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INFO ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS STATE 076294 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y  (ADDED CAPTION) 
 
SIPDIS 
VILNIUS ALSO FOR EMBASSY MINSK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OSCE PREL PHUM KDEM
SUBJECT: OSCE HUMAN DIMENSION MEETING DEMARCHE 
 
REF: STATE 60838 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and Action Request:  The OSCE will conduct 
its annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) from 
September 29 through October 10 in Warsaw.  Based in part on 
embassies' input (reftel), which the Department appreciates, 
this demarche conveys USG concerns on host government human 
rights and democracy performance and requests specific action 
in these areas prior to the HDIM.  Action addressees are 
requested to deliver this demarche by July 24, to allow time 
for host government action on our concerns prior to the HDIM. 
 See para 5 for general points; post-specific points in paras 
6-22. Embassy Minsk may deliver this demarche at its 
discretion.  End summary. 
 
------------- 
Objective 
------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) To convey USG concerns about human rights and 
democratic performance and to use the prospect of specific 
USG constructive criticism and praise at the HDIM to leverage 
action on human rights priorities. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  The annual OSCE HDIM meeting is a useful stock- 
taking of countries' progress, or lack thereof, in 
implementing their commitments to respect human rights and 
basic freedoms -- including democratic elections and freedom 
of the press ) undertaken in the context of several OSCE 
conventions, including most recently the 1992 Helsinki 
protocol.  Although the agenda for this year's HDIM is still 
being finalized, we expect that religious freedom and the 
situation of the Roma/Sinti will be key topics. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  As with past HDIM meetings, the USG delegation will 
be prepared to present a balanced assessment of OSCE 
participating States' progress towards meeting their OSCE 
commitments.  To enhance the USG's dialogue with OSCE members 
on these issues, the Department requests that action 
addressees engage with host governments on USG goals for the 
upcoming Warsaw meeting.  In particular, the Department would 
like to urge some of our OSCE partners to take specific steps 
in the weeks before the HDIM conference to show their 
commitment to working towards fulfillment of the OSCE 
standards.  The USG delegation will be prepared to recognize 
positive steps that countries have taken, allowing us, to the 
extent possible, to balance criticism with praise. 
 
-------------- 
Talking Points 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Addressees may wish to draw on the following points. 
Begin General Talking Points: 
 
-  The USG is preparing for the September 29 to October 10 
OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw. 
 
- We take this event very seriously, and believe it can 
provide a useful opportunity for all OSCE participating 
countries to assess progress towards fulfillment of the 
commitments undertaken as OSCE members to guarantee human 
rights and fundamental freedoms. 
 
- We hope that your government will be well-represented at 
the conference and prepared to engage actively in a detailed 
dialogue. 
 
- The U.S. delegation to the conference will be prepared to 
make a balanced assessment of how the U.S. views the progress 
towards fulfillment of these shared commitments that all of 
our OSCE partners, including your government, have made. 
 
- As the annual HDIM is the primary OSCE forum for discussion 
of all participating states' implementation of their OSCE 
commitments on human rights, and we expect that others will 
wish to discuss U.S. implementation as well.  We welcome this 
process, and are undertaking this demarche in the OSCE spirit 
of mutual dialogue on important issues. 
 
-  We would like to share with you some of the concerns that 
we are likely to raise at the HDIM, as well as areas where we 
see progress. 
 
- The U.S. would be pleased to publicly acknowledge other 
areas of progress at the HDIM should your government take 
action to address these concerns prior to the HDIM. 
 
-  The U.S. delegation traditionally is led by a 
distinguished senior official in recognition of the 
importance we place on the HDIM.  This year, former Director 
General of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Robert Pearson, 
has agreed to serve as the head of delegation. 
 
---------- 
Azerbaijan 
---------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) For Embassy Baku: 
 
- Azerbaijan's October 15 presidential election presents an 
important opportunity for the Azerbaijani Government to 
demonstrate its commitment to democratic reform.  The 
pre-election climate, particularly with respect to media 
freedom, candidate access to the media, freedom of assembly, 
and freedom of association, is just as important to the 
conduct of the election as the actual voting and vote 
tabulation process. 
 
- We continue to be concerned by the poor media environment 
in Azerbaijan.  We urge your government to send a strong 
signal of its commitment to media freedom, for example by 
issuing a statement indicating that violence against 
journalists will not be tolerated, and renewing the 
moratorium on criminal libel suits.  We also urge your 
government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for 
violence against journalists. 
 
