[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 115 (Monday, August 2, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6585-S6586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Whitehouse, and
Mrs. Shaheen):
S.J. Res. 37. A joint resolution calling upon the President to issue
a proclamation recognizing the 35th anniversary of the Helsinki Final
Act; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, as Chairman of the Commission on Security
and Cooperation in Europe, I am pleased today to introduce, together
with fellow Senate Commissioners Brownback, Whitehouse and Shaheen, a
resolution marking the historic Helsinki Final Act, signed by President
Ford and the leaders of thirty-four other nations on August 1, 1975.
The Final Act provides a comprehensive framework for advancing security
in all its aspects through the military security, economic and human
dimensions.
For more than three decades, the Final Act and the process it set in
motion, have served as an important vehicles for advancing U.S.
interests in the expansive OSCE region and beyond. In a very real
sense, the Helsinki process was a catalyst that helped usher historic
changes in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In his Berlin speech as
candidate, President Obama emphasized that we are heirs to a struggle
for freedom--a struggle in which freedom eventually prevailed in
bringing down the walls of a divided city, country and continent. The
years following the fall of the Berlin Wall have witnessed stunning
successes as well as serious setbacks, notably the genocidal war that
raged through the Balkans, including the massacre at Srebrenica.
The principles reflected in the Final Act have withstood the test of
time and proven their enduring value as we seek to address lingering
and new challenges. A survey of developments in the OSCE, now
comprising 56 participating States, is a reminder of the scale of work
that remains: from simmering tensions throughout the Caucasus region
and so-called frozen conflicts elsewhere to violations of fundamental
freedoms. There are a number of troubling trends in the human
dimension: from the harassment, persecution and physical attacks on
journalists and human rights defenders to the adoption of restrictive
laws aimed at reigning in freedom of religion and other fundamental
freedoms, including freedom of expression and assembly. Other
longstanding concerns include the plight of national minorities and
Roma as well as other manifestations of discrimination and intolerance,
particularly anti-Semitism.
The OSCE is uniquely positioned to contribute to efforts to address
these and other issues in the military security, economic and human
dimensions. Indeed, a large body of common commitments has been agreed
to over the years, beginning with the Helsinki Final Act. The challenge
remains to translate these words on paper into meaningful action. As
parliamentarians, we have a unique role to play in advancing the aims
of the Helsinki Final Act and security in all of its aspects, including
efforts to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This
was evident at the just concluded OSCE Parliamentary Assembly meeting
in Norway, where many human rights and other concerns were voiced by
the U.S. delegation and others. Among several initiatives we undertook
at the Oslo meeting was a resolution on investigative journalists I
introduced as a follow up to a recent Helsinki Commission hearing on
``Threats to Free Media in the OSCE Region.''
As one who has been active in the Helsinki Process for many years and
as Commission chairman, I want to underscore the vital role played by
NGOs in advancing the aims of the Helsinki Accords. For over three
decades the Helsinki Commission has worked closely with NGOs focused on
a wide-range of human rights concerns.
In closing, I recall the remarks by Soviet human rights defender Dr.
Andrei Sakharov made while he and his wife were living in internal
banishment in the early 1980's as punishment for standing up to the
authorities in defense of fundamental freedoms: ``The Helsinki Accords,
like detente as a whole, have meaning only if they are observed fully
and by all parties. No country should evade a discussion on its own
domestic problems. . . . Nor should a country ignore violations in
other participating states. The whole point of the Helsinki Accords is
mutual monitoring, not mutual evasion of difficult problems.'' At the
Helsinki Commission we take seriously our mandate to uphold the
principles enshrined in the Final Act, especially respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms. Thirty-five years after its signing,
the Helsinki Final Act remains an enduring charter for European
security in all its aspects.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint
resolution be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the joint resolution was
ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. J. Res. 37
Whereas August 1, 2010, is the 35th anniversary of the
Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (CSCE), renamed the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in January 1995 (hereafter in
this resolution referred to as the ``Helsinki Final Act'');
Whereas the Helsinki Final Act provides a comprehensive
concept of security encompassing the military security,
economic and human dimensions rooted in the ``Declaration on
Principles Guiding Relations between Participating States'';
Whereas the Helsinki Final Act was the first international
agreement to accord human rights the status of a fundamental
principle regulating international relations;
Whereas, during the Communist era, members of
nongovernmental organizations, such as the Helsinki
Monitoring Groups in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia, and
Armenia and similar groups in Czechoslovakia and Poland,
sacrificed their personal freedom and even their lives in
their courageous and vocal support for the principles
enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act;
Whereas Congress contributed to advancing the aims of the
