[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5237-S5239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to submit for the Record a report 
on the activity of a congressional delegation I led to Belgrade, 
Serbia, from July 7 to 10, to represent the United States at the 20th 
Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. I did so in my 
capacity as cochairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.
  I was joined by our colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen, 
who also traveled to Sarajevo, Bosnia. Senator Shaheen is also a member 
of the Helsinki Commission. Our colleague from Alaska, Senator Begich, 
also participated on the delegation but was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as 
part of the official U.S. Delegation to the 6th annual Croatian Summit 
of regional political leaders and European officials.
  As the report details, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization 
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE PA, has been an 
excellent opportunity for the U.S. Congress to engage our European 
friends and allies, and to make clear to less friendly countries that 
our ties to the continent will not be diminished.
  U.S. engagement also provides a means for us to advance U.S. 
interests by encouraging Europe to focus more on policy issues of 
concern to us, from democratic shortcomings within Europe such as 
Belarus to the new challenges and opportunities coming from North 
Africa and the Middle East and other parts of the world.
  The revised Senate schedule made us miss the opening days of the 
Belgrade meeting, but we made up for that with an intensive schedule 
from Friday to Sunday. All three U.S. resolutions and most of our 
delegation's amendments to resolutions were adopted, including a 
resolution I submitted on political transition in the Mediterranean 
region and amendments welcoming the arrest of at-large war crimes 
indictee Ratko Mladic and calling for Turkey to allow the Ecumenical 
Patriarch to open a theological school in Halki.
  Senator Shaheen and I also used the opportunity of visiting Belgrade 
to encourage progress in Serbia's democratic transition. We met with 
President Tadic as well as the Speaker of the Serbian National 
Assembly, the chief negotiator in the technical talks on Kosovo-related 
issues, representatives of civil society, and of Serbia's Romani and 
Jewish communities.
  We came away from our visit impressed with the progress Serbia has 
made thus far. While there are lingering manifestations of the extreme 
and violent nationalism from the Milosevic era of the 1990s, I believe 
there is a genuine commitment to overcome them. We should support those 
in and out of government in Serbia who turn this commitment into 
action.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
the Report to which I referred.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Report of the US. Congressional Delegation (CoDel Cardin) to Belgrade, 
Serbia; Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Dubrovnik, Croatia July 7-10, 
                                  2011

       Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Helsinki Commission Co-
     Chairman, and fellow Senator and Commissioner Jeanne Shaheen 
     (D-NH) traveled to the 20th Annual Session of the 
     Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
     Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), held in Belgrade, Serbia, 
     from July 6-10, 2011. The senators were able to do this 
     despite a US. congressional schedule that precluded House 
     Members from traveling to the meeting and curtailed Senate 
     attendance to only three of the session's five days. Three 
     resolutions and more than one dozen amendments to various 
     resolutions initiated by the United States Delegation were 
     nevertheless considered and passed by the Assembly. Senator 
     Shaheen was also able to make a one-day visit to neighboring 
     Bosnia-Herzegovina, and both Senators were able to link with 
     their colleague, Senator Mark Begich (D-AK), attending the 
     Croatian Summit of regional political leaders held in 
     Dubrovnik, Croatia.


                              the osce pa

       The Parliamentary Assembly was created within the framework 
     of the OSCE as an independent, consultative body consisting 
     of 320 parliamentarians from the 56 participating States, 
     stretching from Central Asia and Russia across Europe and 
     including the United States and Canada. Annual Sessions are 
     the chief venue for debating international issues and voting 
     on a declaration addressing human rights, democratic 
     development, rule-of-law, economic, environmental and 
     security concerns among the participating States and the 
     international community.
       The Parliamentary Assembly adopts its declaration by 
     majority voting for resolutions coming from three committees 
     dealing with political/security, economic/environmental and 
     democracy/human rights issues respectively, in addition to 
     other resolutions introduced by delegations to supplement 
     these texts. Following the amendment of these resolutions 
     also by majority voting, this generally allows for 
     considerable verbiage to be accepted each year but also for 
     franker language addressing controversial or new issues to be 
     included than the OSCE itself can achieve on the basis of 
     consensus among the 56 participating States. The heavy focus 
     of OSCE diplomats on issues like trafficking in persons and 
     combating intolerance in society is rooted in initiatives 
     originally undertaken by the parliamentarians in the 
     Assembly.
       Having the largest delegation with 17 members, the United 
     States historically has played a key role in OSCE PA 
     proceedings, and there has been robust congressional 
     participation since the Assembly's inception two decades ago. 
     This engagement is reassuring to friends and allies in Europe 
     while ensuring that issues of interest or concern to U.S. 
     foreign policy are raised and discussed. In addition to 
     representing the United States as delegates, members of the 
     Helsinki Commission have served as OSCE PA special 
     representatives on specific issues of concern, committee 
     officers, vice presidents and the Assembly president.


