[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN REMEMBRANCE OF EDOUARD BRUNNER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2007

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance 
of a dear international colleague who passed away this weekend.
  A world renowned diplomat, Edouard Brunner began his career in the 
Swiss Foreign Ministry in 1956. Rising through the ranks, he served as 
the Swiss Secretary of State from 1984 to 1989. He then went on to 
serve as Ambassador to the United States from 1989 to 1993.
  In 1991, U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar appointed him 
to a parallel role as his special envoy to the Middle East, replacing 
Gunnar Yarring of Sweden. Following this position, he served as Special 
Representative of the Secretary General of the UN for Abkazia from 1993 
and 1994, where he led a U.N. mission that brokered a truce ending 2 
years of fighting between the Georgian government and separatists in 
the Black Sea province of Abkhazia.
  He is often cited for coming out of retirement in 1998 to address 
concerns related to his beloved country during the Nazi era, which with 
his involvement, provided an acceptable solution to the international 
community.
  However, it is through our work within the Organization for Security 
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that I came to know him. Appointed to 
head the Swiss mission in 1972, Brunner played a key role within the 
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which served 
as a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between the East 
and West and culminated in the Helsinki Final Act in 1975. In 1994, the 
CSCE changed its name, becoming the OSCE. Over the years, in a 
testament to his dedication to the organization and its standing in the 
world, Brunner remained active within the OSCE both formally and 
informally.
  In 2005, during my presidency of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, 
Brunner and I, in his capacity as chairman of the Swiss Foundation for 
World Affairs, held a Colloquium on the Future of the OSCE. A report on 
the findings of the colloquium was then provided as a report to the 
then-OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij 
Rupel.
  A major goal of the colloquium and subsequent report was to give new 
impetus to political dialogue and provide strategic vision for the 
OSCE. The initial purpose of the Helsinki Accords had been to expand 
cooperation in the areas of security, economic, and humanitarian 
affairs.
  Additionally, for the first time, it afforded a systematic review of 
human rights practices in the Soviet Union and all other signatories of 
the accords.
  With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of 
independent states from its territories, spanning from Europe into 
Asia, questions of the expanding role of the OSCE in politico-military, 
election observation, and relationships with other multilateral 
organizations were being raised.
  Working together, Brunner and I were not only able to encourage and 
host the colloquium, but also actively succeeded in addressing those 
concerns, and establishing a path forward that addressed the new 
challenges of the 56 participating states of the OSCE.
  In my current role as chairman of the Commission on Security and 
Cooperation Europe, I will sorely miss Brunner's counsel at the OSCE, 
but know that his memory will live on through his extraordinary 
contributions to this organization that has been instrumental to peace 
and security here in the United States as well as throughout Europe. He 
will not be forgotten.

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