied in regards to fighting corruption as well as the
enablers, and I appreciate your reference to sanctions should
affect people who are engaged in transactions with state-
controlled companies run by aggressive states. We have
enablers, and the enablers also need to be part of that.
We were joined by Senator Wicker. Senator Wicker has been
my co-partner in regards to the individual sanction legislation
in the U.S. Senate. We are also joined by Congressman Veasey,
who is with us today via the internet.
One or two more points. Then I am going to turn it over to
Congressman Cohen for his comments and questions. Thank you for
mentioning Belarus because, unfortunately, with what is
happening right now in Ukraine, some are forgetting the--those
who have been victimized by the tragedies within Belarus, and
thank you for Poland's efforts in regards to those who have
fled the oppressive regime there.
Last, in regards to the Human Dimension Implementation
Meeting, I can assure you we will be there actively
participating in Warsaw for that meeting, as I mentioned to you
a little bit earlier.
With that, let me invite Congressman Cohen for his comments
and questions.
STATEMENT OF STEVE COHEN, CO-CHAIRMAN, U.S. HOUSE, FROM
TENNESSEE
Co-chair Cohen: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and, Mr. Minister,
thank you for coming to our hearing and to our country. I have
read your bio and I feel very comfortable with your position as
chairman at this very crucial time for the OSCE and for all of
the democratic states in Europe and North America.
Your opening remarks took me back a little bit further even
than the chairman's. When I was in high school Dante Fascell
was my congressperson, and it was the first congressional
campaign, I think, I participated in. It was in a very minor
way but I went and did some things. I was in law school about
the same time you were.
I never imagined I would be at the OSCE or even here in any
way whatsoever, but we have come a long way and now we are at a
spot where we have to do something of great importance and you
have a particularly important role because I do not think we
have faced a greater crisis than we do today.
What is going on is we had a hearing yesterday with Dr.
Fiona Taylor [sic; Hill], an expert on Russia and Putin,
Ambassador Taylor, and General Hodges, and they gave us their
thoughts. They all were kind of of the perspective that they
thought we would not have military conflict in Ukraine. I am
not as comfortable as they are. Mr. Putin is--he is on a
mission that does not stop in Ukraine. It does not stop in
Eastern Ukraine. It does not stop in Kyiv, and it goes to
Warsaw.
We have to be concerned greatly. Finland's at risk,
Estonia, all the Baltic region. He will not stop. I feel
comfortable. I think our conference in Vienna coming up in 3
weeks will be most important to discuss these issues, and I
look forward to supporting you in your efforts to have ODIHR
have a hearing in Warsaw this year, which the Russians blocked
last time, to look into issues.
The chairman is our particular emissary on issues
concerning anti-Semitism and that is an issue he and I share a
great concern about and I think the whole commission does, in
fact, but that is another issue that will come up--more anti-
Semitism acts in the United States than in almost any years
before--it is really scary-- and around the world as well.
Let me deviate from these focused remarks to a little bit
of an explanation or an apology, more an explanation. I was on
a television program about May of this past year, I believe it
was, and I was commenting on a congressperson's remarks about
concentration camps in Germany. I was probably going somewhere
I did not need to go but I wanted to clarify in my remarks that
the concentration camps were not just in Germany because
Auschwitz is not in Germany.
I just did not use the proper terminology to say German-
occupied Poland, and I said Poland because I went to Auschwitz.
It was in Poland. That is Poland, but at the time it was
German-occupied Poland, and I did not mean to in any way
whatsoever disparage the Polish people and in any way suggest
that they had anything to do with the construction of the
concentration camps or the process of genocide that the Germans
engaged in, and you suffer from it as well. I know that.
There was a lot of pushback. I got immediately on the
social media and other places. I did not think it was warranted
but, I guess, in some ways it might have been because of my
indelicate terms, and I should have said German-occupied
Poland. I express to you my thoughts.
I visited Poland on a couple of occasions. My grandmother
left Poland in 1914. She was able to leave before the Holocaust
and all. I have relatives from Poland and a fondness for the
Polish people. I look forward to working with you.
When Lukashenko sent the refugees to your border, do you
believe that was and have you found any reason to believe that
Russia was behind that, or was that all Lukashenko's idea, in
your opinion? You can go ahead and answer that and I will go to
some other questions. Or you can chastise me for not saying
German-occupied Poland. I will accept it. Congressman.
Mr. Rau: I wanted to address--Mr. Chairman, am I supposed
to answer right now or you are--okay.
Chairman Cardin: You have the floor.
Mr. Rau: Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much for raising
the issues that I managed to stress in my presentation. Thank
you for all your kind words and the promise to support the
agenda of the OSCE under my chairmanship.