                      The Twentieth Annual Session

       This year's Annual Session was hosted by the National 
     Assembly of Serbia and held in Belgrade's Sava Center, the 
     1977-78 venue for the first follow-up meeting of the 
     diplomatic process that was initiated by the 1975 signing of 
     the Helsinki Final Act and is the OSCE today. During various 
     interventions at the session, note was made not only of the 
     vast changes in Europe since that time but also in Serbia, 
     which was then a constituent republic of the former 
     Yugoslavia but is today an independent state making progress 
     in democratic development after overcoming more than a decade 
     of authoritarian rule and extreme nationalist sentiment.
       A meeting of the Standing Committee--composed of OSCE PA 
     officers plus the heads of all delegations--met prior to the 
     opening of the Annual Session. Chaired by OSCE PA President 
     Petros Efthymiou of Greece, the committee heard numerous 
     reports on the activities of the past year, endorsed a budget 
     that has remained frozen for a fourth consecutive fiscal 
     year, and approved for consideration at the Annual Session 25 
     of the 26

[[Page S5238]]

     items introduced by various delegations to supplement the 
     committee resolutions. Only an Italian draft on Asbestos 
     Contamination failed to achieve a 2/3 vote approving its 
     consideration.
       With approximately 230 parliamentarians in attendance, the 
     opening plenary of the Annual Session featured a welcome by 
     Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and National Assembly 
     Speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic and reports by the OSCE 
     Chair-in Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius 
     Azubalis, and the newly appointed OSCE Secretary General, 
     Lamberto Zannier of Italy. Zannier welcomed the OSCE PA's 
     interest in fostering closer cooperation with the OSCE 
     Permanent Council in Vienna and committed himself to 
     facilitating greater PA engagement through his leadership of 
     the OSCE Secretariat and coordination with its institutions.
       In his own remarks, PA President Efthymiou noted the 
     ``spirit of Helsinki'' which developed at the Belgrade 
     meeting more than three decades ago and lamented the crisis 
     in which the OSCE finds itself today. He called for 
     significant changes to the operations of the Vienna-based 
     organization to make it more effective and relevant in 
     addressing the political and security issues of today. The 
     theme for the Annual Session--Strengthening the OSCE'S 
     Effectiveness and Efficiency, a New Start after the Astana 
     Summit--was chosen to address this matter in light of last 
     December's summit meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, which had 
     heightened the political attention paid to the OSCE's work.
       The following three days were devoted to committee 
     consideration and amendment of the three resolutions and 21 
     supplementary items, and plenary consideration of the four 
     additional supplementary items. Two additional resolutions 
     were defeated in the process. The first was another 
     initiative of an Italian delegate focusing on crimes causing 
     serious social alarm, which lacked significant support. The 
     second originated with the Belgian delegation on enlarging 
     the OSCE's Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation to include 
     Lebanon and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The 
     latter was lost in a close vote after being heavily debated 
     by those who advocate wider engagement in the long-term and 
     those who questioned the timing of taking such an initiative. 
     A number of parliamentarians felt it inappropriate for the 
     OSCE to solicit interest by the Lebanese Government and the 
     PNA while they are both under leadership that does not 
     embrace OSCE principles. Some of the resolutions which did 
     pass examined the deplorable human rights situation in 
     Belarus, the unresolved conflict in Moldova, gender issues in 
     the OSCE and the participating States, national minority 
     concerns including the plight of Roma, cyber security, as 
     well as combating violent extremism, transnational organized 
     crime, and human trafficking for labor and organs.


