[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 140 (Monday, November 17, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6018-S6019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING JANICE HELWIG

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to pay tribute to 
Janice Helwig

[[Page S6019]]

for her 20 years of faithful service to the Commission on Security and 
Cooperation in Europe, Helsinki Commission. Janice joined the Helsinki 
Commission as a member of the professional staff just a few years after 
the watershed changes in Europe in 1989, including the fall of 
communism, the unification of Germany, and the breakup of the Soviet 
Union.
  While 1989 did indeed mark a transition to peace and prosperity for 
many countries in Central Europe--a Europe ``whole and free'' in the 
words of President George Bush--by the time Janice joined the 
Commission staff in late 1994 it was clear that the countries of the 
region still had many challenges ahead.
  At the 1994 Budapest Summit, where Janice first joined the U.S. 
delegation to the OSCE as a member of the Helsinki Commission 
contingent, she heard Russian President Boris Yeltsin warn that 
``Europe, having not yet freed itself from the heritage of the Cold 
War, is in danger of plunging into a cold peace.'' Unfortunately, 
Russia's effort to solidify its own sphere of influence and to block 
the OSCE's ability to advance human rights has been a hallmark of 
Moscow's approach throughout Janice's tenure.
  As the Helsinki Commission's policy adviser attached to the U.S. 
Mission to the OSCE, Janice has worked on almost every aspect of the 
Commission's mandate. Her expertise and dedication on Central Asia has 
particularly stood out.
  In the aftermath of the crackdown in Turkmenistan beginning in 
November 2002, Janice was a tireless advocate for the victims of the 
regime. She has faithfully and continuously pressed to determine the 
fate of all those who were disappeared and been the voice of those who 
were silenced.
  In the wake of the Uzbekistan Government's massacre in Andijan in 
2005, she helped put a spotlight on the tragic loss of life there. She 
also personally went to Kyrgyzstan after the outbreak of inter-ethnic 
conflict in 2010 and met with survivors. When Kazakhstani human rights 
advocate Evgeny Zhovtis was imprisoned in Siberia after a sham process, 
Janice visited him in prison. An international organization is only a 
means to an end, not an end to itself. In the case of the OSCE, that 
end is the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. 
Janice has helped to ensure that the OSCE stays focused on those goals.
  As chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I am pleased to recognize and 
commend Janice Helwig for her commitment and service to the Helsinki 
Commission.

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