- Another concrete measure that we urge your government to 
take prior to HDIM is the release of all journalists who have 
been imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of their right to 
freedom of expression, including Aynulla Fatullayev, Sakit 
Zakhidov and Genimet Zakhidov. 
 
- Candidate access to the media will be particularly 
important in the run-up to the October presidential election. 
Recent amendments to the electoral code provide for free air 
time for candidates on public television; we hope that this 
provision will be implemented in a transparent and equitable 
fashion. 
 
- Azerbaijan's parliament recently amended the law on freedom 
of assembly; we hope that this important piece of legislation 
will be implemented in a way that enables citizens to better 
exercise their fundamental human rights. 
 
- Freedom of association also is important.  We urge your 
government to ensure that all political party leaders are 
allowed to travel abroad and domestically to conduct normal 
party activities, including attending political rallies and 
meetings. 
 
- A strong international and domestic observation mission 
will support your government's goal of holding a free and 
fair election on October 15.  Your government has a long and 
successful record in this area, including election 
observation work conducted by the Election Monitoring Center 
(EMC). 
 
- We were disappointed by your government's recent decision 
to deregister the Election Monitoring Center.  We urge your 
government to work with the EMC to address the technical 
issues that prompted this decision, and ensure that EMC is 
able to conduct its election observation activities.  We also 
hope that other domestic observation organizations will be 
allowed to conduct their work. 
 
-- An early election monitoring invitation to ODIHR also 
would demonstrate your government's commitment to conducting 
an election that meets international democratic standards. 
 
- We also urge your government to work closely with the 
Venice Commission and ODIHR on their joint June 23 
recommendations concerning the draft changes to the electoral 
code. 
 
-- We continue to be concerned by violations of religious 
freedom in Azerbaijan.  We urge your government to ensure 
that officials do not detain or harass leaders and members of 
Islamic and non-traditional minority religious groups, and 
remove impediments to legal registration of religious groups. 
 
------- 
Armenia 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) For Embassy Yerevan: 
 
-- We have a broad series of human rights concerns, but we 
would like to highlight the need for action in two specific 
areas. 
 
-- We urge the GoA seriously to engage in reconciliation and 
dialogue with the opposition, including implementing the 
provisions of the Council of Europe's post-election 
resolution on releasing prisoners, reconciliation, etc, which 
have not been fulfilled. 
 
-- This action is a necessary first step to restoring 
political peace. 
 
-- We also urge the government to implement the recent ECHR 
ruling regarding A1 Plus Television and to allow it back on 
the air.  Reinstating this independent station would be a 
clear sign of the government's commitment to democratic 
reform. 
 
-- The number of jailed conscientious objectors to military 
service continues to increase.  We encourage your government 
to release these individuals and to provide legal 
opportunities for conscientious objectors to perform 
alternative civilian service independent of military control. 
 
 
------- 
Belarus 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) For Embassy Minsk: 
 
-- We once again urge the GoB to release all political 
prisoners, including Alyaksandr Kazulin, Andrey Kim and 
Syarhey Paryukevich. 
 
-- U.S. Citizen Emanual Zeltser should be released on 
humanitarian grounds. 
 
-- We urge the Government to change laws infringing on 
religious freedom and end discrimination against religious 
groups, particularly the levying of fines against members of 
minority groups. 
 
---------------------- 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 
---------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) For Embassy Sarajevo: 
 
-- We are concerned by the situation of the Roma/Sinti in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
 
-- We urge you to adopt a comprehensive action plan 
addressing the situation of the Roma as a first step for 
dealing with the problem. 
 
-- We are concerned about the climate of intimidation of 
journalists in BiH, particularly in the Respublika Srpska.  A 
free and vibrant press is one of the cornerstones of any 
democracy, and efforts to undermine journalistic freedom 
weaken diminish transparency in a country, and thus weaken 
the democratic process overall. 
 
-- We urge that BiH take steps to ensure that individuals who 
intimidate journalists, or condone such actions, are 
prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law. 
 
 
-------- 
Bulgaria 
-------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) For Embassy Sofia: 
 
-- We welcome the progress that Bulgaria has made in 
combating trafficking in persons. 
 
