[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 116 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9653-S9655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF THE ONGOING WORK OF THE
ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of
S. Con. Res. 110, and the Senate proceed to its immediate
consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the concurrent resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 110) expressing the
sense of Congress in support of the ongoing work of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in
combating anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, discrimination,
intolerance, and related violence.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
concurrent resolution.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam President, I applaud the leadership for taking up
S. Con. Res. 110, a resolution expressing the sense of Congress in
support of the ongoing work of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, in combating anti-Semitism, racism,
xenophobia, discrimination, intolerance, and related violence.
The Helsinki Commission, which I co-chair, has been on the forefront
of efforts to combat anti-Semitism throughout the 55 participating
States that comprise the OSCE. Commission initiatives have been aimed
at urging all OSCE countries to take real action, to ensure that the
issue of anti-Semitism is not swept under the rug or disguised in
misleading euphemisms like ``hooliganism.'' The latent, yet persistent,
problem of anti-Semitism is one that cannot be ignored, but rather must
be met head on, with the full force and weight of elected leaders and
Government officials publicly denouncing acts of anti-Semitism and
related violence.
For this reason, I am pleased the U.S. Senate today will be on record
in our fight against anti-Semitism and speak to this pernicious
problem. I want to highlight one portion of the resolution that calls
for the Bulgarian Chairman-in-Office and the incoming Slovenian CiO to
``consider appointing'' an individual to the post of a ``personal
envoy.'' This high profile position would help ensure ``sustained
attention with respect to fulfilling OSCE commitments on the reporting
of anti-Semitic crimes.'' The need for this position was made clear in
a recent report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights.
At the end of June the OSCE'S Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Right's ODIHR reported that only 20 of 55 participating States
had responded to the four requests for submissions issued by ODIHR
between January 28 and May 28. Canada and Slovakia have since made
submissions. Each participating State has been asked to forward to
ODIHR information concerning legislation and statistics about anti-
Semitic crimes and hate crimes, as agreed to under the Maastricht
Ministerial Council Decision and the Permanent Council Decision
highlighted in the Berlin Declaration.
Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the responses
from participating States, dated June 21, 2004 be printed in the Record
following this statement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. CAMPBELL. As actions speak louder than words, the poor compliance
indicates a lack the political will by some to make fighting anti-
Semitism and intolerance a high priority. Therefore, a personal envoy
could work to encourage participating States to honor their commitments
and to forward the information to ODIHR for compilation, raising these
concerns at the highest level. I consequently urge Bulgaria and
Slovenia, along with all other participating States, will support
efforts to create a personal envoy of the OSCE Chairman in Office on
anti-Semitism. I note that the current OSCE Chair, Foreign Minister
Solomon Passy is in Washington this week for consultations and I urge
him to appoint such a representative before the end of Bulgaria's
chairmanship.
As Secretary of State Powell stated at the Berlin Conference, ``We
must send the clear message far and wide that anti-Semitism is always
wrong and it is always dangerous. We must send the clear message that
anti-Semitic hate crimes are exactly that: crimes, and that these
crimes will be aggressively prosecuted.'' Senate passage of S. Con.
Res. 110 will bolster the ongoing work of the OSCE in confronting and
combating anti-Semitism.