                      U.S. Initiatives in Belgrade

       Despite its small size, the U.S. Delegation remained very 
     active in the deliberations, introducing three resolutions of 
     its own, working closely with the delegation of the 
     Netherlands on a fourth, and suggesting over a dozen 
     amendments to various texts. All four of these resolutions 
     were adopted, as were all but two of the U.S. amendments.
       Co-Chairman Cardin's major initiative was a resolution on 
     Mediterranean Political Transition, which directs the OSCE 
     and its participating States to make their expertise in 
     building democratic institutions available to Mediterranean 
     Partner States: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and 
     Tunisia. The resolution specifically encouraged the interim 
     governments of Egypt and Tunisia to make a formal request for 
     OSCE support following their consultations with the OSCE 
     Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). 
     It also called for an OSCE civil society forum to be hosted 
     by a Mediterranean Partner State later this year. The Senator 
     collaborated with the head of the Spanish delegation on 
     numerous additional amendments to demonstrate the real 
     priority this should be for the organization, and the 
     initiative received widespread praise among the delegates. 
     ``We have all been inspired by the movements for freedom and 
     change sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa,'' 
     Senator Cardin noted while introducing the resolution, ``and 
     we support the citizens of the countries in the region as 
     they demand respect for their basic human rights, economic 
     opportunity, and open and responsive government . . . The 
     OSCE and our Parliamentary Assembly have substantial capacity 
     to assist our Mediterranean Partners . . . We also must 
     condemn in the strongest terms the unbridled violence 
     unleashed by the governments of Libya and Syria against their 
     own citizens.''
       Though not in attendance, Commission Chairman Christopher 
     H. Smith (R-NJ) introduced two resolutions for the Assembly's 
     consideration that also were adopted. The first dealt with 
     Combating Labor Trafficking in Supply Chains, urging 
     governments to ensure that all goods they procure are free 
     from raw materials and finished products produced by 
     trafficked labor and to press corporations to independently 
     verify that their supply chains are free of exploitation. The 
     resolution also sought to raise consumer awareness about 
     industries more likely to use trafficked labor. Two 
     strengthening amendments authored by Co-Chairman Cardin were 
     adopted. The amendments welcomed a recent OSCE meeting on the 
     issue and urged diplomats to pass a declaration on the matter 
     during a meeting of OSCE foreign ministers later this year.
       The second Smith Resolution focused on International 
     Parental Child Abductions and passed without amendment. Its 
     core focus was to press OSCE States to become parties to the 
     1983 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 
     Child Abduction and to implement its provisions. The 
     resolution also urged that parental child abduction be 
     considered at the 2011 OSCE Ministerial Council in Vilnius 
     this December.
       Ranking House Commissioner Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), who 
     serves as the Parliamentary Assembly's Special Representative 
     on Mediterranean Affairs, collaborated with OSCE PA Special 
     Representative on Migration Kathleen Ferrier of the 
     Netherlands on countering racism and xenophobia in Europe 
     with measures to foster inclusion of affected communities. 
     Noting that 2011 has been designated the International Year 
     for People of African Descent, the resolution included a 
     focus on racial bias against citizens and migrants of African 
     descent, and called for specific measures to be taken by OSCE 
     institutions to address reported increases of racial and 
     ethnic discrimination in the OSCE region. The resolution also 
     emphasized the importance of integrating ethnic minorities 
     into economic and political life through capacity building 
     partnerships between the public and private sector. The 
     resolution passed with widespread support.
       Supported by Senator Shaheen, Co-Chairman Cardin covered 
     several smaller and more detailed issues with amendments, 
     such as one welcoming the arrest in Serbia of at-large war 
     crimes indictee Ratko Mladic, another urging Turkey to allow 
     the reopening of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate's 
     Theological School of Halki without condition or further 
     delay, and another supporting greater transparency in the 
     energy sector. Working with a German delegate, Senator Cardin 
     also succeeded in removing language from a Serbian resolution 
     which politicized the issue of investigating an organ-
     trafficking case that originated in neighboring Kosovo during 
     the 1999 conflict. Serbian officials lobbied the PA Assembly 
     directly and through the media to accept the resolution's 
     call for the United Nations to conduct the investigation, 
     contrary to the efforts being undertaken by the U.S. and EU 
     to proceed through an already established EU rule-of-law 
     mission. The U.S.-supported amendment was successful in 
     designating the EU entity and the U.N. Mission in Kosovo as 
     responsible for the investigation. There was insufficient 
     support, however, for a U.S. amendment welcoming EU efforts 
     thus far.
       During the course of debate, Co-Chairman Cardin also 
     suggested granting Mediterranean Partner countries a greater 
     ability to participate in OSCE PA sessions through changes to 
     Assembly rules. He also highlighted U.S. policy on cyber 
     security in the vigorous debate of a resolution which in some 
     respects diverged from the U.S. approach. In his capacity as 
     an OSCE Vice President, the Senator, as an urgent matter, 
     also supported consideration of a resolution focused on the 
     lack of transparency in the OSCE during the recent selection 
     of a new Secretary General. Language on this matter was also 
     included in the final declaration.