As far as the questions--detailed questions put by the
Congressman, well, let me begin with the developments in around
Ukraine. Well, there are many good reasons to believe that the
dynamics of this conflict is going to look exactly the way you
described it, Congressman, because there is a lot of military
but, I believe above all, historical arguments to pursue this
line of thought.
We have to remember that the task of the OSCE is to
implement the principles of international law, including the
principles of the OSCE, which State that all members of the
international community, especially with states, are free and
equal, and if we assume that, it rules out by definition not
only any concept of the spheres of influence or the
regionalization of security but also it rules out any
activities that are aimed at establishing this kind of
international order, and I am convinced that, despite these
dynamics, that can be justly defended in intellectual terms.
There is reasonable conviction and a true one that if we join
forces, if we stick to the principles of the OSCE, there is
still a chance to stop these detrimental developments.
Why do I believe that? Because there is no reasonable
alternative to the world that the generations of Europeans have
been dreaming of and this is, quite frankly--and I am saying
this with great conviction--what we have in Europe, what we
have had in Europe in the last 30 years, it is the best time of
a continent ever, and this is imperative on us, despite the
political tradition we are coming from to--and despite all the
constellation --of political constellations, including these
constellations of force and power, it is still, I believe, it
is imperative on us to preserve the Europe as it is today.
As far as Belarus is concerned, well, it is deplorable to
use human beings as a weapon in a political game. It is exactly
what we are seeing at the Polish-Belarusian border. I do not
want to speculate whether this has been arranged by the
Belarusian authorities on their own or somebody has helped them
to orchestrate this international endeavor, so to speak.
Nevertheless, the moral evaluation of its deeds are such
that they have nothing to do with the values that we are
determined to defend. As far as the refugees are concerned, let
me just--let me, Congressman, stay for a while with the Polish
experience. For the time being, we are hosting about 200,000
Belarusians in Poland these days. We issued 15,000 humanitarian
visas. On top of that, we are hosting a million and a half of
our Ukrainian neighbors, and we, in Poland, used to host about
three decades ago thousands and thousands of refugees from
Chechnya. This indicates that our approach to the refugees
issue has not only political but, above all, a human and moral
dimension.
We, Poles, used to ask for shelter and the international
protections in other countries, especially people of my
generation who belong to the Solidarity generation and it was
offered to us, and we do believe that it is our natural duty--
not even thought a moral duty; simply, human natural duty--to
offer a similar shelter to those who are in need but who are
really, really in need and they are not being instrumentalized.
The last thing, Congressman, you were kind enough to raise
was the Holocaust remembrance, and unfortunately, the fact that
intentionally or unintentionally so many media and authorities
are trying to use this, the memories of the Holocaust, for
their own reasons. Thank you for indicating that, indeed,
Auschwitz and other concentration camps launched and that
organized by the Germans during World War II were created--
indeed, were created in occupied Poland. They were and they
should stay in our memory only as German concentration camps,
regardless where they were established.
I suppose this is this kind of intellectual honesty that we
owe, above all, to the victims of Holocaust. Thank you.
Co-chairman Cohen: Thank you, sir. I maybe should not have
asked you if you thought that Russia was behind the border
crisis. But you showed--by doing it you showed me why you were
the foreign minister. Your answer was perfect, and you are
right that we--even though my feelings are less optimistic than
the panelists we had yesterday concerning the Russian action in
Ukraine, Elie Wiesel, a great survivor of the Holocaust and
human rights advocate, told President Reagan he should not go
to Bitburg Cemetery because there were SS soldiers there.
He said at the time that there was all kind of problems in
the world. There were apartheid in South Africa and there were
issues between the people in India and Pakistan and within
India as well, and other places in the world. He said,
everywhere I look there is problems. You cannot--you have to
have hope. You always have to, because if you do not have hope
the only answer is despair, and despair is never the answer.
We are fortunate to have you as the chairman and I look
forward to working with you, and I thank you, sir. Yield back.
Mr.Rau: Thank you.
Chairman Cardin: Mr. Minister, we stuck to our commitment
and tried to conduct this within an hour. Again, we thank you
for your comprehensive report. We want to work closely with
you. As I have mentioned earlier, we are active not only in the
OSCE through our mission in Vienna but through the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly.
The United States is somewhat unique because of the
Helsinki Commission but also because of the separation of
branches. The--we work very closely together with the executive
branch and the legislative branch on OSCE matters, and we hope
that you will utilize our participation and the participation
of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in carrying out your
mission.
The good thing about the Parliamentary Assembly, we do not
have to always act by consensus so we can get things done a
little bit easier than the U.K. and in Vienna. I know at times
you are envious about that. Let us make sure we work together.
The circumstances are rather dire, and the OSCE has a proud
tradition of being a very effective forum to resolve these not
only regional issues, they are really global issues.
Again, thank you for your commitment and your time and your
willingness to take on this responsibility. the Commission will
stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:03 a.m., the hearing ended.]
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