2006 News Archive

Statement by the Head of Delegation
of the United States of America
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
R. Nicholas Burns
at the 14th OSCE Ministerial Council

Brussels,
December 4, 2006

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I want to begin by conveying to you
President Bush’s and Secretary Rice’s deepest regards. Their support, and
the support of my country is unwavering for the critical role the OSCE plays
in achieving our common goal of a Europe whole, free, democratic and at
peace. I want to thank the Belgian government, PM Verhofstadt and FM
Karel de Gucht for their vigorous leadership.

The OSCE had its birth in one of the milestones of the Cold War: the
Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Helsinki Final Act
enabled brave people like Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa to turn to their
governments and demand adherence to the human rights principles their
governments subscribed to as signatories.

Helsinki’s vision held that men and women could not be safe without
freedom – an idea vital to America’s Founding Fathers and the
Enlightenment Philosophers who inspired them. From the start, our
organization has been rooted in the best elements of our common heritage,
and linked liberty and security with cooperation.

As the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War ended, our organization went
through unprecedented growth. During the 1990s, institutions such as the
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Representative for
Freedom of the Media and the High Commissioner for National Minorities
were developed to help us meet our commitments. We opened OSCE
Missions in many countries undergoing transitions to democracy to further
support their success.

In that period, we also adopted the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe that led to effective transparency measures and valuable limitations
on key categories of conventional military equipment, and allowed the
exchange of an unprecedented amount of information regarding our military
forces.

Our dreams of a region entirely at peace were shattered by the devastating
Balkans wars and intercommunity violence in breakaway regions. Even
then, we as States turned to the OSCE to help end the bloodshed, destroy
weapons, and rebuild communities based on a model of tolerance and
mutual respect for others.

This is the “OSCE way.” This is our way: building confidence and security;
preventing conflict; resolving disputes; breaking down the divisions of the
past; fostering mutual respect; strengthening open and free societies through
commitments to basic principles; and highlighting the limits on states’
authority over their populace.

Today our organization faces new challenges that are fundamentally
transnational in nature.

Terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction threaten us
all. Transnational crime, trafficking in persons, climate change, narcotics
smuggling, and energy security are all issues that require a strong
multilateral response, with united action and creative solutions.

But new missions cannot become an excuse to dismantle that which we have
so painstakingly built to date. The path to a better future is found in the
principles enshrined in three decades of agreements subscribed to by all
OSCE participating States.

Unfortunately, recent years have seen efforts to degrade these principles by
some signatories. The very commitments that are the bedrock of our shared
values are increasingly brought into question.

We regret that we have been unable to work successfully with Russia to
achieve entry into force of the Adapted CFE Treaty. The CFE Treaty is a
cornerstone of our cooperation. Ratification of the Adapted CFE Treaty by
my government and many others still awaits Russia’s fulfillment of the
remaining commitments that were made at Istanbul in 1999. Important
progress has been made in Georgia and we hope more can be reached in the
future. I respectfully ask our Russian colleagues to turn their attention to
completing these commitments, including by resuming the withdrawal of
their military forces from Moldova.

OSCE commitments to democracy are also under threat. There are too many
examples of backsliding by some OSCE States. These include:

• administrative rules used to keep candidates off the ballot such as in
Belarus;
• denial of access to public media by alternative voices, while statecontrolled
airwaves are at the disposal of ruling elites; also in Belarus;
• restrictions on freedom of assembly;
• the detention and even murder of human rights defenders;
• non-governmental organizations hampered by onerous registration
requirements and outright harassment;
• journalists who are intimidated, physically attacked, or even killed;
and
• criminal defamation proceedings which are used to silence unwanted
voices and limit freedom of expression.

Some OSCE countries are also resorting to economic and financial pressure
to impose their will on their neighbors.

Two members of our Organization, in particular, are under tremendous
pressures. In Moldova and Georgia, protracted conflicts and external threats
impede the full economic and democratic development of sovereign states,
creating unsecured borders, undermining their territorial integrity and
sovereignty, and hampering regional integration. As long as these countries
remain torn apart from within, and as long as open support for separatist
regimes continues from without, these societies will find it harder to realize
their potential. Our organization has been able to help them overcome some
of these problems, and we should look today and tomorrow at new ways to
provide even more help and to promote peaceful settlements to the conflicts
involving these countries. The OSCE must always defend the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of all members. We must give both Georgia and
Moldova our full support. Peaceful, patient, persistent approaches are the
only way ahead, and our governments must help, not hinder, the search for
solutions.