Exhibit 1
PARTICIPATING STATE RESPONSES TO NOTE VERBALE
[As of 21st June 2004]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nomination of
authority
National responsible for
Participating State Responded to NV Statistics Legislation initiatives collection and
provision of
info
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albania....................................................... Yes X Yes X X
Andorra....................................................... X X X X X
Armenia....................................................... X X X X X
Austria....................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Azerbaijan.................................................... X X X X X
Belarus....................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Belgium....................................................... X X X X X
Bosnia and Herzegovina........................................ X X X X X
Bulgaria...................................................... Yes X Yes Yes X
Canada........................................................ X X X X X
Croatia....................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Cyprus........................................................ X X X X X
[[Page S9654]]
Czech Republic................................................ X X X X X
Denmark....................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Estonia....................................................... X X X X X
Finland....................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
France........................................................ X X X X X
Georgia....................................................... X X X X X
Germany....................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Greece........................................................ X X X X X
Holy See...................................................... Yes X X Yes Yes
Hungary....................................................... X X X X X
Iceland....................................................... X X X X X
Ireland....................................................... X X X X X
Italy......................................................... X X X X X
Kazakhstan.................................................... X X X X X
Kyrgyzstan.................................................... X X X X X
Latvia........................................................ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Liechtenstein................................................. Yes X Yes Yes X
Lithuania..................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Luxembourg.................................................... Yes X Yes Yes X
Malta......................................................... Yes X Yes X X
Moldova....................................................... Yes Yes Yes X X
Monaco........................................................ X X X X X
Netherlands................................................... X X X X X
Norway........................................................ X X X X X
Poland........................................................ Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Portugal...................................................... X X X X X
Romania....................................................... Yes X Yes Yes X
Russian Federation............................................ X X X X X
San Marino.................................................... X X X X X
Serbia and Montenegro......................................... X X X X X
Slovak Republic............................................... X X X X X
Slovenia...................................................... X X X X X
Spain......................................................... X X X X X
Sweden........................................................ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Switzerland................................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tajikistan.................................................... X X X X X
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia......................... X X X X X
Turkey........................................................ X X X X X
Turkmenistan.................................................. X X X X X
Ukraine....................................................... X X X X X
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.......... X X X X X
United States of America...................................... Yes Yes Yes Yes X
Uzbekistan.................................................... X X X X X
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
amendments at the desk be agreed to, the concurrent resolution, as
amended, be agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the
motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements
relating to the concurrent resolution be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendments (Nos. 3677 and 3678) were agreed to, as follows:
amendment no. 3677
(Purpose: to propose a substitute to the resolution)
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States Government and Congress should
unequivocally condemn acts of anti-Semitism and intolerance
whenever and wherever they occur;
(2) officials and elected leaders of all Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) participating
states, including all OSCE Mediterranean Partner for
Cooperation countries, should also unequivocally condemn acts
of anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination
whenever and wherever they occur;
(3) the participating states of the OSCE should be
commended for supporting the Berlin Declaration and for
working to bring increased attention to incidents of anti-
Semitism and intolerance in the OSCE region;
(4) the United States Government, including Members of
Congress, recognizing that the fundamental job of combating
anti-Semitism and intolerance falls to governments, should
work with other OSCE participating states and their
parliaments to encourage the full compliance with OSCE
commitments and, if necessary, urge the creation of legal
mechanisms to combat and track acts of anti-Semitism and
intolerance;
(5) all participating states, including the United States,
should forward their respective laws and data on incidents of
anti-Semitism and other hate crimes to the OSCE Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for
compilation and provide adequate resources for the completion
of its duties;
(6) the United States should encourage the Bulgarian
Chairman-in-Office, in consultation with the incoming
Slovenian Chairman-in-Office, to consider appointing a high
level ``personal envoy'' to ensure sustained attention with
respect to fulfilling OSCE commitments on the reporting of
anti-Semitic crimes;
(7) the United States should urge OSCE participating states
to support the January 2000 Declaration of the Stockholm
International Forum on the Holocaust, and the work of the
Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust
Education, Remembrance and Research, in developing effective
methodologies to teach the lessons of the Holocaust; and
(8) all OSCE participating states should renew and
revitalize efforts to implement their existing commitments to
fight anti-Semitism and intolerance, and keep sharp focus on
these issues as part of the usual work of the OSCE Permanent
Council, the Human Dimension Implementation Review Meeting,
the Ministerial Council and summits.
