[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9443-9444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HELSINKI COMMISSION ACTIVITIES

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like to report to my colleagues on 
the work of the U.S. delegation to the eighth Winter Meeting of the 
Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation 
in Europe. This meeting was held on February 19 and 20 in Vienna, 
Austria. Prior to attending the Winter Meeting, the delegation traveled 
to Israel and Syria to ascertain the prospects for the Middle East 
peace process at this critical time.
  I had the honor to lead this delegation as chairman of the Commission 
on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better known as the Helsinki 
Commission.
  Joining me as delegation leader in Vienna was my Helsinki Commission 
Cochair, Representative Alcee L. Hastings. Three Senate colleagues on 
the Commission--Senator Roger Wicker, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and 
Senator Tom Udall--also joined the delegation for the entire trip, as 
did fellow Commission member Representative Mike McIntyre. Although not 
a member of the Helsinki Commission, Representative Gwen Moore also 
joined the delegation.
  The delegation first visited Israel. Our arrival came 3 days after 
that country's parliamentary elections and in the aftermath of the 
events in Gaza. We met with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert, Likud leader and now Prime Minister-designate 
Benjamin Netanyahu and numerous other officials. We also visited Yad 
Veshem and laid a wreath in memory of the millions lost in the 
Holocaust.
  The delegation met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam 
Fayyad in East Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority Chief Negotiator 
Sa'eb Erakat in the West Bank and in each of these meetings discussed 
the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank, the potential for 
reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, and how the United States can 
be a constructive partner in facilitating the peace process.
  In Damascus, Syria, our delegation had a country team briefing with 
U.S. Embassy staff, including U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Syria, Maura 
Connelly. We also held a constructive meeting with Syrian President 
Bashar al-Asad and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallim, where the 
delegation pressed them on the need to improve human rights in Syria, 
encouraged them to assist the international community in bringing Iran 
into compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and 
promoted restarting peace talks with Israel.
  The delegation paid a courtesy visit to the historic Omayyad Mosque 
as well as visited the only surviving synagogue in Damascus. A briefing 
on the Iraqi refugee situation by the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees, UNHCR, Site Director in Damascus was extremely 
informative. The delegation was particularly moved by its meeting with 
a group of Iraqi refugees living in Syria. Their stories of hardship 
and suffering have galvanized our efforts to improve U.S. policies and 
activities in support of these refugees in Syria and in other 
surrounding countries.
  The delegation's final stop was Vienna for the Winter Meeting. During 
the first day of the meeting, our delegation was joined by a delegation 
led by Representative John Tanner that attended a meeting of the NATO 
Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels earlier in the week.
  A meeting of the Standing Committee, composed of the officers and 
heads of delegation to the OSCE PA, took place prior to the formal 
opening. As an OSCE PA vice president, I reported on the latest efforts 
of the Obama administration to close Guantanamo Bay as a detention 
facility, an issue of continued concern in the Assembly. Our efforts in 
recent years to be responsive to criticism of U.S. performance have 
been well received and provide a stronger basis for us to raise concern 
about the human rights performance of other countries. In addition to 
detailing the specific policy changes already announced by the Obama 
administration, I expressed hope that ``these measures will help 
restore faith in the United States as a friend, ally and leader in the 
global community. If the United States wants to lead, we must lead by 
example.''
  Cochairman Hastings also made a presentation on his work as the 
Assembly's Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs, in 
particular his travel to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Israel--
all Mediterranean Partner states--last December. He met with 
parliamentarians and senior government officials to discuss greater 
OSCE engagement, the Middle East peace process, regional economic 
cooperation, the prospects of the Union for the Mediterranean, and the 
Iraqi refugee crisis.
  OSCE PA President Joao Soares, Portugal, opened the Winter Meeting 
before 250 parliamentarians. The opening plenary was addressed by 
Barbara Prammer, President of Austria's National Council; Greek Foreign 
Minister Dora Bakoyannis, who chairs the OSCE in 2009; French diplomat 
Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, the OSCE's Secretary General, and by 
Representative John Tanner in his capacity as President of the NATO 
Parliamentary Assembly.
  Following the opening plenary, additional discussions were held in 
each of the Assembly's three General Committees: the First Committee, 
dealing with political affairs and security; the Second Committee, 
focusing on economic Affairs, science, technology and environment; and 
the Third Committee, which covers democracy, human rights and 
humanitarian questions. Rapporteurs and guest speakers discussed 
current issues and the prospects for OSCE PA work in the coming year. 
Among the OSCE officials speaking in committee were Knut Vollebaek of 
Norway, the High Commissioner on National Minorities; Goran Svilanovic 
of Serbia, Economic and Environmental Coordinator; Miklos Haraszti of 
Hungary, Representative of Free Media; and Janez Lenarcic of Slovenia, 
Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
  Every member of the U.S. delegation was active throughout the 
committee sessions. In the First Committee, Representative McIntyre 
reported on the delegation's visit to Israel and Syria, and 
Represenative Moore called attention to the plight of children in armed 
conflict and especially their use as child soldiers around the globe. 
In the Second Committee, Senator Udall discussed the new prospects for 
U.S. engagement with Europe on climate change, and Senator Whitehouse 
called for greater transparency regarding extractive industries, where 
corruption limits economic progress in developing countries. Senator 
Wicker responded to criticisms of the United States related to the 
economic crisis and pushed back against calls for greater trade 
protectionism. In the Third Committee, Senator Wicker stressed the 
continued need to focus on religious freedom, which is threatened in 
many countries of the OSCE region, while Cochairman Hastings explained 
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's important contribution to election 
observation in the region.
  The Winter Meeting traditionally includes a plenary debate on issues 
that are particularly relevant and timely. This year, the debate 
focused on a proposal by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and 
supported by French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a new European 
security architecture. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander 
Grushko and senior French Foreign Ministry official Veronique Bujon-
Barre made opening presentations. Senators Whitehouse, Wicker, and I 
each spoke in the debate. We stressed the need to maintain a 
comprehensive definition of security to include respect for human 
rights and commitment to democratic governance and,