Likewise, the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict prevents the return of
hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons. That conflict
holds Armenia and Azerbaijan in a state of “no peace-no war,” with their
borders closed and once-neighborly populations growing further estranged
as years go by. Again, our organization can and should do more. Rather
than reaffirming our commitments and rising to these new challenges, our
Organization has been thrust into a protracted round of inward-looking
reflection under the guise of “reform.”

We do not object to real efforts to improve the effectiveness of the OSCE; in
fact, we welcome them. We will continue to pursue proposals that
strengthen the Organization.

But let there be no mistake: for some participating States, the word “reform”
is little more than a smokescreen for an outright attempt to dismantle the
institutions we have built and nurtured together.

Perhaps no single institution better embodies our commitment than the
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. ODIHR remains our
indispensable tool for observing elections, human rights, and other core
principles to which our organization aspires. It has earned our trust. It
deserves our support. The U.S. will oppose all attempts to weaken ODIHR.
It must be protected so that it will continue to be our most objective and
aggressive proponent of free and fair elections. We support a budget
increase for ODIHR to help it do its job.

The Representative for Freedom of the Media is an advocate for our ideals;
given continuing efforts by some to restrict media freedom in our region, his
message must not be ignored.

The field Missions remain jewels in the crown of our organization; they
should be supported and strengthened.

And the institution of the Chairman-in-Office is critical to carrying forward
our banner on a day-to-day basis. The leadership duties of the Chairman-in-
Office require the strongest commitment to our organization’s values and to
its work in emerging democracies. We are happy to consider any and all
candidates for future tenure as Chairman-in-Office on the basis of these
criteria, both within their own countries and in supporting our organization’s
work throughout Europe and Eurasia. We support the Personal
Representatives of the Chairman-in-Office and hope that the incoming
Spanish Chair will renew them, including the distinct anti-Semitism
portfolio.

We should emerge from this Ministerial rededicated to enlisting the power
of the OSCE to affect positive change. The United States has offered a
number of ideas this year aimed at doing just that. For example:

• In Georgia, the OSCE should expand its activities in South Ossetia,
and press authorities in that breakaway region to take demilitarizing
steps matching those taken by Georgia. We should increase the
number of OSCE monitors with access to the entire region, and seek
joint Georgia/Russia/OSCE monitoring of the Roki Tunnel. We
should call for economic rehabilitation projects, and the resumption of
dialogue between the parties. I invite Russia to join these efforts, and
to play a major role in the search for confidence and peaceful
resolution of these frozen conflicts.

• On Nagorno-Karabakh, we thank Russia and France, our Minsk
Group Co-Chairs. We have developed with the leaders of Azerbaijan
and Armenia a reasoned approach which promises to lead to a
negotiated settlement. Our organization should call on the leaders to
turn these ideas into an agreement now.

• In Moldova, we call for an immediate resumption of talks on
Transnistria. The OSCE should support Moldova’s unilateral
disarmament steps, and demand similar reductions from the
Transnistrian side. We call for a resumption of Russian military
withdrawal, and complete fulfillment of Russia’s remaining Istanbul
Commitments regarding both Moldova and Georgia. Here, too,
Russia can play a major role, if it chooses, in the search for solutions.

• We have proposed strengthening the institutions of the Personal
Representatives on Tolerance, expanding interaction with the press
and non-governmental organizations, and elaborating new electoral
commitments to include emerging voting technologies. We need to
continue the fight against anti-Semitism and call for an OSCE
conference on this issue in 2007.

• We and other participating States have pushed for OSCE involvement
to fight the horrific crime of sexual exploitation of children. We look
forward to a strong ministerial statement on this issue.

• Together with Russia, we have proposed that the OSCE embrace a
concept for fighting terrorism through public-private partnership.

• Our Mission in Kosovo should be given a clear mandate to continue to
support the transformation of Kosovo, and to contribute wherever
possible in the implementation of the Final Status conclusions to be
put forward by UNOSEC Martti Ahtisaari. We should do this without
delay after the Serbian elections in January. Kosovo’s Final Status
should not be delayed after seven long years since NATO stopped
ethnic cleansing there.

• We should agree to open up even more the work of the Permanent
Council to non-governmental organizations.

The path to reform of the OSCE lies through action on the real challenges
of our time, including:

• rededication to OSCE principles of respect for sovereignty, territorial
integrity, peaceful negotiation, and the human rights of our citizens;

• respect for our common commitment to refrain from fomenting
instability in neighboring States, and rejection of the idea that one
State may maintain a military presence in another State against the
will of the hosting State; this should not continue to occur in 21st
century Europe;

• holding accountable any State that infringes on these principles.

The path to reform lies in renewal of our will to meet the challenges ahead.
Through action. Through positive ideas for transformation of our societies
and our international relations. This is the path we should choose.

This is our way, the OSCE way.

Thank you.