[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 190 (Thursday, October 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7456-S7457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




30TH ANNIVERSARY OF OSCE'S OFFICE OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND HUMAN 
                                 RIGHTS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise to commemorate the 30th anniversary 
of the creation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe's--OSCE--Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights--
ODIHR--one of the world's most preeminent and comprehensive human 
rights protection bodies.
  In 1990-1991, during the signing of the Charter of Paris for a New 
Europe that created ODIHR, a spirit of ``profound change and historic 
expectations'' prevailed among the United States, nations of Europe, 
and the Soviet Union.

[[Page S7457]]

Revolutionary for their time, heads of state and governments resolved 
to ``build, consolidate and strengthen democracy as the only system of 
government of our nations.'' Further, by affirming that government's 
first responsibility is to ensure the ``protection and promotion of 
human rights,'' they explicitly linked the full attainment of those 
rights with ``the foundation of freedom, justice and peace'' and set 
the standard for relations and security within and among nations.
  Now, 30 years later, I am deeply concerned that the fundamental 
freedoms that ODIHR was founded to safeguard are in peril.
  Authoritarianism is on the rise in Europe. Credible reports allege 
there are more than 750 political prisoners in Belarus, many detained 
for participating peacefully in protest of the fraudulent elections of 
August 2020 and the brutal government crackdown that followed. In 
Hungary, Viktor Orban's administration continues its unprecedented 
consolidation of Hungary's media, even as opposition figures organize 
to resist him. In many countries across the OSCE area, we have 
witnessed an alarming rise in anti-Semitism, racism, religious and 
other intolerance, and violence against women. These scourges have 
worsened the conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic that 
disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in our communities.
  With these and other challenges in mind, ODIHR's valuable work to 
assist nations to live up to their commitments is more relevant and 
more needed than ever.
  ODIHR is empowered by states to ensure respect for human rights, 
fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, and to promote and strengthen 
democratic institutions and tolerance. ODIHR actively partners with 
OSCE's 57 participating states, civil society, and international 
organizations to support human rights defenders, enhance the 
independence of judiciaries, and promote human-rights-based policing. 
It offers legislative reviews and develops tools to support local 
government officials, including the Words into Action project, which 
enhances social inclusion within local communities and for which I 
proudly help secure funding.
  The most visible demonstration of ODIHR's collaboration with the 
United States is perhaps in the field of election observation, where 
its methodology is rightly seen as the gold standard in international 
election observation. Since its founding, ODIHR, the Department of 
State, and the U.S. Congress, through the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, 
have deployed thousands of American citizens and legislators to observe 
the conduct of elections across the OSCE area, including in the United 
States. Since OSCE states pledged in 1990 to hold free and fair 
elections, elections observation has been recognized as one of the most 
transparent and methodical ways to encourage states' commitment to 
democratic standards and is a hallmark of ODIHR's work.
  For nearly 30 years, ODIHR has organized Europe's largest human 
rights review conference, the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting--
HDIM--gathering thousands of representatives of governments, 
parliaments, and civil society for 2 weeks around the same table to 
review progress on human rights commitments. Unfortunately, the HDIM 
did not take place this September. Russia blocked consensus to hold the 
meeting, thereby denying the OSCE region's nearly 1 billion citizens of 
a meaningful and sustained opportunity to hold their governments to 
account.
  In September, Russia also prevented ODIHR from deploying a full and 
independent election observation mission to observe its Duma elections. 
Likewise, Russia was responsible for the closure of OSCE's border 
observation mission, which provided valuable insight into the personnel 
and materiel flowing across Russia's border into the temporarily 
occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.
  ODIHR's work is more important and relevant than at any time since 
its founding at the end of the Cold War. I would like to take a moment 
to extend my heartfelt appreciation to ODIHR's 180 staff from 35 
countries, upon whose dedication and professionalism we rely as we 
strive to realize an equitable and just future for all.
  ODIHR is not only the human rights arm of the world's largest 
regional security organization; it is also the independent body endowed 
to assist us as we pursue this important goal.
  The phrase ``Vancouver to Vladivostok'' is routinely invoked to 
describe the organization's broad geographical reach. However, it is 
perhaps ODIHR--and OSCE's--revolutionary and comprehensive concept of 
``security,'' which includes military security, economic and 
environmental cooperation, and human rights, that is its defining 
characteristic and most important contribution to world peace and the 
reason why we should all be celebrating ODIHR's 30th anniversary this 
year and take steps to ensure its success for years to come.

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