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Belarus: 25 Years after Signing the Helsinki Final ActMonday, November 06, 2017
In July 2017, Belarus hosted the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Annual Session. However, two decades ago, the OSCE PA refused to even recognize the legitimacy of Belarus' putative elected representatives. What has changed? Download the full report to learn more. Contributors: Erika Schlager, Counsel for International Law, Scott Rauland, Senior State Department Advisor, and Michael Newton, Intern
Organization Profile: Forum 18Friday, October 27, 2017
The Helsinki Final Act of 1975 recognizes religious freedom as a "human right and fundamental freedom." Participating States of the OSCE "will recognize and respect the freedom of the individual to profess and practice, alone or in community with others, religion or belief acting in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience." The Helsinki Commission promotes and defends the religious freedom of people in the OSCE region, particularly prioritizing the cases of individuals and communities whose religious freedom has been violated and laws and policies that conflict with the Helsinki Final Act. Forum 18 is a news organization dedicated to reporting on violations of religious freedom in several OSCE participating States, including in Central Asia and the South Caucasus; Russia; Belarus; and Turkey. Helsinki Commission Policy Advisor Nathaniel Hurd interviewed the editors of Forum 18 by email to learn more about their work and views about religious freedom in the countries they cover. According to the editors, "The mission of Forum 18 is to provide original, reliable and detailed monitoring and analyses of threats and actions against the freedom of religion and belief of all people, whatever their religion or belief (including atheism and agnosticism), in an objective, truthful and timely manner." Violations of Religious Freedom in the Former Soviet Union Forum 18 focuses its work on the states of the former Soviet Union, which the organization considers the worst violators of freedom of religion in the region. "The worst violators of freedom of religion and belief in the territories Forum 18 monitors – governments – target anyone and any religious community they see as actually or potentially outside their control," the editors noted. "Azerbaijan, for example, claims to be 'an example of tolerance' yet has repeatedly closed Sunni Muslim mosques. A 2014 police list of banned books [in Azerbaijan] includes Islamic texts by theologian Said Nursi, Jehovah's Witness texts, and the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible used by Christians and Jews. Police have long confiscated these texts and others during raids on Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, and Baptist private homes and meetings of people exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief. There are many prisoners of conscience, especially human rights defenders and journalists. On July 3, 2017 Shia Imam Sardar Babayev was jailed for three years for leading mosque prayers because he was educated abroad." "The reality of freedom of religion and belief violations by governments in these territories and the necessity of documenting them is why we were founded," noting that they work to protect the freedom of everyone whatever their religion or belief (including atheism and agnosticism). "Our founders and staff were and are totally convinced as a matter of Christian conviction that everyone with no exceptions – including people who would completely disagree with the Christian faith – must…be able to freely exercise the freedom of religion and belief, and related rights such as the freedoms of expression, association and assembly…Our personal experience in the territories we monitor and other states (such as the former East Germany), as well as our own convictions, make us committed to Forum 18's work of monitoring and analyzing governments' violations of their international human rights law obligations." In addition to its work on Azerbaijan, Forum 18 is also focusing on Uzbekistan's raids, fines, jailing, and torture of Muslims, Protestants, and Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as the increasing number of prisoners of conscience being jailed in Kazakhstan for exercising freedom of religion and belief, including alleged adherents of Muslim missionary movement Tabligh Jamaat, Jehovah's Witness Teymur Akhmedov, and Seventh-day Adventist Yklas Kabduakasov. Kazakhstan has also banned all mosques outside state control; expressions of non-Sunni Hanafi Islam; and discussion of faith by people without state permission, or not using state-approved texts, or outside state-approved locations. Kazakhstan's persecution of atheist writer Aleksandr Kharlamov is also of concern. In Russia, Forum 18 actively monitors the government's "anti-extremist" nationwide ban on Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as "anti-extremist" prosecutions, fines and jailing of Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses, including cases like that of Muslim Yevgeny Kim, who in in June 2017 was sentenced to three years in prison. Forum 18 is also concerned about nationwide religious literature bans, with the possessors of such texts being liable to criminal prosecution. Accuracy and Objectivity Are Key "Our overriding editorial objective is to as accurately as possible present the truth of a situation, both implicitly and explicitly," note the editors of Forum 18. "It is vitally important that we cross-check information with local people, including religious communities and other human rights defender organizations where these exist. It is equally vital that in our published articles we carry the views of local people and human rights organizations – this enables local people to make their views on human rights violations known." "Similarly, we always seek the comments of relevant officials, such as public prosecutors, police and secret police officials, within the country being written about," they continued. "Every article we publish includes information on all the sources used, even if some have to be described as remaining anonymous for fear of state reprisals." According to Forum 18, the organization's efforts have resulted in "significant respect and usage among victims of human rights violations, human rights defenders (including journalists), diplomats, intergovernmental organizations, academics and others." "Accuracy is in itself an effective advocacy for human rights by countering with accurate information the false information presented by repressive regimes, who often seek to conceal their human rights violations," the editors said. The Worst of the Worst? When asked which of the countries Forum 18 monitors should be considered the "worst of the worst," the editors noted that developing such a ranking is difficult. "Territories where serious…violations take place are places where people have a strong incentive to not discuss the state's violations, for fear of state reprisals, making any reliable ranking of territories difficult," they observed. "Because in all the territories Forum 18 monitors governments violate individuals', informal groups', and communities' freedom of religion and belief apparently as part of a declared or undeclared policies of increasing state control of society – even in states such as Georgia in the south Caucasus – we think it is best for readers to judge for themselves which countries are the worst violators of freedom of religion or belief at any one time," the editors added. Similarly, Forum 18 finds it difficult to rank the individual cases monitored by the organization. "In our view, each one of these cases where a government has violated an individual's or group's freedom of religion and belief can fairly be described as compelling. We think this view is reinforced by the individual cases being part of a much broader pattern of intentional, systemic government violations of the human rights of everyone they rule." One case Forum 18 has followed close is that of Protestant Pastor Bakhrom Kholmatov in Tajikistan, who was jailed for three years for allegedly "singing extremist songs in church and so inciting 'religious hatred.'" The regime has threatened family members, friends, and church members with reprisals if they reveal any details of the case, trial, or jailing. Cooperation is Key Cooperation is vital to the Forum 18 approach. "Cooperation in defense of human rights for all is both right in principle and more effective than competition," the Forum 18 editors argue. "It is important to cooperate with others – including in our case providing accurate information – to help responses to violations of freedom of religion and belief and interlinked other fundamental freedoms to be as effective as possible. Our work with victims of freedom of religion and belief violations and other human rights defenders convinces us that this approach is the right one to follow." Twitter: @Forum_18 Facebook: @Forum18NewsService
in the news
Kyrgyzstan election: A historic vote, but is it fair?Sunday, October 15, 2017
For the first time in the history of Kyrgyzstan, an elected president is due to peacefully hand over power after elections take place on Sunday. But critics say the political environment in Central Asia's "island of democracy" is deteriorating. Here's a look at the issues there - and who's likely to come out on top. Elections in Central Asia are usually easily predictable - the incumbent or the ruling party's candidate wins the vote with an overwhelming majority. But the vote in Kyrgyzstan offers a real competition and choice. Nearly 60 people applied to run in the race, 13 of whom were registered to stand. Two later dropped out. The incumbent, President Almazbek Atambayev, must leave office after six years. Under the Kyrgyz constitution, he may only serve one term. In neighbouring states, laws have often been changed to allow the incumbent to run again but this did not happen in Kyrgyzstan. President Atambayev also promised not to go for the prime minister's job in order to stay in power. Although one of the main candidates - Sooronbay Jeenbekov - is from the president's party, he is not guaranteed to win the vote. He faces a strong opponent - Omurbek Babanov, a prominent businessman and a former prime minister. Some candidates made the unusual move of endorsing their opponents after the campaign started. Experts say that they went through all the trouble of getting into the race in order to increase their political influence. They try to build a greater support base, which they use to negotiate a favourable deal with stronger candidates before pulling out of the race. Politicians can easily change sides, because it's not ideology or a political platform but their own personality that they use to appeal to the voters. Observers say that over the last couple of years the political climate in Kyrgyzstan has been deteriorating. The Helsinki Commission wrote that "the vote takes place amid mounting concerns of democratic backsliding, particularly regarding the government's treatment of political opposition, civil society and human rights defenders". President Atambayev has demonstrated increasing intolerance to criticism. The Sentyabr TV station which opposed him was closed last year for extremism, and activists say that there were blatant procedural violations during the trial. Several popular independent media outlets were sued and heavily fined for insulting the president. The government also tried to intimidate critics on social media. Security services identified Facebook users who criticised the president, and gave them warnings. Several political opponents of President Atambayev have also been sent to prison. Earlier this year, leaders of the opposition People's Parliament movement were jailed for allegedly plotting a coup. Omurbek Tekebayev, a former ally of President Atambayev who turned into a prominent critic, was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and fraud and subsequently barred from running for the presidency. Experts saw this case as politically motivated. The atmosphere got particularly tense following a major diplomatic spat between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It started last month after a meeting between the president of neighbouring Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Mr Babanov. In an unusually harsh speech, President Atambayev accused his Kazakh counterpart of interfering in Kyrgyzstan's affairs, and warned them of worse to come. "I will speak differently if our neighbours don't come to their senses," he said. Since the beginning of the campaign, there have been numerous reports of violations by various candidates. There have been reports of people going house-to-house with a list of names and addresses and offering money to citizens if they vote for Mr Jeenbekov. Mr Babanov was also accused of vote-buying, and the Central Elections Committee issued him three warnings for violation of campaign rules. The Babanov team complained that security services were putting pressure on their candidate by recording their meetings and conversations and arresting his supporters. An influential MP, Kanatbek Isakov, was detained and charged with an attempt to organise a coup. Security services denied any political motive for the arrest, but Mr Babanov said that Mr Isakov had been arrested because he endorsed him. Despite all this, many voters feel encouraged by the fact that there are several strong candidates. In their view, this will ensure that the outcome is not rigged. "Our politicians know that the people will rise if there are serious violations, so they won't go into that," said one voter in the second city, Osh. Kyrgyzstan has experienced two major uprisings that ousted presidents in the past. And in both cases, rigged elections fuelled the protest mood.