          Selecting the OSCE PA Leadership for the Coming Year

       In addition to hearing closing comments from Serbian 
     Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and adopting the final 
     declaration, the parliamentarians attending the Annual 
     Session voted for contested seats in the Assembly's 
     leadership. President Efthymiou was unopposed, as was 
     Treasurer Roberto Battelli of Slovenia, and both were re-
     elected by acclamation. In a race among six candidates for 
     three of the nine Vice President positions, Wolfgang 
     Grossruck of Austria was re-elected, with Walburga Habsburg-
     Douglas of Sweden and Tonino Picula of Croatia elected for 
     the first time. Senator Cardin has one additional year in his 
     term as Vice President and is not eligible for another re-
     election.
       Committee officers saw more dramatic changes, with only one 
     officer retaining his position as committee chair. Others 
     moved to higher positions within the committees or ran for 
     the three Vice President seats. Unfortunately for the U.S. 
     Delegation, Representative Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), a 
     Helsinki Commissioner, did not win his second re-election bid 
     as a committee Vice Chair due to his inability to be in 
     Belgrade. He was unsuccessful in fighting off a challenge by 
     a French delegate who entered the race at the last minute.


                        Side Events in Belgrade

       In addition to the formal proceedings, OSCE PA meetings 
     often offer the possibility for delegations to sponsor side-
     events on issues needing additional attention. A luncheon 
     focusing on gender issues in the OSCE is held annually, 
     including in Belgrade. Non-governmental organizations may 
     also hold their own events and invite the delegates to 
     participate. In Belgrade, a coalition held a session on 
     continued use of torture in OSCE States, with a focus 
     particularly on the situation in Kyrgyzstan following the 
     ethnic violence in 2009. Delegation-sponsored events in 
     Belgrade included one on human rights abuses in Belarus, one 
     on cases of alleged trafficking in human organs in Kosovo and 
     elsewhere, and one featuring a film on two Jewish sisters in 
     Serbia who escaped the Holocaust during World War II. With 
     Senator Shaheen and U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Mary Burce 
     Warlick in attendance, Senator

[[Page S5239]]

     Cardin participated in the latter event with opening comments 
     on the work of the Vienna-based organization Centropa, which 
     prepared the -film. Delegation staff attended most of the 
     other side events as well.


  Bilateral Meetings with Serbia and a Side-Trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina

       While the delegation travelled to Belgrade principally to 
     represent the United States at the OSCE PA Annual Session, 
     the Helsinki Commission leadership regularly uses this travel 
     to discuss bilateral issues with the host country and to 
     visit nearby countries of concern. In Serbia, the delegation 
     met with President Boris Tadic, National Assembly Speaker 
     Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, and chief negotiator for technical 
     talks on Kosovo Boris Stefanovic. Ambassador Warlick briefed 
     the Senators and attended the meetings.
       Evident in the bilateral meetings was the progress Serbia 
     was making in its internal political transition and 
     attainment of European integration. Serbian officials made 
     clear they were committed to overcoming the nationalist 
     legacy of the Milosevic era, strengthening Serbia's 
     democratic institutions and encouraging greater respect for 
     the rule of law. While there are clear differences between 
     the United States and Serbia regarding Kosovo, the officials 
     asked for an expression of congressional support for 
     agreements being reached in technical talks between Belgrade 
     and Pristina that were of direct benefit to the people and 
     brought an increased sense of regional stability, as well. 
     They also stressed their support for Bosnia-Herzegovina's 
     unity and territorial integrity. The U.S. Delegation welcomed 
     Serbia's approach and encouraged Belgrade to curtail the 
     activity of parallel Serbian institutions in northern Kosovo 
     which are currently the greatest source of instability in the 
     region. The message was amplified throughout the region by a 
     VOA interview conducted with Senator Cardin.
       The U.S. Delegation also met with representatives of 
     Serbia's civil society and Romani communities. The Senators 
     expressed support for civil society efforts to promote 
     greater tolerance in society, to monitor the extent to which 
     laws and policies adopted were actually implemented, and to 
     tackle issues--such as corruption--that impede prosperity. 
     They learned that the Romani communities in Serbia, similar 
     to those in other countries, have difficulties in obtaining 
     adequate housing, education for their children and personal 
     documentation necessary to exercise their rights and 
     privileges as citizens. In a meeting with Serbia's Chief 
     Rabbi, which also included the President of the Jewish 
     Federation of Serbia, the discussion focused on religious 
     tolerance in the region, cooperation with the other religious 
     groups in Belgrade, and property restitution legislation 
     pending in the Serbian parliament.
       On July 9, Senator Shaheen left the proceedings of the OSCE 
     Parliamentary Assembly to make a one-day visit to neighboring 
     Bosnia-Herzegovina, where ethnically based political 
     differences continue to hamper government formation and the 
     political and economic reforms necessary for progress on 
     European integration. Visiting two days prior to the 16th 
     anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica, the Senator met 
     with Kathryne Bomberger of the International Commission on 
     Missing Persons and stood next to Bosniak member of the 
     collective state presidency Bakir Izetbegovic and U.S. 
     Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Patrick S. Moon to pay her 
     respects as the procession of 613 victims to be buried during 
     the July 11 Srebrenica memorial service passed by. She 
     expressed U.S. condolences to the families of those mourning 
     in a media interview that received wide and favorable 
     coverage.
       Senator Shaheen also met with Social Democratic Party 
     Chairman Zlatko Lagumdzija and several officials at the 
     entity and local levels of government to discuss ways to 
     overcome the country's current political impasse and to find 
     a solution in particular on forming a state-level coalition 
     government. She also met with several women entrepreneurs and 
     leaders of nongovernmental organizations to discuss their 
     particular concerns and ability to have a positive impact in 
     an ethnically divided Bosnian society. From the international 
     presence, the Senator met with Head of the OSCE Mission Gary 
     Robbins and the Deputy High Representative Roderick Moore, 
     both from the United States. Senator Shaheen noted the 
     continued commitment of the United States to political 
     stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina and its progress toward 
     increasing integration into European institutions, indicating 
     that that engagement was supported both by the Administration 
     and Congress. In a media interview, she stressed that the 
     political and civil society leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina 
     need to work together and across ethnic lines if the country 
     is to accede to the European Union or receive IMF funding.


