[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5365-S5367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. 
        Dodd, Mr. Feingold, and Mrs. Clinton):
  S.J. Res. 19. A joint resolution calling upon the President to issue 
a proclamation recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Helsinki Final 
Act; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, as Chairman of the Commission on 
Security and Cooperation in Europe I am pleased to submit a bipartisan 
resolution in support of the vital work of the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in conjunction with the 30th 
anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act on August 1. I am 
pleased that Senate Commissioners Smith of Oregon, Chambliss, Dodd, 
Feingold, and Clinton are included as original cosponsors of this 
resolution.
  For three decades the OSCE has provided an important framework for 
advancing democracy, human rights and the rule of law in an expansive 
region encompassing the U.S. and Canada, Europe and the countries of 
Central Asia. Over the years, the OSCE participating States have 
hammered out an extensive body of commitments agreed on the basis of 
consensus. Our Commission was established by Congress to monitor and 
encourage the OSCE participating States--now numbering 55--to implement 
the commitments they have accepted. The Commission's mission can be 
distilled to a single word, accountability. As President Ford remarked 
when signing the Final Act on behalf of the United States, ``History 
will judge this Conference . . . not only by the promises we make, but 
by the promises we keep.''
  The Final Act inspired courageous individuals in the Soviet Union and 
Eastern Europe to form monitoring groups to assess how their respective 
governments lived up to the commitments they had endorsed on paper. For 
their temerity in seeking accountability most activists were 
imprisoned, banished or exiled. Many endured years of suffering in the 
gulag. Some paid the price with their very lives. Ultimately, their 
sacrifice and the work of countless others began to bear fruit, 
ushering in the dramatic changes of the late 1980's and early 90's.
  A catalyst for change, the Helsinki Final Act and the process it 
began provided an important backdrop against which President Ronald 
Reagan, standing in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, could boldly 
declare, ``Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.'' Bold leadership led to 
concrete results with the resolution of hundreds of cases of political 
prisoners and prisoners of conscience as well as the reunification of 
tens of thousands of families. Progress in implementing existing 
commitments paved the way for the participating States to address the 
need for systemic change to ensure sustained respect for human rights. 
In 1990, as the Iron Curtain began to fall, the leaders of the then--35 
participating States declared, ``We undertake to build, consolidate and 
strengthen democracy as the only system of government of our nations.'' 
The following year they categorically and irrevocably declared that 
human rights 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.'' In a step designed to 
preserve the unity of the Helsinki process, each country that joined 
the OSCE after 1975 submitted a letter in which the accepted in their 
entirety all commitments and responsibilities contained in the Helsinki 
Final Act, and all subsequent documents adopted prior to their 
membership. To underscore this continuity, the leaders of each of these 
countries signed the actual original 1975 Final Act document.
  With the break up of the Soviet Union, many observers believed--or 
hoped--that the fall of communism would usher in a new era and the 
relatively speedy emergence of states that treat their citizens and 
neighbors with respect. Regrettably, the gap between commitment and the 
situation on the ground in a number of OSCE participating States 
remains wide, and in at least a couple of countries is growing 
alarmingly wider.
  Elsewhere, the OSCE has played an important role in the aftermath of 
conflicts that ravaged much of the Balkans region. The atrocities 
committed during these conflicts, in particular during the Bosnian 
conflict from 1992 to 1995, represent the most egregious violations of 
Helsinki principles in Europe since the Final Act was signed, indeed 
since World War II. By placing field missions throughout that region, 
the OSCE has helped heal the wounds, in particular by facilitating the 
return

[[Page S5367]]

of those displaced from their homes, by improving conditions for 
elections, by training local police and by monitoring borders used by 
criminal gangs who profit from the chaos of conflict. There have been 
improvements in recent years, but there is still plenty of work to do 
to build the democratic institutions and respect for the rule of law.
  Freedom is on the march in places some had written off as unsuited 
for democracy. Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution, Ukraine's Orange 
Revolution, Georgia's Rose Revolution, and Serbia's Democratic 
Revolution testify to the enduring power of the ideas reflected in the 
Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE documents. As we approach the 30th 
anniversary of the Final Act, a number of signatory states--most 
notably Russia and Belarus--seem determined to diminish the democratic 
content of the OSCE and rewrite related commitments they accepted when 
they joined the OSCE. It is imperative that the United States hold firm 
to the values that have inspired democratic change in much of the OSCE 
region, even as we redouble our efforts to encourage all participating 
States to implement their freely accepted commitments.
  In recent years the OSCE has made significant inroads in confronting 
and combating the rise in anti-Semitism and related violence in the 
OSCE region, including the United States. I would point out that the 
OSCE was the first multilateral institution to speak out against anti-
Semitism. While many OSCE states have responded appropriately, 
vigorously investigating the perpetrators and pursuing criminal 
prosecution, we must remain vigilant in addressing manifestations of 
anti-Semitism. The OSCE conference on anti-Semitism and other forms of 
intolerance to be held in June in Cordoba will provide a timely 
opportunity for countries to report on measures they are taking to 
address these concerns.
  The OSCE is also playing an important role in promoting the right of 
individuals to freely profess and practice their faith. A number of 
countries in the OSCE region have adopted or are considering laws on 
religion that would severely restrict or otherwise regulate this 
fundamental right. Similarly, the OSCE has given priority attention to 
efforts to combat trafficking in human beings, encouraging a number of 
participating States to adopt measures to prevent trafficking, 
prosecute perpetrators, and protect victims.
  In her confirmation testimony, Secretary of State Rice referred to 
the potential role that multilateral institutions can play in 
multiplying the strength of freedom-loving nations. Indeed, the OSCE 
has tremendous potential to play an even greater role in promoting 
democracy, human rights, and rule of law in a region of strategic 
importance to the United States.
  Over the past three decades the OSCE has served as an important 
catalyst for change. An important aspect of the success of the Helsinki 
Process has been the strong partnership forged with human rights 
advocates, including non-governmental organizations. As we look toward 
the work ahead, we would do well to recall the insightful observation 
of renowned physicist, humanitarian, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 
Andrei Sakharov, ``The whole point of the Helsinki Accords is mutual 
monitoring, not mutual evasion of difficult problems.''

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