[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 105 (Thursday, July 15, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5956-S5957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               OSCE PARLIMENTARY ASSEMBLY SESSION IN OSLO

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I want to report on the activities of a 
bicameral, bipartisan congressional delegation I had the privilege to 
lead last week as chairman of the Helsinki Commission. The purpose of 
the trip was to represent the United States at the 19th Annual Session 
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe, otherwise known as the OSCE PA. The annual 
session this year was held in Oslo, Norway, and the U.S. delegation 
participated fully in the assembly's standing committee, the plenary 
sessions, the three general committees and numerous side events that 
included discussion of integration in multiethnic societies and 
addressing gender imbalances in society.
  Although some last-minute developments at home compelled him to 
remain behind, our colleague from the other Chamber, Mr. Alcee Hastings 
of Florida, was present in spirit as the deputy head of the delegation. 
Mr. Hastings, who cochairs the Helsinki Commission, was very active in 
the preparations for the trip, and his legacy of leadership in the OSCE 
PA--for over a decade--is tangible in the respect and goodwill afforded 
the United States during the proceedings.
  Our assistant majority leader, Mr. Durbin of Illinois, joined me on 
the trip, as he did last year. Our colleague from New Mexico who serves 
as a fellow Helsinki Commissioner, Mr. Udall, also participated. 
Helsinki Commissioners from the other Chamber who were on the 
delegation include Mr. Christopher Smith of New Jersey, serving as the 
ranking member of the delegation, as well as Mrs. Louise McIntosh 
Slaughter of New York, and Mr. Robert Aderholt of Alabama. Although not 
a member of the Helsinki Commission, Mr. Lloyd Doggett of Texas has a 
longstanding interest in OSCE-related issues and also participated on 
the delegation.
  As many of you know, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was created 
within the framework of the OSCE as an independent, consultative body 
consisting of over 300 Parliamentarians from virtually every country in 
Europe, including the Caucasus, as well as from Central Asia, and the 
United States, and Canada. The annual sessions are held in late June/
early July as the chief venue for debating issues of the day and 
issuing a declaration addressing human rights, democratic development 
and the rule of law; economic cooperation and environmental protection; 
and confidence building and security among the participating states and 
globally.
  This active congressional participation helps ensure that matters of 
interest to the United States are raised and discussed. Robust U.S. 
engagement has been the hallmark of the Parliamentary Assembly since 
its inception nearly 20 years ago.
  The theme for this year's annual session was ``Rule of Law: Combating 
Transnational Crime and Corruption.'' In addition to resolutions for 
each of the three general committees, delegations introduced a total of 
35 additional resolutions for consideration, a record number, including 
4 by the United States dealing with:
  Nuclear security, which followed up directly on the Nuclear Summit 
here in Washington in April;
  The protection of investigative journalists, a critical human rights 
issue as those who seek to expose corruption are targeted for 
harassment or worse;
  Mediterranean cooperation, building on the OSCE partnerships to 
engage important countries in North Africa and the Middle East; and
  Combating the demand for human trafficking and electronic forms of 
exploitation, a longstanding Helsinki Commission issue requiring 
persistence and targeted action.
  U.S. drafts on these relevant, important topics received widespread 
support and were adopted with few if any amendments.
  Beyond these resolutions, the United States delegation also undertook 
initiatives in the form of packages of amendments to other resolutions. 
These initiatives addressed:
  the needs of the people of Afghanistan in light of the smuggling and 
other criminal activity which takes place there;
  the struggle for recovery stability and human rights in Kyrgyzstan, 
which is an OSCE state in the midst of crisis; and
  manifestations of racism and xenophobia that have become particularly 
prevalent in contemporary Europe.
  A critical U.S. amendment allowed us generally to support a French 
resolution that usefully addressed issues relating to the closure of 
the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay. Still other amendments coming 
from specific members of the U.S. Delegation covered a wide range of 
political, environmental and social issues relevant to policymakers. My 
colleagues and I were also active in the successful countering of 
amendments that would have steered resolutions on the Middle East and 
on the future of the OSCE multilateral diplomatic process in directions 
contrary to U.S. policy.
  Beyond the consideration of the resolutions which now comprise the 
Oslo Declaration, the annual session also handled some important 
affairs for the OSCE PA itself. These, too, had relevance for U.S. 
policy interests:
  the American serving as OSCE PA Secretary General, Spencer Oliver, 
was reappointed to a new 5-year term;
  a modest--and for the third fiscal year in a row--frozen OSCE PA 
budget of about $3\1/2\ million was approved that requires continued 
and unparalleled efficiency in organizing additional conferences, 
election observation missions, and various other activities that keep 
the Parliamentary Assembly prominently engaged in European and Central 
Asian affairs;
  in addition to my continued tenure as a vice president in the 
Parliamentary Assembly, Mr. Aderholt of Alabama was reelected as the 
vice chair of the general committee dealing with democracy, human 
rights, and humanitarian questions which ensures strong U.S. 
representation in OSCE PA decisionmaking; and
  a Greek parliamentary leader defeated a prominent Canadian senator in 
the election of a new OSCE PA president, following a vigorous but 
friendly campaign that encouraged the assembly to take a fresh look at 
itself and establish a clearer vision for its future.
  While the congressional delegation's work focused heavily on 
representing the United States at the OSCE PA, we tried to use our 
presence in Europe to advance U.S. interests and express U.S. concerns 
more broadly. The meeting took place in Norway, a very close friend and 
strong, long-time ally of the United States of America. In discussions 
with Norwegian officials, we expressed our sorrow over the recent 
deaths of Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan. We also shared our 
concerns about climate change and particularly the impact global 
warming has on polar regions
  Indeed, on our return we made a well received stop on the archipelago 
of Svalbard, well north of the Arctic Circle, to learn more about the 
impact firsthand, from changing commercial shipping lanes to relocated 
fisheries to ecological imbalance that make far northern flora and 
fauna increasingly vulnerable. The delegation also visited the Svalbard 
Global Seed Vault, a facility that preserves more than 525,000 types of 
seeds from all over the world as a safeguard for future crop diversity, 
and took the opportunity to donate additional U.S. seeds to the 
collection.
  Norway is located close to a newer, but also very strong, ally with 
close ties to the United States, Estonia. Since last year's delegation 
to the OSCE PA Annual Session went to Lithuania and included Latvia as 
a side trip, I believed it was important to utilize the opportunity of 
returning to northern Europe to visit this Baltic state as well.
  While some remained in Oslo to represent the United States, others 
traveled to Tallinn, where we had meetings with the President, Prime 
Minister, and other senior government officials, visited the NATO 
Cooperative Cyber-Defense Center of Excellence and were briefed on 
electronic networking systems that make parliament and government more 
transparent, efficient and accessible to the citizen. Estonia has come 
a long way since it reestablished its independence from the Soviet 
Union almost 20 years ago, making the visit quite rewarding for those 
of us on the Helsinki Commission who tried to keep a spotlight on the 
Baltic States during the dark days of the Cold War.
  During the course of the meeting, the U.S. delegation also had 
bilateral

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meetings with the delegation of the Russian Federation and a visiting 
delegation from Kyrgyzstan to discuss issues of mutual concern and 
interest.
  U.S. engagement in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly sends a clear 
message to those who are our friends and to those who are not that we 
will defend U.S. interests and advance the causes of peace and 
prosperity around the world.

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