[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

=======================================================================

                                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
                       
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                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
48-883                        WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                       
                      
            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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