Helsinki Final Act by creating the Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe to monitor and encourage compliance
with provisions of the Helsinki Final Act;
Whereas, in the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe, the
participating States in the OSCE (hereafter in this
resolution referred to as the ``participating States'')
declared that ``[h]uman rights and fundamental freedoms are
the birthright of all human beings, are inalienable and are
guaranteed by law'' and that ``[t]heir protection and
promotion is the first responsibility of government'';
Whereas, in the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe, the
participating States committed themselves ``to build,
consolidate, and strengthen democracy as the only system of
government of our nations'';
Whereas, in the 1990 Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of
the Conference on the Human Dimension, the participating
States committed ``to build democratic societies based on
free elections'' and recognized ``that vigorous democracy
depends on the existence as an integral part of national life
of democratic values and practices as well as an
[[Page S6586]]
extensive range of democratic institutions'', including
nongovernmental organizations and independent media;
Whereas, in the 1991 Document of the Moscow Meeting of the
Conference on the Human Dimension, the participating States
``categorically and irrevocably declare[d] that the
commitments undertaken in the field of the human dimension of
the CSCE are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all
participating States and do not belong exclusively to the
internal affairs of the State concerned'';
Whereas the OSCE and the participating States have
undertaken a series of measures aimed at combating anti-
Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination including
through the convening of related high-level conferences and
the appointment of Personal Representatives of the Chairman-
in-Office;
Whereas the 1999 Istanbul OSCE Charter for European
Security and the Istanbul Summit Declaration note the
particular challenges of ending violence against women and
children as well as sexual exploitation and all forms of
trafficking in human beings, and commit the participating
States to strengthen efforts to combat corruption, eradicate
torture, and end discrimination against Roma;
Whereas the OSCE maintains important relations with
countries beyond the OSCE region, including the Mediterranean
Partners for Cooperation countries of Algeria, Egypt, Israel,
Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia, and, since the early 1990s, the
Asian Partners for Co-operation countries of Afghanistan,
Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and
Thailand;
Whereas OSCE institutions, such as the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, and the
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media are important
instruments for advancing democracy, human rights, and the
rule of law as well as preventing conflicts;
Whereas field missions deployed by the OSCE in several
participating States have contributed directly to regional
security and cooperation in particular by deterring the spill
over effects of conflict, assisting with post-conflict
recovery, providing expertise on democracy-building, and
monitoring closely the situation of vulnerable or threatened
communities of people;
Whereas the main challenge facing the participating States
remains the implementation of the principles and provisions
contained in the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE documents
adopted on the basis of consensus;
Whereas the participating States have recognized that
economic liberty, social justice, and environmental
responsibility are indispensable to prosperity;
Whereas the participating States have committed themselves
to promoting economic reforms through enhanced transparency
for economic activity, with the aim of advancing the
principles of market economies;
Whereas the participating States have stressed the
importance of respect for the rule of law and vigorous
efforts to fight organized crime and corruption, which
constitute a great threat to economic reform and prosperity;
Whereas OSCE has expanded the scope and substance of its
efforts, undertaking a variety of preventive diplomacy
initiatives designed to prevent, manage, and resolve conflict
within and among the participating States;
Whereas the politico-military aspects of security remain
vital to the interests of the participating States and
constitute a core element of OSCE's concept of comprehensive
security;
Whereas the OSCE has played an active role in civilian
police-related activities, including training, as an integral
part of OSCE's efforts in conflict prevention, crisis
management, and post-conflict rehabilitation; and
Whereas the participating States bear primary
responsibility for raising awareness of violations of
commitments contained in the Helsinki Final Act and other
OSCE documents: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress
calls upon the President--
(1) to issue a proclamation--
(A) recognizing the 35th anniversary of the signing of the
Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe;
(B) reasserting the commitment of the United States to full
implementation of the Helsinki Final Act;
(C) urging all participating States to abide by their
commitments under the Helsinki Final Act and subsequent OSCE
documents adopted by consensus; and
(D) encouraging the people of the United States to join the
President and Congress in observance of this anniversary with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities; and
(2) to convey to all signatories of the Helsinki Final Act
that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
democratic principles, economic liberty, and the
implementation of related commitments continue to be vital
elements in promoting a new era of democracy, peace, and
unity in the region covered by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe.
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