Helsinki Commission Advisor Observes German Elections in BerlinFriday, September 29, 2017
By Scott Rauland, State Department Senior Advisor On September 24, 2017, over 50 parliamentarians and staff from 25 countries fanned out across Germany as part of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) team that was invited to observe German parliamentary elections. This marked the first time that an OSCE PA Election Observation Mission (EOM) has deployed to Germany. Although the OSCE PA does not have the resources to observe every election, the organization tries to be present in major elections that are politically important. I was pleased to represent the U.S. in that effort as the State Department's Senior Advisor at the U.S. Helsinki Commission. Members of the OSCE PA team were briefed by German government officials, representatives of the major political parties, political analysts, and other experts in the two days leading up to the election. On election day, members of the OSCE PA observation mission visited over 300 polling stations in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne and Duesseldorf, just a fraction of the more than 90,000 polling stations located in Germany in 299 constituencies. In a press conference held on September 25, George Tsereteli, the Special Coordinator for the EOM, noted, "Germany has once again demonstrated that its commitment to democracy is undiminished. Highly competitive and well-run, these elections were an opportunity for voters to express their choice in a process that benefits from and is based on broad trust among society." One sign of that trust was the almost complete absence of election observers from any of the participating political parties at the 14 polling stations my team visited in Berlin – all six major parties seemed to be relatively confident that the elections were being administered fairly. While the OSCE PA team was in Germany at the invitation of the German government, and although the public has the right to observe the voting process in Germany, my observation team was denied access to one of the polling stations we had hoped to observe. That incident was thankfully the exception amongst the 300 polling stations visited by the OSCE PA EOM, but was a reminder that efforts to promote transparency in the conduct of elections must be ongoing, even in countries where the commitment to democratic elections is high. With more than 4,800 candidates running, and numerous strong political parties, Germany's 61 million voters had a wide range of options to choose from. Women represented slightly less than 30 per cent of candidates, but played a prominent role in leadership positions in parties' campaigns. "This was the first time we've deployed a full observer team to Germany, and the welcome of our mission by all German officials and political parties that we met is a positive signal that the country is ready to pay continued attention to democratic processes," said EOM Head of Mission Isabel Santos. "Changing political cultures in many countries and new challenges such as cyber attacks mean that we must all dedicate time and effort to preserving democratic systems."
Kyrgyzstan: Prospects for Democratic Change and the Upcoming Presidential ElectionTuesday, September 26, 2017
Two weeks before the upcoming presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan—potentially the first peaceful transfer of power under regular circumstances in the region—campaigning is in full swing. On October 15, Kyrgyz citizens will participate in democratic elections, though serious concerns remain. This briefing was moderated by Helsinki Commission Policy Advisor Everett Price. In his remarks, he positively noted the current president's decision to respect his constitutionally-determined term limit and hold regularly-scheduled elections for his successor. He cautioned, however, that the country's weak political institutions and the ruling party's abuse of administrative resources could undermine the fairness of the vote. He also observed that the disqualification of certain opposition candidates and restrictions on journalists have adversely affected the election climate. Dr. Erica Marat from the National Defense University discussed the political situation on the ground in Kyrgyzstan and reviewed the political background of the two main candidates, Atambayev loyalist Sooronbay Jeenbekov and Kyrgyz billionaire, Ömürbek Babanov. Anthony Bowyer, Senior Program Manager for Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), reviewed ongoing electoral monitoring efforts in Kyrgyzstan, underscoring the importance of these elections for the region and U.S. interests therein. Finally, Freedom House representative Marc Behrendt offered his insight on Kyrgyzstan's enduring interethnic tensions and poor human rights record, offering a sobering reminder of the work that remains to be done in order for the Kyrgyz Republic to become a full-fledged democracy. During the briefing, questions pertaining to Russian influence over the country and its politics, as well as other regional, geo-political considerations were also highlighted as part of a general discussion of Kyrgyzstan's democratic development and the trajectory of Central Asian politics.
Human Rights and Democracy in RussiaWednesday, September 20, 2017
From September 11 to September 22, 2017, the OSCE participating States meet in Warsaw, Poland, for the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM). The HDIM is Europe's largest annual human rights event. Over the course of two weeks, the 57 participating States will discuss compliance with consensus-based commitments on full range of fundamental freedoms, democracy, tolerance and nondiscrimination, and humanitarian concerns. The Russian Federation has adopted, by consensus, OSCE commitments relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms, free and fair elections, the rule of law, and independence of the judiciary. However, in many areas the Russian government is failing to live up to its commitments. Download the full report to learn more. Contributors: Erika Schlager, Counsel for International Law, Scott Rauland, Senior State Department Advisor, and Michael Newton, Intern
press release
Democratic Change in Kyrgyzstan Topic of Upcoming Helsinki Commission BriefingWednesday, September 20, 2017
WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following briefing: KYRGYZSTAN: PROSPECTS FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE AND THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Tuesday, September 26, 2017 10:30 AM Senate Visitors Center (SVC) Room 202 Live Webcast: www.facebook.com/HelsinkiCommission The Kyrgyz people will go to the polls in October in a pivotal election that will determine the country's next president and the next chapter in its fragile democracy. In contrast to some other leaders in the region who have manipulated term limits to remain in power, current President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev is abiding by his constitutional term limit. However, the vote takes place amid mounting concerns of democratic backsliding, particularly regarding the government's treatment of political opposition, civil society, and human rights defenders. Additionally, the election marks only the second peaceful transition of power through elections following two revolutions – in 2005 and in 2010. This turbulent history serves as a reminder of the importance of building the popular legitimacy of Kyrgyzstan's political institutions. The briefing will examine the political dynamics surrounding the vote, the conduct of the election campaign thus far, and broader human rights issues in Kyrgyzstan. The following experts are scheduled to participate: Marc Behrendt, Director for Europe and Eurasia Programs, Freedom House Anthony Bowyer, Caucasus and Central Asia Senior Program Manager, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Dr. Erica Marat, Associate Professor, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University
The Scourge of Russian DisinformationThursday, September 14, 2017
Russian disinformation is a grave transnational threat, facilitating unacceptable aggression by Russia both at home and across the 57-nation OSCE region. Russian disinformation helps support rampant violations of OSCE norms by the Putin regime, ranging from internal human rights abuses to military intervention in neighboring states to interference in elections in several countries. On Thursday, September 14, 2017, the U.S. Helsinki Commission held a hearing on Russian disinformation in the OSCE region. Sen. Cory Gardner (CO) presided over the hearing on behalf of Commission Chairman Sen. Robert Wicker (MS). Witnesses included Mr. John F. Lansing, CEO and Director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors; Ms. Molly McKew, CEO of Fianna Strategies; and Ms. Melissa Hooper, Director of Human Rights and Civil Society Programs at Human Rights First. In his opening statement, Sen. Gardner described the serious threat that Russian disinformation poses to the liberal international order, and underscored "how it undermines the security and human rights of people in the OSCE region." Russia's goal, he said, is "to sow fear, discord, and paralysis that undermines democratic institutions and weakens critical Western alliances such as NATO and the EU." Ranking Member Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) highlighted the impact of Russian disinformation campaigns in Ukraine in conjunction with the recent invasions of Crimea and the Donbas. He also noted the extent of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election in the United States, and observed that such disinformation campaigns take advantage of our democratic institutions to advance Russia's strategic agenda. Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) characterized Russia's disinformation efforts as a part of a strategy of "hybrid war," and emphasized the need for the United States and its allies to develop counter-disinformation strategies as part of a "hybrid defense." Mr. Lansing, the first witness to testify, outlined the structure and scope of the BBG's broadcasting operations, and the role it plays in countering disinformation abroad. "The Russian strategy seeks to destroy the very idea of an objective, verifiable set of facts," he said. "The BBG is adapting to meet this challenge head on by offering audiences an alternative to Russian disinformation in the form of objective, independent, and professional news and information." He also described the BBG's recent expansion of programming in the Post-Soviet space, and its flagship Russian-language program "Current Time," launched in February 2017. In her testimony, Ms. McKew described Russia's disinformation campaign as "the core component of a war being waged by the Russian state against the West, and against the United States in particular." She noted, "These manipulations don't create tendencies or traits in our societies. They elevate, exploit, and distort divides and grievances that already are present." She also emphasized the need for a coordinated response from the United States Government and its allies, and proposed an increased role for the U.S. military in countering disinformation. Ms. Hooper reminded the Commission that, while Russian disinformation has taken center stage in recent U.S. policy debates, it is only one of many methods employed by the Russian government to advance its agenda. "It's part of a coordinated effort to disrupt and attack liberal norms wherever the opportunity arises using economic influence, electoral disruption, [and] the weakening of multilateral institutions," she said. She also discussed the upcoming German parliamentary elections, and the potential for disinformation to influence its outcome. She commended the German government's efforts to warn the public about disinformation, but criticized recent legislation that would increase censorship on social media. In response to a question from Sen. Gardner, Ms. Hooper noted that countering disinformation requires more than fact-checking false claims, and emphasized the need for a strategy of proactive narrative communication. Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04) concurred with Ms. McKew's statement that, in order to combat the threat of Russian disinformation, it is necessary for the Administration and Congress to come to a consensus on the existence of Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) inquired about the potential for Russian influence in upcoming elections by means of anonymous campaign spending, and about the role that the international banking system plays in sustaining corruption in Russia and neighboring states. Rep. Smith and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (NH) sought the witnesses' opinions on the recent news that Russian state-owned networks RT and Sputnik are being investigated for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Ms. McKew spoke in favor of stricter enforcement of FARA, while Mr. Lansing responded that he has concerns about retaliatory restrictions on U.S.-funded media in Russia. "I believe that this disinformation is one of the biggest threats that our democracy faces today," said Sen. Shaheen. "This is a threat to the foundations of American democracy. It has nothing to do with Republicans and Democrats."
Democratic Elections in the OSCE RegionTuesday, September 12, 2017
From September 11 to September 22, 2017, the OSCE participating States meet in Warsaw, Poland, for the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM). The HDIM is Europe's largest annual human rights event. Over the course of two weeks, the 57 participating States will discuss compliance with consensus-based commitments on full range of fundamental freedoms, democracy, tolerance and nondiscrimination, and humanitarian concerns. In the 1990 Copenhagen Document, the OSCE participating States adopted, by consensus, watershed commitments on free and fair elections. They stated that the participating States: ". . . solemnly declare that among those elements of justice which are essential to the full expression of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all human beings are the following: [ . . . ] — free elections that will be held at reasonable intervals by secret ballot or by equivalent free voting procedure, under conditions which ensure in practice the free expression of the opinion of the electors in the choice of their representatives; [ . . . ] — a clear separation between the State and political parties; in particular, political parties will not be merged with the State;" Accordingly, the participating States rejected the concept of a one-party state or "modified" democracy (e.g., communist- or socialist-democracy). In a summit held later that year, the OSCE Heads of State or Government declared, "We undertake to build, consolidate and strengthen democracy as the only system of government of our nations." In spite of the OSCE commitment to hold free and fair elections, some OSCE participating States have demonstrated even more resistance—if not complete unwillingness—to hold free and fair elections. In a few, a transfer of power is more likely to be the result of death than an election. In some cases, a generation has come of age under a single ruler or ruling family. Download the full report to learn more. Download highlights of conclusions and recommendations drawn from OSCE election reports (October 2016 to September 2017). Contributors: Robert Hand, Senior Policy Advisor, Janice Helwig, Representative of the Helsinki Commission to the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, Everett Price, Senior Policy Advisor, Scott Rauland, Senior State Department Advisor, Erika Schlager, Counsel for International Law, and John Engelken, Intern
The 2017 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting: An OverviewFriday, August 18, 2017
Each year,1 the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organizes the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw, Poland. As Europe's largest annual human rights conference, the HDIM brings together hundreds of government and nongovernmental representatives, international experts, and human rights activists for two weeks to review OSCE human rights commitments and progress. The 2017 HDIM will be held from September 11 to September 22. Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2017 The HDIM allows participating States to assess one another's implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments, identify challenges, and make recommendations for improvement. The HDIM agenda covers all human dimension commitments, including freedoms of expression and the media, peaceful assembly and association, and religion or belief; democratic elections; the rule of law; tolerance and non-discrimination; combating trafficking in persons; women's rights; and national minorities, including Roma. Each year, three special topics are selected for a full-day review. 2017 special topics will be 1) ensuring "equal enjoyment of rates and participation in political and public life," 2) "tolerance and nondiscrimination," and 3) "economic, social and cultural rights as an answer to rising inequalities." This year's meeting will take place at the Warsaw National Stadium (PGE Narodowy), the site of the NATO summit earlier this year. The meeting will be webcast live. Background on the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting When the Helsinki Final Act was signed in Finland in 1975, it enshrined among its ten Principles Guiding Relations between Participating States (the Decalogue) a commitment to "respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion" (Principle VII). In addition, the Final Act included a section on cooperation regarding humanitarian concerns, including transnational human contacts, information, culture and education. The phrase "human dimension" was coined to describe the OSCE norms and activities related to fundamental freedoms, democracy (such as free elections, the rule of law, and independence of the judiciary), humanitarian concerns (such as trafficking in human beings and refugees), and concerns relating to tolerance and nondiscrimination (e.g., countering anti-Semitism and racism). One of the innovations of the Helsinki Final Act was agreement to review the implementation of agreed commitments while considering the negotiation of new ones. Between 1975 and 1992, implementation review took place in the context of periodic "Follow-up Meetings" as well as smaller specialized meetings focused on specific subjects. The OSCE participating States established permanent institutions in the early 1990s. In 1992, they agreed to hold periodic Human Dimension Implementation Meetings" to foster compliance with agreed-upon principles on democracy and human rights. Additional changes to the modalities for the HDIM were agreed in 1998, 2001, and 2002, which included shortening the meeting from three weeks to two weeks, and adding three "Supplementary Human Dimension Meetings" annually on subjects selected by the Chairmanship-in-Office on particularly timely or time-sensitive issues. One of the most notable features of the HDIM is the strong participation of non-governmental organizations. The United States has been a strong advocate for the involvement of NGOs in the HDIM, recognizing the vital role that civil society plays in human rights and democracy-building initiatives. OSCE modalities allow NGO representatives to raise issues of concern directly with government representatives, both by speaking during the formal working sessions of the HDIM and by organizing side events that examine specific issues in greater detail. 1 In exceptional years when the OSCE participating States hold a summit of heads of state or government, the annual review of human dimension commitments is included as part of the Review Conference which precedes the summit, and also includes a review of the political-military and economic/environmental dimensions.