                          The Croatian Summit

       At the conclusion of the OSCE PA Annual Session and prior 
     to their return to Washington, Senators Cardin and Shaheen 
     joined their colleague, Senator Begich, who was attending the 
     6th Croatian Summit of regional political leaders and 
     European officials in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as part of the 
     official U.S. Delegation led by Under Secretary of State for 
     Political Affairs William Burns. In his statement to the 
     summit and during meetings with various leaders, particularly 
     with Croatian officials, Senator Begich expressed his 
     appreciation of Croatia's performance as a NATO ally, 
     including its support for NATO operations in Afghanistan, and 
     encouraged Croatia to support neighboring Bosnia's stability 
     and prosperity. He also suggested ways Croatia could enhance 
     its business and investment climate.


                               Conclusion

       During the course of three days, the delegation led by 
     Senator Cardin was able to advance U.S. objectives at the 
     multilateral OSCE PA as well as the U.S. bilateral agenda 
     with Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. The curtailed 
     schedule precluded additional travel, including a planned 
     visit to Albania, but the Senators compensated with a level 
     of activity that indicated their commitment as well as that 
     of the U.S. Congress and the United States as a whole, to the 
     countries of the Western Balkans and to European security and 
     cooperation through the OSCE.
       The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly continues to serve not only 
     as a venue for demonstrating the U.S. commitment to Europe, 
     but for advancing new ideas and issues that parliamentarians 
     can press their diplomatic counterparts in the OSCE to 
     incorporate into the organization's work. In the past, 
     Parliamentary Assembly efforts were responsible for the OSCE 
     undertaking action to combat human trafficking and counter 
     anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance that help define 
     the OSCE today. With proper follow-up in capitals and at the 
     OSCE in Vienna, the recommendations adopted in the Belgrade 
     Declaration will hopefully provide the needed impetus to 
     activity that will keep the OSCE effective and relevant.
       Meeting in Belgrade gave a greater-than-usual regional 
     dimension to this year's U.S. Delegation to the OSCE PA 
     Annual Session, the immediately preceding Annual Sessions 
     having been held in Oslo, Norway, and Vilnius, Lithuania. 
     Ethnic tensions and suspicions from a decade of wars in the 
     Western Balkans are still strong factors in the bilateral 
     relations of the countries visited by the congressional 
     delegation, and their economic growth has been negatively 
     affected not only by the larger international crisis but by 
     poor economic governance as well. At a time of both promise 
     and uncertainty, the reassurance of continued U.S. engagement 
     was welcomed by government officials, civil society 
     representatives and by the media that extensively covered the 
     delegation's activities.

                          ____________________