[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HELSINKI FINAL ACT 25TH ANNIVERSARY RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 2000

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a 
resolution commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Helsinki Final 
Act, an international accord whose signing represents a milestone in 
European history. As Chairman of the Commission on Security and 
Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, I have 
been privileged to be associated with the Helsinki process and its 
seminal role in advancing human rights, democracy and the rule of law 
in Europe. I am pleased to be joined by my fellow Helsinki 
Commissioners Representatives Hoyer, Wolf, Cardin, Salmon, Slaughter, 
Greenwood, Forbes and Pitts as original cosponsors. A companion 
resolution is being introduced today in the Senate by Helsinki 
Commission CoChair Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
  The Helsinki Final Act and the process it spawned has been 
instrumental in consigning the Communist Soviet Empire--responsible for 
untold violations of human rights--into the dustbin of history. With 
its language on human rights, the Helsinki Final Act, for the first 
time in the history of international agreements, granted human rights 
the status of a fundamental principle in regulating international 
relations. The Final Act's emphasis on respect for human rights and 
fundamental freedoms is rooted in the recognition that the declaration 
of such rights affirm the inherent dignity of men and women and are not 
privileges bestowed at the whim of the state.
  Equally important, Mr. Speaker, the standards of Helsinki which 
served as a valuable lever in pressing human rights issues also 
provided encouragement and sustenance to courageous individuals who 
dared to challenge repressive communist regimes. Many of these brave 
men and women--members of the Helsinki Monitoring Groups in Russia, 
Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia, Armenia, and similar groups in Poland and 
Czechoslovakia, Soviet Jewish emigration activists, members of 
repressed Christian denominations and others--paid a high price in the 
loss of personal freedom and, in some instances, their lives, for their 
active support of principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act.
  Western pressure through the Helsinki process--now advanced in the 
forum of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe--
greatly contributed to the freeing of the peoples of the Captive 
Nations, thus bringing an end to the Cold War. The Helsinki Commission, 
on which I have served since 1983, played a significant role in 
promoting human rights and human contacts. The congressional 
initiatives such as hearings, resolutions, letters and face-to-face 
meetings with representatives of Helsinki signatories which violated 
human rights commitments, encouraged our own government to raise these 
issues consistently and persistently. The Commission's approach at 
various Helsinki meetings has always been to encourage a thorough and 
detailed review of compliance with Helsinki agreements. Specific cases 
and issues are cited, rather than engaging in broad, philosophical 
discussions about human rights. With the passage of time--and with the 
leadership of the United States--this more direct approach in pressing 
human rights concerns has become the norm. In fact, by 1991 the 
Helsinki signatory states accepted that human dimension commitments 
``are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating 
States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the 
state concerned.''
  With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the OSCE 
region has changed dramatically. In many States, we have witnessed 
dramatic transformation and a consolidation of the core OSCE values of 
democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In others, there has been 
little if any progress, and in some, armed conflicts have resulted in 
hundreds of thousands having been killed and in the grotesque violation 
of human rights. The OSCE, which now includes 54 participating States, 
has changed to reflect the changed international environment, 
undertaking a variety of initiatives designed to prevent, manage, and 
resolve conflict and emphasizing respect for rule of law and the fight 
against organized crime and corruption, which constitute a threat to 
economic reform and prosperity. The Helsinki process is still dynamic 
and active, and the importance of a vigorous review in which countries 
are called to account for violations of their freely undertaken 
Helsinki commitments has not diminished.
  This resolution calls on the President to issue a proclamation 
reaffirming the United States' commitment to full implementation of the 
Helsinki Final Act. All signatory states would be asked to clarify that 
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democratic 
principles as well as economic liberty, and the implementation of 
related commitments continue to be vital elements in promoting a new 
era of democracy, peace and unity in the OSCE region. In the twenty-
five years since this historic process was initiated in Helsinki, there 
have been many successes. Mr. Speaker, the task is still far from 
complete, and we must continue to do our part in championing the values 
that Helsinki espouses.

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