Engaging Belarus on Human Rights & DemocracyFriday, July 21, 2017
The U.S. Helsinki Commission held a briefing titled, "Engaging Belarus on Human Rights and Democracy" on July 21, 2017, which built on renewed interest in Belarus after members of the Commission traveled to Minsk earlier in the month for the annual OSCE Parliamentary Assembly meeting. The panelists for the briefing included Stephen Nix, Regional Program Director for Eurasia at the International Republican Institute in Washington, DC; Katie Fox, Deputy Director of the Eurasia Department at the National Democratic Institute in Washington, DC; and Sanaka Samarasinha, the United Nations Chief in Belarus. Brief remarks were also delivered by Belarusian Charge d'Affaires Pavel Shidlovsky. Stephen Nix began the briefing by highlighting the importance of Belarus in U.S. foreign relations, including the relationship between Belarus and Russia, especially in light of the increased Western presence in the Baltics and the surrounding area. Mr. Nix "applaud[ed] Belarus's expressed intent at engagement" and offered some examples demonstrating optimism for the democratic process in Belarus, such as the appointment of opposition party members to parliament with limited power. Katie Fox echoed this optimism when addressing "democratic openings," such as the concessions the Belarusian government made in response to protests, increasingly democratic electoral processes, and "the growth and development of the democratic parties." Sanaka Samarasinha discussed engagement in relations to the human rights issues Belarus presents today and the areas of particular concern to the UN. The UN in Belarus has focused primarily on "development activities," but also issues such as human trafficking and the rising number of HIV/AIDs cases. Samarasinha also highlighted the need for a "safe space" for discussions of human rights issues and transparency to allow Belarusians and Belarusian civil society to be able to have a conversation. Charge d'Affaires Pavel Shidlovsky highlighted ways that Belarus is working with its NATO neighbors through defense cooperation, including relinquishing nuclear weapons and inviting representatives of NATO to observe the Belarusian-Russian strategic joint exercise scheduled for September 2017. Shidlovsky also stated, "Belarus has always regarded normalization of relations with the United States as a priority of its foreign policy. Yes, we have had our ups and downs, but never has the leadership of Belarus underestimated the importance of full-fledged engagement with the U.S." In the final Q&A session the panelists were cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the improvement of human rights practices in Belarus and improvements in the electoral code that could someday lead to elections that could be certified as free and fair by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). However, they also stressed that it is critical to continue to fight for changes that are sustainable, beginning with the removal of restrictions on peaceful assembly and freedom of speech.
Energy (In)Security in Russia's PeripheryThursday, July 13, 2017
On July 13, 2017, the U.S. Helsinki Commission held a briefing on "Energy (In)security in Russia's Periphery." Energy security is an important topic that belongs to the OSCE's Second Dimension. This briefing addressed energy security challenges in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, in particular in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Panelists included Peter Doran, Executive Vice President and Interim Director at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA); Edward Chow, Senior Fellow at the Energy and National Security Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); Andrian Prokip, Senior Associate at the Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center and Energy Expert at the Institute for Social and Economic Research; Lyndon Allin, Associate at Baker McKenzie; and Dr. Mamuka Tsereteli, Senior Fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. The panelists provided a background on energy security both generally and in the regional context of the post-Soviet space, as well as in the specific case studies of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Mr. Doran stated that the energy security situation in Europe, and also in Russia's immediate neighborhood, has fundamentally changed as a result of the end of energy scarcity in the world and the construction of new energy infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe in a positive way. However, the bad news is that Russia is not willing to accept this game-changing market shift and is fighting back. For instance, the panelists agreed on the key role that Azerbaijan could play for the supply of energy not only in the post-Soviet space, but also in other European countries. They noted, however, in order for world-class projects, like the ones operating or being planned in Azerbaijan, to become a reality, the achievement of market integration is critical. Unfortunately, market integration in Southeastern Europe is exactly what Russia has been trying to prevent with the tool of energy corruption, which it uses to keep its neighboring countries dependent on it for energy supplies, and to obtain kompromat on various political leaders in the region. Mr. Doran specifically cited the case of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which he argued is a political and not a commercial project for Russia to gain more influence over European, and in particular Ukrainian, energy security. When it comes to ways of approaching energy security, panelists agreed that it must be achieved not by top-down but rather with bottom-up solutions, citing the specific example of Ukraine, which could easily become self-sufficient if it implemented crucial reforms that hinder much-needed private investment in its energy sector. In particular, Mr. Chow observed that, while external challenges must be confronted and overcome, the implementation of crucial structural reforms in the energy sectors of post-Soviet countries is critical to meet the challenge that Russia poses. For example, he regards corruption in the energy sector in Ukraine as the key reason for the nation's energy insecurity. The panelists agreed that U.S. political leaders should be careful about making promises to politicians in the region, for example the oft-cited promise that U.S. LNG exports will be able to substitute for Russian gas and solve the energy security problems of the region. Instead, as the panelists pointed out, the emphasis should be put on supporting the energy market development of countries in the post-Soviet space. Mr. Prokip stressed that the recently proposed reforms in Ukraine must go forward. In particular, progress must be made in implementation, which he argued could only happen if the West is willing to exert more pressure on the Ukrainian authorities, while continuing to provide advice and assistance. In both Chow's and Prokip's view, U.S. energy exports cannot serve as a substitute for structural economic reforms in Ukraine. Following a similar line of argument, Mr. Allin pointed out that, in the case of Moldova, it is the Moldovans who need to make more effort to solve their own problems, rather than looking only to foreign partners for external solutions. Finally, Dr. Tsereteli reminded the audience that structural reforms and the openness to trade and investment that accompanies them can lead to post-Soviet countries' integration in the global economic system, as was the case in Georgia, which managed to improve its energy security significantly this way.
Helsinki Commission Staff Meet with OSCE Election ExpertsWednesday, July 12, 2017
By Erika Schlager, Counsel for International Law On July 11, Helsinki Commission staff met with Dame Audrey Glover, head of the OSCE election observation mission during the 2016 U.S. elections. Other members of the OSCE team included Mr. Jan Haukass (Vienna Representative of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, or ODIHR), Dr. Richard Lappin (ODIHR-Warsaw), and Mr. Radivoje Grujic (ODIHR-Warsaw). The meeting was part of OSCE's standard consultations following the deployment of an election observation mission. The election team also held meetings in Washington with Members of Congress and the Department of State. OSCE election observation is based on the 1990 Copenhagen Document in which the participating States agreed that "the will of the people, freely and fairly expressed through periodic and genuine elections, is the basis of the authority and legitimacy of all government." The commitment fosters universal suffrage, equality, fairness, freedom, transparency, accountability, and secrecy of the ballot. The original proposal for a commitment to hold free and fair elections came from the Helsinki Commission in 1989 but, at that time, was unacceptable to communist countries. In 1990, as communist regimes began to fall, agreement on the new commitment was adopted and signaled the rejection of the one-party systems that had previously dominated Eastern Europe. However, implementation of this commitment continues to be restricted in some countries where civil society is limited or faces repression. OSCE election observation in the region represents the "gold standard" in international election observation. In some instances, when even the fundamental conditions for free and fair elections are lacking, the OSCE may decline to observe elections rather than give them a degree of legitimacy that is unwarranted. In 2015, restrictions imposed by the government of Azerbaijan compelled the OSCE to cancel a planned election observation mission. Some countries, such as Russia, have sought to undermine OSCE election observation by promoting observation through the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a post-Soviet grouping that includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. CIS election observers consistently praise elections that are considered to be significantly flawed by independent observers, particularly the OSCE. Helsinki Commissioners and staff have participated in well over 100 election observation missions since 1990 – the vast majority of them as members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly contingent that is part of the larger OSCE-led international observation missions. The Commission continues to support OSCE observation efforts, focusing on countries where resistance to democratic change remains the strongest. The Commission has also actively supported the right of domestic election observers to monitor the elections in their own countries. Learn more about OSCE election observation.