amendment no. 3678
(Purpose: To propose a substitute to the preamble)
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas anti-Semitism is a unique evil and an affront to
human rights that must be unequivocally condemned, and a
phenomenon that, when left unchecked, has led to violence
against members of the Jewish community and Jewish
institutions;
Whereas racism, xenophobia, and discrimination are also
pernicious ills that erode the dignity of the individual and
undermine the achievement and preservation of stable
democratic societies;
Whereas to be effective in combating these phenomena,
governments must respond to related violence while seeking to
address the underlying sources of anti-Semitism, racism,
xenophobia, discrimination, intolerance, and related violence
through public denouncements by elected leaders, vigorous law
enforcement, and education;
Whereas all Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) participating states must confront acts of
anti-Semitism and intolerance, and must deal effectively with
acts of violence against Jews and Jewish cultural sites, as
well as against ethnic and religious minority groups, in
keeping with their OSCE commitments;
Whereas education is critical in overcoming intolerance and
it is essential that those responsible for formulating
education policy recognize the importance of teaching about
the Holocaust and intolerance as a tool to fight anti-
Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination among young
people;
Whereas ensuring proper training of law enforcement
officers and military forces is vital in keeping alive the
memory of the
[[Page S9655]]
Holocaust and to the importance of understanding and
responding to incidents of anti-Semitism and intolerance;
Whereas OSCE participating states have repeatedly committed
to condemn anti-Semitism and intolerance, foremost in the
historic 1990 Copenhagen Concluding Document that, for the
first time, declared ``participating [s]tates clearly and
unequivocally condemn totalitarianism, racial and ethnic
hatred, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and discrimination against
anyone,'' and stated their intent to ``take effective
measures . . . to provide protection against any acts that
constitute incitement to violence against persons or groups
based on national, racial, ethnic or religious
discrimination, hostility or hatred, including anti-
Semitism'';
Whereas the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has demonstrated
leadership by unanimously passing resolutions at its annual
sessions in 2002 and 2003 that condemn anti-Semitism, racial
and ethnic hatred, xenophobia, and discrimination and call
upon participating states to speak out against these acts and
to ensure aggressive law enforcement by local and national
authorities;
Whereas the 2002 Porto OSCE Ministerial Council Decision
committed participating states to ``take strong public
positions against hate speech and other manifestations of
aggressive nationalism, racism, chauvinism, xenophobia, anti-
Semitism and violent extremism,'' specifically condemned the
``recent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the OSCE area,
recognizing the role that the existence of anti-Semitism has
played throughout history as a major threat to freedom,'' and
urged for the ``convening of separately designated human
dimension events on issues addressed in this decision,
including on the topics of anti-Semitism, discrimination and
racism and xenophobia'';
Whereas the 2003 OSCE Vienna conferences on anti-Semitism
and racism, xenophobia, and discrimination were
groundbreaking, as the OSCE and its participating states met
to discuss ways to combat these destructive forces;
Whereas the 2003 Maastricht Ministerial Council approved
follow-up OSCE conferences on anti-Semitism and on racism,
xenophobia and discrimination, and encouraged ``all
participating [s]tates to collect and keep records on
reliable information and statistics on hate crimes, including
on forms of violent manifestations of racism, xenophobia,
discrimination, and anti-Semitism,'' as well as to inform the
OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR) ``about existing legislation regarding crimes fueled
by intolerance and discrimination'';
Whereas at the 2004 OSCE Conference on Anti-Semitism,
hosted in the German capital, the Bulgarian Chairman-in-
Office issued the ``Berlin Declaration'' which stated
unambiguously that ``international developments or political
issues, including those in Israel or elsewhere in the Middle
East, never justify anti-Semitism'';
Whereas the Berlin Declaration advances the process of
monitoring of anti-Semitic crimes and hate crimes, as all
OSCE participating states committed to ``collect and
maintain'' statistics about these incidents and to forward
that information to the ODIHR for compilation;
Whereas during the closing conference plenary, the German
Foreign Minister and others highlighted the need to ensure
all participating states follow through with their
commitments and initiate efforts to track anti-Semitic crimes
and hate crimes; and
Whereas the Government of Spain announced its willingness
to organize and hold the next OSCE Conference on Anti-
Semitism in Cordoba, Spain, in the event the OSCE Ministerial
Council decides to hold another conference on anti-Semitism
The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 110), as amended, was agreed
to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
(The concurrent resolution will be printed in a future edition of the
Record.)
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