[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 26, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 13--CALLING UPON THE PRESIDENT TO ISSUE A 
 PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING THE ABIDING IMPORTANCE OF THE HELSINKI FINAL 
  ACT AND ITS RELEVANCE TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
Tillis, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Gardner, and Mr. Udall) 
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 13

       Whereas the Final Act of the Conference on Security and 
     Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) concluded on August 1, 1975 (in 
     this joint resolution referred to as the ``Helsinki Final 
     Act''), established a comprehensive concept of security that 
     encompasses political-military, environmental and economic, 
     and human rights and humanitarian dimensions;
       Whereas the Helsinki Final Act set out a declaration of ten 
     fundamental Principles Guiding Relations Between States, 
     which all participating States committed to respect and put 
     into practice in their relations with each other, that have 
     been the basis of the international order in the OSCE Region 
     since its inception in 1975;
       Whereas these Principles, adopted on the basis of consensus 
     by all participating States and reaffirmed through the years, 
     enshrine--
       (1) sovereign equality, respect for the rights inherent in 
     sovereignty;
       (2) refraining from the threat or use of force;
       (3) inviolability of frontiers;
       (4) territorial integrity of States;
       (5) peaceful settlement of disputes;
       (6) non-intervention in internal affairs;
       (7) respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, 
     including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or 
     belief;
       (8) equal rights and self-determination of peoples;
       (9) cooperation among States; and
       (10) fulfilment in good faith of obligations under 
     international law;

       Whereas the Helsinki Final Act, for the first time in the 
     history of international agreements, recognized that respect 
     for, and implementation of, commitments to human rights and 
     fundamental freedoms are integral to stability and security 
     within and among nations;
       Whereas, in the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe, the 
     participating States declared, ``Human rights and fundamental 
     freedoms are the birthright of all human beings, are 
     inalienable and are guaranteed by law. Their protection and 
     promotion is the first responsibility of government,'' and 
     committed themselves ``to build, consolidate and strengthen 
     democracy as the only system of government of our nations'';
       Whereas, in 1991, participating States met in Moscow and 
     unanimously agreed that ``issues relating to human rights, 
     fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are of 
     international concern, as respect for these rights and 
     freedoms constitutes one of the foundations of international 
     order;'' and declared ``categorically and irrevocably. . . 
     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 CSCE was renamed the Organization for Security 
     and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in January 1995, reaffirming 
     the continued relevance and applicability of previously made 
     principles and provisions in a Europe no longer divided 
     between East and West and as the number of participating 
     States increased from the original 35 to 57 today;
       Whereas the Helsinki Final Act, by making respect for human 
     rights and implementation of commitments by participating 
     States a permanent priority in the relations between States, 
     provided an international foundation for the democratic 
     aspirations of peoples throughout Europe and contributed to 
     the peaceful end to the Cold War;
       Whereas the seventh Principle confirmed the right of the 
     individual to know and act upon his or her rights, which 
     inspired citizens from the participating States to associate 
     and assemble for the purposes of monitoring and encouraging 
     compliance with the principles and provisions of the Helsinki 
     Final Act and subsequent documents of the CSCE and OSCE;
       Whereas, during the Communist era, members of 
     nongovernmental organizations, such as the Helsinki 
     Monitoring Groups in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia as 
     well as in Lithuania, 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 members of nongovernmental organizations, civil 
     society, and independent media across the region covered by 
     the OSCE continue to risk their safety to advance the 
     principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, often in the 
     face of harassment and threats from their own governments who 
     are OSCE participating States;
       Whereas the United States 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 its principles and provisions;
       Whereas many countries continue to fall significantly short 
     of implementing their OSCE commitments, particularly in the 
     Human Dimension;
       Whereas the Russian Federation is responsible for the 
     clear, gross, and uncorrected violation of all ten Principles 
     of the Helsinki Final Act;
       Whereas, for many years, the Russian Federation has ignored 
     its OSCE commitments related to the Human Dimension of 
     comprehensive security by cracking down on civil society and 
     independent media through harassment, intimidation, 
     burdensome legal constraints, and violence, undermining the 
     ability of its citizens to freely choose their leaders;
       Whereas Russia's internal repression is directly related to 
     its external aggression, including in Ukraine, Georgia, and 
     Syria;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 
     interfered through information warfare and cyber-intrusions 
     and otherwise engaged in deliberate and malicious efforts to 
     undermine confidence in the democratic institutions and 
     processes of other OSCE participating States;
       Whereas the first Principle recognizes the right of each 
     participating State ``to be or not to be a party to bilateral 
     or multilateral treaties including the right to be or not to 
     be a party to treaties of alliance; they also have the right 
     to neutrality'';
       Whereas the OSCE's participating States bear primary 
     responsibility for raising violations of the Helsinki Final 
     Act and other OSCE documents;
       Whereas successive United States Administrations since the 
     Helsinki Final Act was signed in 1975 have made the Act's 
     Principles Guiding Relations Between States a basis for 
     United States policy toward Europe and the OSCE region as a 
     whole; and
       Whereas Congress has strongly supported and encouraged the 
     United States to encourage improved compliance with these 
     Principles, including by raising its concerns about non-
     compliance in a direct and frank manner and continues to do 
     so today: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress calls upon the President to--
       (1) issue a proclamation--
       (A) reaffirming the United States' commitment to the 
     Guiding Principles 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, including respect 
     for human rights and fundamental freedoms, defense of the 
     principles of liberty, and tolerance within societies, all of 
     which are vital to the promotion of democracy;
       (C) urging all participating States to fully implement 
     their commitments under the Helsinki Final Act;
       (D) calling upon all participating States to respect each 
     other's sovereign right to join alliances;
       (E) condemning the clear, gross, and uncorrected violation 
     of all ten core OSCE principles enshrined in the Helsinki 
     Final Act by the Russian Federation with respect to other 
     OSCE participating States, including Georgia, Moldova, and 
     Ukraine; and
       (F) condemning all other violations of the Helsinki Final 
     Act and its fundamental Guiding Principles; and
       (2) conveying to all signatory states 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 and lasting era of democracy, 
     peace, and unity in the region covered by the Organization 
     for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

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