[[Page 9444]]

while not opposing further work, defended the NATO Alliance which some 
believe the Russian proposal intends to undercut. There was also 
considerable criticism of Russia's actions against neighboring Georgia 
in 2008, with considerable opposition to any attempt to legitimize this 
action in any new security talks.
  As the Winter Meeting came to a close, Representative Moore took the 
floor during debate on gender issues to announce her intention to 
introduce a resolution on the issue of maternal mortality, calling for 
action to reduce the number of women around the world and especially in 
developing countries who die due to the lack of medical care in 
response to complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth. A 
Greek presentation on piracy as a new security threat and presentations 
on Kazakhstan's preparations to chair the OSCE in 2010, rounded out the 
closing issues of the meeting.
  In addition to the sessions of the Winter Meeting, the congressional 
delegation was briefed by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary 
General, Spencer Oliver of the United States, and by the Charge 
d'Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, Kyle Scott. The delegation 
had bilateral sessions with OSCE Chair-in-Office Bakoyannis and 
numerous OSCE officials.
  The U.S. delegation also held a lengthy bilateral session with the 
Russian delegation, during which dialogue between the U.S. Congress and 
the Russian Duma, among other issues, was discussed. While we do not 
agree on many issues, we did firmly agree on the importance of 
continued dialogue.
  By all accounts, the Winter Meeting was 2 days of robust debate, and 
the U.S. Delegation was an active part of that debate, engaging 
European friends and allies on a variety of issues of importance to the 
United States. I want to thank my colleagues for the active 
participation throughout the trip.
  At the invitation of the Government of Slovakia, I traveled the very 
short distance from Vienna to Slovakia's capital, Bratislava. My other 
colleagues remained in Vienna actively engaged in the work of the 
assembly discussed above.
  Immediately upon arrival in Bratislava, I had a substantive and 
lengthy discussion with Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak. As the 
Minister had taken office just 2 weeks prior to our arrival, I had the 
privilege of being the first Member of Congress to meet with him in 
this capacity. Our wide-ranging discussion touched on the global 
economic crisis, the Middle East peace process, the situation in the 
Balkans--the Minister was recently the EU Special Representative for 
Bosnia and Herzegovina--anti-Semitism, and the plight of Slovakia's 
Roma population.
  Following that meeting, Keith Eddins, the U.S. Charge d'Affaires, 
hosted a lunch with leading academics and NGO leaders to discuss 
current events in Slovakia and the state of U.S.-Slovak relations. 
After lunch, I met with the chief rabbi and the lay leadership of 
Slovakia's Jewish community. Finally, before heading back to Vienna, I 
met with a cross-section of Slovakia's Roma community. As Europe's 
largest ethnic minority group, the Roma have been victims of some of 
postwar Europe's greatest discrimination. Congress's attention to 
issues of importance to this community has been inadequate in the past, 
but I hope to see that change in the future.
  The U.S. House and Senate should both take great pride in the unique 
ability of the Helsinki Commission to represent the views and values of 
our country abroad, something which I, as chairman, intend to continue 
at future OSCE Parliamentary Assembly gatherings, including the Annual 
Session which convenes in Vilnius, Lithuania, in June and July of this 
year.

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