press release
Helsinki Commission Briefing to Examine Energy Security in Russia's PeripheryMonday, July 03, 2017
WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following briefing: ENERGY (IN)SECURITY IN RUSSIA'S PERIPHERY July 13, 2017 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM Dirksen Senate Office Building Room G11 Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has used its neighbors' dependence on its energy supplies as a source of geopolitical leverage and sought to keep their energy sectors underdeveloped and corrupt. Ukraine has recently managed to implement crucial reforms in its energy sector, but challenges remain. Meanwhile, initiatives for similar reforms in Moldova have stalled, while Georgia has successfully reformed its energy sector and developed new infrastructure. Why are these outcomes so different and what more can be done to achieve energy security in post-Soviet Eastern Europe? This briefing will provide a general overview of energy security in Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, and examine challenges and opportunities in the energy sectors of these states. Briefers will discuss the role that corruption plays in preventing the implementation of effective reforms as well as strategies to curb Russian influence. The following experts are scheduled to participate: Peter Doran, Executive Vice President and Interim Director, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) Edward Chow, Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Andrian Prokip, Senior Associate, Kennan Institute; Energy Expert, Institute for Social and Economic Research Lyndon Allin, Associate, Baker McKenzie Mamuka Tsereteli, Senior Fellow, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
2017 Trafficking in Persons Report – the OSCE RegionTuesday, June 27, 2017
Human trafficking remains a pressing human rights violation around the world with the International Labor Organization estimating that nearly 21 million people are enslaved at any given time, most of them women and children. As part of U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the U.S. Department of State today released the 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), reflecting the efforts of 187 countries and territories to prosecute traffickers, prevent trafficking, and to identify and assist victims, as described by the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Trafficking Victim Identification and Care: Regional Perspectives According to the new TIP Report, in the 2016 reporting year, countries in the OSCE region identified 304 more trafficking victims than in the previous year, for a total of 11,416 victims. This increase is particularly notable when compared to the East Asia and Pacific, Near East, South and Central Asia, and Western Hemisphere regions, where victim identification declined, but still maintained a generally upward trend over 2014. Trafficking victim identification and care is critical for proper management of refugee and migrant flows. In order to help law enforcement and border guards identify trafficking victims among the nearly 400,000 migrants and refugees entering the region last year, the OSCE Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings launched a new project to conduct multiple trainings, including simulation exercises, through 2018. The first training in November 2016 included participants from 30 OSCE participating States. Victim identification and care are also critical for successful prosecutions. Nearly every region of the world saw a drop in prosecutions of human traffickers, but an increase in convictions in the 2016 reporting year. This trend may reflect a growing knowledge among prosecutors of how to successfully investigate and prosecute a trafficking case. It also may reflect an overall increase in trafficking victims who have been identified, permitted to remain in-country, and cared for such that the victims—now survivors—are ready, willing, and able to testify against their traffickers. Despite the dramatic decline in prosecutions (46 percent) in the OSCE region, convictions held steady at nearly the same numbers as the previous year. Individual Country Narratives Along with regional statistics, the TIP Report also provides individual country narratives, recommendations for the most urgent changes needed to eliminate human trafficking, and an assessment of whether the country is making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Tier 1 countries meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Tier 2 countries do not yet meet the standards, but are making significant efforts to do so. Tier 2 Watch List countries do not meet the minimum standards and are making significant efforts to do so, but have a very large or increasing number of trafficking victims, have failed to demonstrate increasing efforts over the previous year, or lack a solid plan to take additional steps in the coming year. Tier 3 countries do not meet the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. Twenty-five OSCE participating States qualified for Tier 1 in the TIP Report. Nineteen participating States qualified for Tier 2, including Ukraine, which was upgraded this year after four years on the Tier 2 Watch List. Five participating States were designated for the Tier 2 Watch List, including Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bulgaria.* Four participating States were on Tier 3, including Belarus, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. States on Tier 3 may be subject to sanctions. Legislation authored by Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Chris Smith—who also serves as the Special Representative for Human Trafficking Issues to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly – requires the TIP Report to be produced every year. In recent years the report has also included an assessment of the United States. Since the inception of the report, more than 100 countries have written or amended their trafficking laws, with some nations openly crediting the report for inspiring progress in their countries' fight against human trafficking. * OSCE participating States Andorra, Monaco, Lichtenstein, and San Marino are not included in the TIP Report.
14th Annual South Caucasus Media ConferenceTuesday, June 06, 2017
The Annual South Caucasus Media Conference hosted by the OSCE Office of the Representative of Freedom of the Media brings together government officials, journalists, media experts, and civil society representatives to discuss media freedom in the countries of the South Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Initiated in 2004 by former Representative of Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti, the South Caucasus Media Conference aims to address modern challenges to media freedom and discuss common problems and potential solutions. Conference focuses have ranged from internet freedom and governance, to public service broadcasting, to dealing with libel. Following a year where the term "fake news" entered common media lexicon, the 2017 conference was appropriately titled "Fake news, disinformation, and freedom of the media." Panels at the conference were well-balanced with perspectives from government officials, journalists, and media experts across the countries of the South Caucasus and beyond. The practice of bringing many stakeholders to the table is an effective way to identify shared problems and best practices to promote media freedom in the South Caucasus region. Whenever possible, the OSCE practices an open-door policy to include participants from NGOs and civil society. This gives government and civil society actors equal seats at the table and facilitates unfettered dialogue. Download the full report to learn more. Contributor: Jordan Warlick, Office Director
Senators Wicker, Cardin Meet with Georgian Prime MinisterWednesday, May 10, 2017
Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, met with Helsinki Commission Chairman Senator Roger Wicker and Ranking Member Senator Ben Cardin on the final leg of his three-day visit to Washington. The Prime Minister expressed his sincere thanks to the senators for co-sponsoring the Senate resolution supporting the territorial integrity of Georgia. He also highlighted the continuing aggression Georgia faces from Russia, and stressed that U.S. support is vital. Senator Wicker welcomed the Prime Minister's visit, and vowed to do his best to ensure speedy passage of the resolution. Senator Cardin noted that Georgia would enjoy strong support with Senator Wicker serving as the chair of the Helsinki Commission. He praised Georgia's Parliamentary Assembly delegation as one of the strongest in the OSCE.
A Call to OSCE Commitments in Aftermath of Turkish ReferendumThursday, May 04, 2017
Mr. President, I rise today to express my concerns about the outcome of the April 16 constitutional referendum in Turkey, when more than 50 million Turkish citizens voted on constitutional amendments to convert Turkey's parliamentary government into a presidential system. Turkey is a longstanding friend of the United States and a NATO ally. Our bilateral partnership dates back to the Cold War when Turkey served as an important bulwark against the creeping influence of the Soviet Union. Time has not diminished Turkey's geostrategic importance. Today, Ankara finds itself at the intersection of several critical challenges: the instability in Syria and Iraq, the threat of ISIS and other extremist groups, and the refugee crisis spawned by this regional upheaval. The United States relies on Turkey and other regional partners to help coordinate and strengthen our collective response. I was deeply troubled when renegade military units attempted to overthrow Turkey's democratically elected government last July. Turkey's strength is rooted in the democratic legitimacy of its government – a pillar of stability targeted by the reckless and criminal coup attempt. As Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, or U.S. Helsinki Commission, I take very seriously the political commitments made by the 57 participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). These commitments – held by both the United States and Turkey – represent the foundation of security and cooperation in the OSCE region. They include an indispensable focus on human rights, rule of law, and democratic institutions. In the OSCE's founding document, the Helsinki Final Act, participating States affirm "the universal significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms" and consider respect for these to be an "essential factor" for international peace and security. This vision is consistent with long-established U.S. foreign policy promoting human rights and democracy as cornerstones of a safer, more stable international order. With these principles in mind, the United States must pay urgent attention to the current situation in Turkey and the danger it poses to Turkish and regional stability. Eroding respect for fundamental freedoms, rule of law, and democratic institutions in Turkey has proceeded at an alarming pace. The government's planned "executive presidency" will further decrease government accountability. Since the attempted coup more than nine months ago, Turkey has operated under a state of emergency that gives the government sweeping authority to curtail rights and silence opponents. Certain extraordinary measures may have been justified in the immediate aftermath to restore order, investigate events, and bring perpetrators to justice, but the government's actions have stretched far beyond these legitimate aims. The ongoing purge has touched every institution of government, sector of society, corner of the country, and shade of opposition – military or civilian, Turk or Kurd, religious or secular, nationalist or leftist, political or non-political. An atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has settled over Turkish society as more than 100,000 people have been detained or arrested. Tens of thousands have been fired from their jobs, had their professional licenses revoked, and had their names released on public lists without any recognizable due process. The government removed and replaced thousands of judges and prosecutors within hours of the coup's defeat, compromising the independence of the judiciary at a moment when an impartial justice system had become more important than ever. The government has also closed more than 150 media outlets. Upwards of 80 journalists are behind bars. The offices of the country's oldest newspaper were raided, and the paper's editor-in-chief and other staff were arrested. The media environment was already under extraordinary pressure before the coup. Last spring, the government seized control of the country's highest-circulation paper. Self-censorship is now widely practiced to avoid provoking the government's ire. Additionally, state of emergency decrees have given regional governors the ability to curtail freedom of assembly rights, harming the ability of civil society organizations to organize rallies concerning the referendum. Since July, the government has detained more than a dozen opposition parliamentarians. Many more continue to face criminal charges for political statements they made before the coup attempt. It is difficult to overstate the chilling effect these measures have had on political debate in Turkey. And yet, these are the circumstances under which Turks voted on April 16. These major constitutional changes passed with a slim majority of 51 percent. The OSCE's international observation mission stated in its preliminary conclusions that the vote "took place on an unlevel playing field" and that "fundamental freedoms essential to a genuinely democratic process were curtailed." Under the revised constitution, the once largely ceremonial position of president will convert into an "executive presidency" and the position of prime minister will be abolished. The president will be elected along with the national assembly every five years and has the ability to dissolve the assembly and call new elections at will. The president will also appoint a larger proportion — nearly half — of the country's supreme judicial council. In a report on these new constitutional provisions, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe concluded that the amendments are a "step backwards" and pose "dangers of degeneration … towards an authoritarian and personal regime." Turkey is undergoing a disturbing transformation, and I am concerned these changes could undermine the strength of our partnership. President Erdogan's government has dramatically repressed dissent, purged opponents from every sector of government and society, and is now poised to consolidate power further under his self-described "executive presidency." In the short term, the Turkish government should act swiftly and transparently to investigate credible claims of voting irregularities in the referendum as well as the legality of a surprise electoral board decision to admit an unknown number of ballots that should be deemed invalid under existing rules. Public trust in the outcome of such a consequential vote is of utmost importance. Sadly, until now, the government has responded to these challenges with dismissiveness and suppression. In the past week, dozens of activists have been detained for participating in protests against the election results. Furthermore, the government should lift the state of emergency, stop all forms of repression against the free press, release all imprisoned journalists and political activists, and urgently restore public confidence in the judiciary. Only then can it credibly and independently adjudicate the tens of thousands of cases caught up in the government's months-long dragnet operations. A country where disagreements are suppressed rather than debated is less secure. A country where institutions are subordinated to personalities is less stable. A country where criticism is conflated with sedition is less democratic. Unless President Erdogan moves urgently to reverse these trends, I fear our partnership will inevitably become more transactional and less strategic. It will become more difficult to justify long-term investment in our relationship with Turkey if the future of the country becomes synonymous with the fortunes of one party or one individual. The United States and Turkey need a solid foundation for enduring cooperation to tackle regional instability, terrorism, migration, and other challenges. The future of this partnership is difficult to imagine in the midst of a prolonged state of emergency, wide-scale purges, and weakened democratic institutions.
