[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 184 (Wednesday, December 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S12800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        OSCE MINISTERIAL MEETING

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, last week the Organization for Security 
and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, held its annual Ministerial Meeting in 
Athens. As always, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was strongly 
represented there. Today, in my capacity as Chairman of the Commission 
on Security and Cooperation in Europe, I would like to offer a few 
reflections on the outcome of the meeting, and what this might mean for 
the future of European security, in which the U.S. has a vital stake.
  Each year, a different country serves as the OSCE's ``Chairman in 
Office.'' This year, Greece was the Chairman-in-Office and this year's 
Ministerial Council meeting subsequently took place in Athens. In 
recent years discord and paralysis have increasingly begun to overwhelm 
the cooperation and consensus that once characterized the OSCE. The 
Greeks thus began their chairmanship facing a difficult challenge.
  At last year's meeting in Helsinki under Finland's able chairmanship, 
the Ministers decided that the OSCE should look for ways to overcome 
this gridlock and to give the organization a new impetus. Greece took 
this task to heart and launched the ``Corfu Process'' to do just that. 
This effort has already borne fruit. In Athens, the ministers resolved 
to continue to try to reaffirm, review, and reinvigorate security in 
the OSCE region by continuing this process.
  The Ministers also agreed on decisions that addressed such 
fundamental and persistent problems as hate crimes, tolerance and 
nondiscrimination, nonproliferation, terrorism, and the ``protracted 
conflict'' in Nagorno-Karabakh. One of these decisions, on countering 
transnational threats, was sponsored by the U.S. and Russia, the first 
such joint effort in several years. I hope this is a positive portent 
for the future.
  The Ministers were not able to agree on how to tackle some other 
equally important and pressing problems. These included the protracted 
conflicts in Georgia and Moldova, OSCE assistance to Afghanistan, and 
the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. Clearly, much work remains to 
be done in putting the OSCE fully back on track.
  I would be remiss if I concluded my remarks without commending the 
Greek chairmanship for its untiring and ultimately successful efforts 
during the course of this year. The chairmanship rekindled the trust 
and confidence among the participating states that had steadily eroded 
over the past decade. Greece has clearly set the stage for a brighter 
and more productive future for the organization, and my colleagues on 
the Helsinki Commission, and I would like to congratulate the Greek 
chairmanship on this significant accomplishment.
  We would also like to wish Kazakhstan, the first Central Asian nation 
to hold this office, every success in its historic chairmanship in 2010 
and to offer them our full support. Indeed, in our view the Kazakh 
chairmanship is already off to a promising start, for in Athens, at the 
initiative of the Kazakhs, the Ministers decided to hold a high-level 
conference on tolerance next year. This proved to be a timely decision, 
coming as it did just as Switzerland voted to ban the construction of 
Muslim minarets, and the president of the Swiss Christian Peoples Party 
called for a ban on Muslim and Jewish cemeteries. These actions 
reminded us that not even countries that have played a leading role in 
establishing international human rights standards are immune from the 
tendencies to discriminate against immigrants and minorities and to 
place limits on the free expression of religious beliefs.
  It is very important for the OSCE to combat these troublesome trends. 
It is also important that all the organization's participating states 
reaffirm, and commit themselves to upholding, the rights of all 
religious communities to create places of worship and to rest in line 
with their own traditions. I very much hope the OSCE's conference on 
tolerance next year will advance this effort.
  Finally, let me say that we look forward with great interest to the 
forthcoming discussions of Kazakhstan's proposal to hold a meeting of 
heads of state and government during its chairmanship. Should it 
happen, this would be the first such ``summit'' under OSCE auspices, 
something that was previously a regular occurrence. In Athens, in 
acceding to this proposal, the United States expressed the view that it 
is open to considering such a meeting if, but only if, such a summit 
can produce results of substance. I think this is the correct approach, 
and it is one I fully support.

                          ____________________