Turkey Post-Referendum: Institutions and Human RightsTuesday, May 02, 2017
Human rights abuses by the Turkish government have proliferated under the state-sanctioned emergency measures imposed in the aftermath of the July 2016 failed coup attempt. Turkish authorities have fired as many as 130,000 public workers, including teachers, academics, police officers, and soldiers, and thousands have been arrested. Hundreds of journalists have had their credentials revoked and dozens of media outlets have been shut down. Human rights groups have documented widespread reports of intimidation, ill-treatment and torture of those in police custody. On April 16, 2017, Turkey held a referendum on a package of amendments that transforms the country's institutions in major ways. The position of prime minister was eliminated and the executive powers of the president were expanded, enabling him to appoint ministers without parliamentary approval, exert more influence over the judiciary, and call early elections. Coming on top of the post-coup crackdown, how will Turkey's changing institutions affect human rights in the country? Panelists at the briefing discussed how U.S. policymakers can most effectively encourage the protection of human rights to promote the interests of the Turkish people given the strategic importance of the U.S.-Turkey bilateral relationship.
press release
Helsinki Commission Calls for Proclamation Recognizing Importance of Helsinki Final ActWednesday, April 26, 2017
WASHINGTON—Helsinki Commission Chairman Senator Roger Wicker (MS) today introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution urging President Trump to recognize the importance of the Helsinki Final Act – the founding document of today's Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – and its relevance to American national security. The resolution was cosponsored by all other Senators currently serving on the Helsinki Commission: Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Sen. John Boozman (AR), Sen. Cory Gardner (CO), Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Sen. Thom Tillis (NC), Sen. Tom Udall (NM), and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI). "Peace and prosperity in the OSCE region rest on a respect for human rights and the preservation of fundamental freedoms, democratic principles, and economic liberty. Unfortunately, the commitment to these ideals by some OSCE participating States is eroding," Chairman Wicker said. "The shrinking space for civil society in many nations has become reminiscent of the Communist era – a time when many Helsinki Monitoring Groups were violently persecuted for their courageous support of basic human rights," he continued. "With its actions in Ukraine and Georgia, the Russian Federation in particular has demonstrated how closely such internal repression can be tied to external aggression. We were reminded of these abuses in this morning's Helsinki Commission hearing. I urge the President to make it clear that Helsinki principles are vital not only to American national interests but also to the security of the OSCE region as a whole." "What was remarkable about the Helsinki Final Act was the commitment that these standards we agreed to would not only be of internal interest to the member country, but that any country signatory to the Helsinki Final Act could challenge the actions of any other country," said Ranking Commissioner Cardin, who is also Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "We have not only the right but the responsibility to call out countries that fail to adhere to the basic principles that were agreed to in 1975." Defining security in a uniquely comprehensive manner, the Helsinki Final Act contains 10 principles guiding inter-state relations, among them respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief (Principle VII). Other principles include respect for sovereign equality (Principle I), the territorial integrity of states (Principle IV), and states' fulfilment in good faith of their obligations under international law (Principle X). S.Con.Res.13 encourages President Trump to reaffirm America's commitment to the principles and implementation of the Helsinki Final Act. The resolution also calls on the President to urge other participating States to respect their OSCE commitments and to condemn the Russian Federation's clear, gross, and uncorrected violations of all 10 core OSCE principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act.
Georgia's Parliamentary Election: How free and fair has the Campaign been, and how should the U.S. Government Respond?
Georgia's upcoming election will be a critical moment in the country's development of democratic governance. An energized opposition coalition has posed the first serious challenge in years to the ruling party. The opposition has accused the government of harassment and skewing the playing field, while the government has denied these allegations and charged opposition with violating campaign laws. The atmosphere of the campaign and contending claims has been unusually heated, with both sides employing lobbyists to make their case in foreign capitals, especially Washington.
The focus of the hearing will be on the election's fairness during the run-up to the vote and vote count, human rights issues connected to the election, and U.S. policy in response. The administration witness, Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Melia, has just returned from leading an interagency delegation to Georgia to assess the pre-election environment.


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Doors. There several manufacturers of specialty doors which provide a great deal of isolation. Professional grade acoustic doors are very effective, but expensive.
A cheap workable method of achieving increased isolation in doors is to use a good quality pre-hung exterior door with magnetic weather seals. Fire rated steel doors are also a good start as they have good seals and are quite heavy though they cost a lot more. Using doors in pairs with a small hallway in between (the hallway is often called a sound lock) greatly increases effectiveness. If you build a sound lock try and orient the doors perpendicular to each other, and add some absorptive treatment to the vestibule. This very simple technique will provide a reasonable amount of isolation. You can even mount two doors which swing away from each other in a single opening if you have no room for a sound lock. Standard doors can be enhanced with acoustic grade seals either store bought or home made [surgical tubing and a hot glue gun?].
Note that the aluminum threshold on many exterior doors is hollow – if you use such doors it is recommend that you fill this void with something dense like drywall mud. You can set the doors upside down, fill the void, scrape away any excess and let em sit over night. When you set the doors, seat the threshold in a bed of caulk. Pre-manufactured exterior doors will be predrilled with two holes for hardware. If you use standard interior door hardware you should cover the extra hole and fill the void. You could alternatively cover both holes and add a flush mount pull handle and a push plate (the magnetic seals could serve as your "latch").
Increasing the isolation yield from an existing door, or from a pre-hung unit you are installing can be accomplished by adding mass (panel layers - particle board, etc.) to the hinged side, but you might want to block behind the hinge mortises and change to longer screws length to provide greater strength if you are going to add significantly to the door mass. If you build your own door, or add multiple panels to an existing door - the panels could be added in successively larger sizes and extend over the edge of the jamb. If this is done the frame around the door jamb can be modified to match the stair cased profile of the added panels (step both the panels and the door frame so they fit together like the door and door frame of a bank vault). Add weather seals to each step in the profile, and a floor sweep, and you will have an extremely effective isolation door for the money / labor expenditure.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hello everyone, I'm making a battleship game, and I need to make a grid like in the image. But what's the best way to make a 2D grid like that, I tried a lot of things but I don't find a way it really looks like the image.
Heres the image http://www.imagebam....687e73241745809
thx in advance!


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Deaths! Interrogations! Plane crashes! Breakups! Weddings! Catfights! Sex dreams! TV had it all this year. From Desperate Housewives' fitting farewell to Fringe's powerful flash-forward, 2012 served up some remarkable hours of television, and we've assembled the top 25 episodes. Which ones made the cut? Tune in all week to see the full list.What were the best TV shows of 2012?Here are Episodes 15-11. (Catch up with Episodes 25-21 and Episodes 20-16.)15. "Chuck vs. the Goodbye" ChuckFans who've helped the show earn 11th-hour renewals through online devotion and the consumption of Subway footlongs bid adieu with this bittersweet episode that hits all the right notes (literally in the case of Jeffster!'s swan song, a raucous cover of A-ha!'s "Take on Me.") And while Chuck's pals Morgan and Casey find love, the future is less certain for the titular hacker-spy himself. The Intersect, which uploaded a computer into Chuck's brain, is also responsible for wiping his girl Sarah's memories, including her love for him. All is not lost, however, when the two reconnect and share, what we hope, is a kiss full of promise for more to come. It's a reset of sorts, and invites fans to imagine that Chuck will live on, if not on television.14. "There's Something I Need to Tell You," ParenthoodThis show has always been a DVR-must in health, and now even more so in (Kristina's) sickness. Showing yet again that its whole is greater than the sum of its parts, Parenthood deftly juggles multiple stories - Kristina's health scare, Crosby's money issues, Amber's first love, the end of Julia's dream to make partner - before bringing the Braverman clan together for that shattering final scene when Kristina reveals her breast cancer diagnosis. Your move, Emmy voters.13. "Normal," New GirlPlaying Jess' boyfriend, Dermot Mulroney makes an excellent temporary addition to the New Girl cast. Mulroney's straitlaced character Russell highlights the roommates' absurdity in "Normal," which teaches us what might be the greatest (and most confusing) drinking game of all time, True American. When I say, "JFK," you say "FDR!"12. "Slaughterhouse," JustifiedFX's Southern-fried drama's third season climaxes when hero Raylan Givens comes face-to-face with season-long antagonists Quarles (Neal McDonough) and Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson). Suspected of murdering a state trooper, Quarles demands that Limehouse give him the $500,000 he needs to earn his way back to Detroit, but things quickly go awry. In a scene that's as hilarious (Quarles squeals with glee at Limehouse's "piggy bank") as it is violent (Quarles' arm loses its battle with Limehouse's meat cleaver; Raylan later says he "disarmed" him), the show neatly ends a major story line while setting up the next: With his dying breath, Quarles tells Raylan that it was his father Arlo who shot the trooper. Even worse: Raylan later deduces that Arlo only shot "a man in a hat" because he thought it might have been Raylan. Ouch.11. "New Year's Eve," LouieAs is Louis C.K.'s trademark, the comedy is found in less obvious moments: Louie's daughters open their Christmas presents early so they can go away with their mother and her new man; Louie skips his sister's family trip to Mexico when his odd new love (Parker Posey) suddenly dies. An odd dream sequence, in which Louie's now-adult daughters lament their loner dad, finds the funny in pity. But the ending is surprisingly upbeat: Louie travels alone to China and finds happiness in a room full of strangers. The only real tragedy here is only that we have to wait a whole year for this show to come back!Check back all week to see the full list!
View original 2012's Best Episodes: Chuck's Memorable Finale and New Girl's Awesome New Game at TVGuide.com
Related Articles on TVGuide.com
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text: Physical activity contributes to health by reducing the heart rate, decreasing the risk for cardiovascular disease, and reducing the amount of bone loss that is associated with age and osteoporosis. Physical activity also helps the body use calories more efficiently, thereby helping in weight loss and maintenance. It can increase basal metabolic rate, reduces appetite, and helps in the reduction of body fat.


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+ Knowledge Management
+ Secure, Social Business
+ Modern Learning Management
+ Everything Everywhere
+ Associations
+ Business
+ Banks
Get the right information to the right people at the right time.
KnowledgeVault brings the web's most popular features privately and securely to your association or business.
In your personal life, you're accustomed to searching the web for any topic imaginable. In your personal life you can upload video in any format to share with others. In your personal life you can share and gather information socially. In your personal life, all of this information is available to you on your mobile device, in the palm of your hand.
What if you could do the same thing in your professional life?
That's the idea behind KnowledgeVault. KnowledgeVault is for sharing, teaching and learning, in a user-friendly, social manner. It's built from the ground up to be a secure, completely integrated and private knowledge distribution platform.
Put a document, PDF or video file where everyone inside (and nobody outside) of your company can learn from it.
KnowledgeVault fosters collaboration while remaining secure.
Mentoring and teaching become easier when you can embed tests right into your messaging.
Add or access important information from just about anywhere.
Pain Point #2
I got that, but I didn't understand it.
Pain Point #12
Oh, no. Not another company off-site. I'm not doing "trust falls" again.
Pain Point #42
I'm pretty sure I sent that to you...
Pain Point #82
Yeah, but the file's too big to email.
Pain Point #452
Dang it, if you were here, I could just show you.
Pain Point #1234
It's around here somewhere... hang on... I've got 4,000 emails with attachments.
Pain Point #2
I got that, but I didn't understand it.
Pain Point #12
Oh, no. Not another company off-site. I'm not doing "trust falls" again.
Pain Point #42
I'm pretty sure I sent that to you...
Pain Point #82
Yeah, but the file's too big to email.
Pain Point #452
Dang it, if you were here, I could just show you.
Pain Point #1234
It's around here somewhere... hang on... I've got 4,000 emails with attachments.
Inside the Vault:
Inreasing Efficiency and Communication with Knowledge Vault
The success of KnowledgeVault rests on four key pillars - Knowledge Management with Knowledge Objects, Secure, Social Business, Modern Learning Management, and Everything Everywhere. The integration of any one of them into a company or organization can be a powerful change agent, but taken together, they can be revolutionary. To borrow an overused buzz phrase, KnowledgeVault literally puts everyone "on the same page."
Here's how it works:
Knowledge Management with Knowledge Objects
Knowledge Objects are searchable files that everyone can see. They might be text documents or photographs or charts or even rich media files, like audio or video. They can be amended by anyone with access. Knowledge Objects evolve with each change, rather than splitting into a confusing pile of versions.
Social Business
Social Business means you're connecting colleagues and coworkers across departments, across geography, or across the hall. Collaborate with a pre-determined group of participants and watch your project move forward as multiple team members can impart spin and report progress in real time.
Modern Learning Management
Modern Learning Management enables you to verify that people have read and understood your message. You can build a test using any Knowledge Object into your message, check progress, and drastically reduce learning time for your team.
Everything Everywhere
Everything Everywhere means the ability to access this growing repository from wherever you are. Still safe behind a secure firewall, Knowledge Objects and messages and updates can be pulled in and responded to, whether you're in Tacoma, Toledo, Tuscon or Timbuktu.
The resulting efficiency reduces iterative friction and keeps the important information at the fingertips of everyone who needs it, and no one who doesn't. KnowledgeVault turns challenges into teachable moments and keeps archiving easy in both directions. It creates a whole new, highly intuitive flow. So you can spend your business time running your business.
Knowledge Management with Knowledge Objects
Our unique Knowledge Object storage method allows you to accurately share and manage documents across an organization. Every file uploaded into the KnowledgeVault, whether it's a PowerPoint, Word document, PDF, video file, etc., is saved as a Knowledge Object. Each Object is searchable and reusable in a multitude of ways. Once in place, Knowledge Objects can be shared with other members, or with other teams of people. When the Knowledge Object is updated with a new or older version of a file all of the shared locations are automatically updated because they point to the "Object" not an individual file.
Document Management
Knowledge Objects make updating an existing file quick and easy. Simply upload the new document into KnowledgeVault and everywhere that your original Knowledge Object is used, the new document is presented in its place. The vault also automatically stores all previous versions of the Knowledge Object so you can easily revert to any previous versions.
Document Search
KnowledgeVault takes cues from the search engine solutions we use to find information in our personal lives and brings them to your organization. Within moments of uploading a new Knowledge Object, every word in your file is cataloged and indexed for people to search based on relevance.
Organizing Data for Security
KnowledgeVault is based on your organizational structure. Simply build a team structure that matches your organizational chart and you are ready to start sharing information. Only people with a membership to a specific library will be able to see the documents inside. All of the security roles are fully customizable to either tighten security or broaden it. The choice is yours.
Video Uploads Made Easy
KnowledgeVault offers automatic video conversion just like your favorite video sharing sites. Any video format uploaded to KnowledgeVault is automatically converted to both web and mobile compatible video. Videos are safely stored within the site and at no time will your video ever be available to anyone, inside or outside of your organization, that doesn't have permission to see it.
Secure, Social Business
Social networking is allowing millions of users to interact in a way that email could only dream of. We are posting photos and video and sharing messages and information more freely than ever in a way that makes it easy. KnowledgeVault has taken this concept and tailored it specifically to the professional organization. We built this powerful communication tool from the ground up to give you the communication benefits you'd want from a social network with the privacy, security and control that your business will require.
Social Networking with a Purpose
KnowledgeVault is designed to build teams of people focused on important issues, allow them to collaborate, create and capture solutions and answers, and rapidly deploy them in the business where they need to be distributed. We believe social media inside your company should to be focused on the business at hand and not just arranging the delivery of cupcakes for the bake sale.
Communication via the Organization Structure
KnowledgeVault's organizational Tree Structure gives you the power to create an online framework that mirrors your organization's hierarchy. The Tree Structure lets you create virtual teams where individuals with similar responsibilities or job functions can be grouped together to discuss issues and collaborate in a safe and secure environment. This structure allows you to easily segregate and deliver the right messaging to the right people within your organization as well as your clients.
Safe, Secure Communication
Publicly available social media websites have their best interests at heart, not yours. KnowledgeVault provides intuitive, integrative, collaborative opportunities for your employees, in a secure environment, safe from data miners, content resellers and bots. We keep your companies knowledge safe.
Surveying the Organizational Structure
KnowledgeVault includes a full surveying engine that is built upon the KnowledgeVault Tree Structure that you set up. Utilizing the Tree Structure makes it easy to sort and distribute a company-wide survey to smaller sub-groups including, by region or by job function. The survey engine supports all major question types, photos, documents, and video attachments.
Modern Learning Management
KnowledgeVault fully supports traditional LMS-tracked training using SCORM and AICC standards. Sometimes organizations just need a quick and easy tool to build and distribute information and the ability to track knowledge retention without the hassle of "building" an online course. KnowledgeVault delivers on the promise of empowering organizations to capture and repurpose the tribal knowledge that is so often and easily lost.
Easy to Build and Distribute Courses
Our easy-to-use course builder can help you turn any Knowledge Object into a piece of training. By using any existing Knowledge Object you can quickly create an online course. You can easily track who has completed the course by session or by organization.
Comprehensive Exams
KnowledgeVault includes a fully functional exam builder. Multiple choice, multiple answer, true/false, essay questions and more. You can also attach photos and videos to questions. Use our exam answer analysis tool to help you build better exams and ensure your questions are easy to read.
Training on the Fly
KnowledgeVault provides a healthy balance between professional courses developed by training experts and real word content developed by teams of people solving problems. People across an organization can collaborate to solve a problem. Solutions can be captured and quickly published as a training course, ensuring others within the system can access new information in a timely fashion.
Mobile Learning
Imagine creating your training video right from your phone. Upload the video directly from your phone, add it to your course and create a quick exam. Invite users to take the course and then track who has completed it. Within minutes you can create your own high-quality personalized training!
Customizable Development Plans
A Development Plan is a comprehensive and customizable collection of courses, Knowledge Objects and "to-dos" that together can be customized to provide a step-by-step growth path for a specific user or team to follow. A common use for this tool is the creation of a New Hire Orientation Plan. Established Plans can always be tailored to meet a specific user's needs.
Everything Everywhere
Business doesn't stop just because you've left your desk; often that's when it picks up. Being able to access or receive files and updates is more crucial than ever. That's why we've embraced a policy of "Everything Everywhere." Not only do your files stay updated—wherever you access them from—but so does your software. It's all part of keeping your mobile experience seamless and easy.
Cloud Computing for Easy Accessibility
All information uploaded to KnowledgeVault is stored in the cloud, which means it can be easily accessible over the Internet from your computer or mobile device. It also means you'll never have to deal with software upgrades or worry about data or hardware management issues.
Mobile Access to Document Library
Objects you have access to online from your mobile device. Open and share PDFs, PowerPoint files, Word documents, text files and any document your mobile device supports.
So what's all the fuss about?
New clients who understand the value that KnowledgeVault can add to their organizations are consistently surprised at how much deeper it goes, how much more it helps them than they'd imagined it would.
Request a demo and find out how KnowledgeVault can give you an edge on competition, on clutter and on inefficiency.
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Vaulting to greater success:
The Case Studies.
Our diverse group of satisfied customers is a testament to our scalability, versatility, and usefulness. KnowledgeVault has been utilized by Fortune 100 companies and small, private organizations. Below are just a few of the companies who've used KnowledgeVault to enable greater efficiency and profitability.
Making It Their Business:
How the American Business Women's Association used KnowledgeVault to run more efficiently.
Audigy Members Collaborate
with Knowledge Vault
Credit Where Credit Is Due:
OnPoint Credit Union and how KnowledgeVault shortened their training cycles.
We Can Do It!
The American Business Woman's Association (ABWA) is the largest group of its kind in America. With over 200 chapters nationwide, they have a 60-year history of providing business education and networking opportunities to female business owners. Yet, they were still disseminating information via printing and distributing bulky ring binders to chapter managers, who would then share that information with other members. The ABWA recognized a need to change the way they communicated, engaged and trained their members.
The ABWA implemented KnowledgeVault across their entire organization. Now, information is delivered directly to the user, and the information goes system-wide the moment it's shared. KnowledgeVault has eliminated the need to print and ship most materials. The private mail, instant chat and team board features have created a secure community, and training is now delivered and tracked virtually. ABWA also takes advantage of KnowledgeVault's Survey Engine and uses it to survey their members immediately after hosting an event to garner feedback that can be beneficial for learning and lanning for other events.
The results are that the American Business Woman's Association has drastically reduced their shipping costs, increased value to members through training and connectivity, and boosted efficiency with structure and information availability.
Audigy Members Collaborate with Knowledge Vault
Audiology company boosts effectiveness with revolutionary software.
As a start-up, Audigy Group (Audigy) knew they'd have to introduce a lot of people to their business and control the manner in which they were growing. A Member-driven management company, Audigy needed to provide its Members with a lot of training, from audiology to product familiarization to marketing. They wanted to create a sense of community across several hundred disparate locations and they needed a method to communicate with those offices from their corporate headquarters.
Audigy adopted KnowledgeVault as their primary means of communication within the company and they've been able to move much of their training online. Audigy used the Knowledge Management feature to populate KnowledgeVault with the information, news and documentation that owners need to operate their businesses effectively. The Team Board feature was utilized to create an online forum for owners to collaborate and learn from each other.
As a result, classroom training time for core customer service employees has dropped by almost 40%. And Audigy now has a robust, reliable environment in which to solve problems and collaborate.
Is OnPoint Growing with KnowledgeVault? Bank On It.
OnPoint Credit Union leverages KnowledgeVault for training advantage.
OnPoint Community Credit Union (OnPoint) is one of the most highly regarded credit unions in the country, and they work hard to stay on the cutting edge of innovation and member services. OnPoint runs with a lean and efficient staff, and they've developed a strong ethic around employee training. Growing as fast as they are, they were having trouble training all of their new hires as efficiently as they wanted to.
After some diligent research on online learning and "micro" and mobile lessons, they adopted KnowledgeVault. OnPoint built training content for their new hire program around a Peer Mentoring concept, creating local mentors in the branches to support lessons learned through online and classroom training. They also utilized KnowledgeVault Development Plans for orientation and consistent skills acquisition. The plans were used for both new hire/orientation and ongoing education of current employees.
The results were evident almost immediately. New employee training was reduced from 4 days to 2 days. OnPoint has been able to ensure consistent delivery of training for employees and automate the training and development process. They've also built a robust online community of learning for people with similar responsibilities.
Let's take a little trip in the wayback machine
In 1997, Mike Hunter and Oca Hoeflein noticed the very beginnings of a seismic shift in the way people were interacting with information.
They started Lightspeed Learning because no comprehensive LMS (Learning Management System) existed at the time and they recognized the value in e-learning and blended e-learning as a tool for business. The goal was to create new, comprehensive software that would help businesses manage teams, teach processes and company policies, and assess their own competencies.
Lightspeed Learning quickly exceeded Mike and Oca's high hopes. Fortune 500 companies quickly recognized the value of their software and Lightspeed Learning saw its user list swell to over 500,000, with a stable of clients that included Apple Computer, Nabisco, Chevron, American Airlines, Boeing, Corning, Quaker, Weyerhauser and IBM.
In 2009, they saw another great change developing – namely, the ubiquity of Facebook, YouTube and Google had changed the ways people were seeking and storing information.
KnowledgeVault finally delivers on the promise of capturing and reusing the "tribal knowledge" that is so frequently lost inside of organizations.
Mike and Oca went to work building a product that would give companies and associations the integrated suite to provide their employees/ members the same easy interaction with data that they were having in their private lives. The big difference is KnowledgeVault was made for businesses and keeps all interactions private, behind a secure firewall. KnowledgeVault is truly focused on empowering people to collaborate more efficiently on important topics. KnowledgeVault finally delivers on the promise of capturing and reusing the "tribal knowledge" that is so frequently lost inside of organizations.
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text:
The other week I went along to the Tracy Emin retrospective exhibition at the Edinburgh Festival. I try to attend events like this as I'm always looking for some new creative spark to bring to my music. As it happens I didn't take much away from this exhibition – far more shocking than genuinely creative (in my opinion). The thing I enjoyed most about the experience was in the gallery shop afterwards where T.M. had designed a notepad. On the front it had the message "I used to have imagination" and when you opened it it was blank. This made me smile.
While writing this it occurs to me that in a way this could be a spark for something new. It forms a picture in my head of a precipice (front cover) and a drop through the blank pages to the ground. The pages being empty could offer opportunities for safety. I must try this!
Filed under: 1, music | Tagged: creativity, tracy emin | Leave a comment »


text:
Kids Animation Maker 1.1.1
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Kids Animation Maker stimulates their imagination and it helps them to translate their very own ideas into action. It has never been so easy for your children to create their own animated cartoon.
By playing with Kids Animation Maker, your children can take a look into the principles of animation and they learn how to use modern computer technology.