-- We note as well that the number of children in state 
institutions has been falling according to official 
statistics, but remain concerned with conditions of care 
there, including for Roma children.  We hope that your 
ten-year strategy is implemented successfully. 
 
-- We are concerned by recent intolerant statements by local 
government officials and clerics in certain localities 
directed against "non-traditional" religious groups, 
particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 
(Mormons) and the Jehovah's Witnesses. 
 
--  For example, the April letter from the Deputy Mayor of 
Burgas directing teachers to warn students about "dangerous 
sects", including Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and 
Evangelical Pentecostal Christians.  In June, an Orthodox 
priest from Burgas called for the expulsion of two Mormon 
missionaries. 
 
-- Incidents such as these are inconsistent with Bulgaria's 
commitments relating to the freedom of Religion.  We urge 
your government to repudiate such statements by officials. 
 
-------------- 
Czech Republic 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) For Embassy Prague: 
 
-- The USG values our partnership with the Czech Republic in 
promoting human rights and basic freedoms abroad. 
 
-- We applaud your commitment to promoting democracy around 
the world and that you put real resources, such as those of 
your MFA transformation policy unit, into supporting these 
goals. 
 
-- We appreciate that Prague has been a good home for Radio 
Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and its outreach to 
countries in transition in the former Soviet Union and the 
Middle East. 
 
- However, we wanted to raise a problem we see domestically 
in the Czech Republic. 
 
-- We remain concerned by the treatment of your country's 
largest ethnic minority group, the Roma. 
 
-- The Roma community continues to face widespread 
discrimination and lack equitable education, housing, and 
employment opportunities.  The November 2007 European Court 
of Human Rights ruling highlighted the problem of 
discrimination against Roma students. 
 
-- We urge you to take concrete steps to ameliorate this 
situation and bring your treatment of the Roma up to OSCE 
standards. 
 
------ 
Georgia 
------ 
 
¶12. (SBU) For Embassy Tbilisi: 
 
-- We commend your government for reaching out to the 
opposition after the parliamentary elections.  For democracy 
to develop deep roots, it requires a viable opposition that 
sees benefits to resolving disputes through democratic 
institutions, and an empowered, independent parliament and 
judiciary that provide a check on the Executive branch. 
 
-- We urge your government to work with the opposition in 
Parliament to foster a culture of respect for political 
pluralism and establish oversight mechanisms. 
 
-- In this context, we are concerned by a reported draft 
amendment that would eliminate state funding for five 
opposition parties who are boycotting the new Parliament.  We 
are concerned that such an action would simply add to the 
sources of polarization. 
 
-- We welcome the recent approval of the action plan to 
eliminate torture and urge its full implementation, including 
adhering to specific milestones and a concrete timetable. 
 
-- We also urge investigation into credible accounts of 
politically motivated attacks on opposition members. 
 
------ 
Greece 
------ 
 
¶13. (SBU) For Embassy Athens: 
 
-- We wanted to raise the situation of the Roma in Greece. 
 
-- Most Roma continue to live in squalid and inhumane 
conditions without running water, electricity, and waste 
removal. 
 
-- We welcome the recent steps your government has taken to 
address their circumstances, but much more remains to be 
done. 
 
-- We urge your government to make equal access to provision 
of public services a priority of your human rights agenda. 
 
-- We would like to raise as well the issue of ethnic 
minorities in Greece. 
 
-- In this context, we welcome your ongoing effort to write 
off the tax debts of the WAKFS (charitable religious 
organizations). 
 
-- We know your longstanding interpretation of the 1923 
Lausanne Treaty with regard to the question of national 
minorities. 
 
-- The practical effect of this interpretation has been legal 
restrictions on the names of associations involving certain 
groups, as we noted in our Human Rights Report. 
 
-- This has placed Greece at odds with the European Court for 
Human Rights on several occasions. 
 
-- We urge you to find an approach to this issue that will 
provide redress to the Greek citizens who identify themselves 
as Turks, Pomaks, Vlachs, Roma, Arvanites, or Macedonians, 
among others. 
 
----- 
Italy 
----- 
 
¶14. (SBU) For Embassy Rome: 
 
-- We in the United States have at various times in our 
history struggled, and in some respects continue to struggle, 
with the specter of racism and discrimination. 
 
-- Speaking therefore as friends and based on the deep bonds 
and long-standing alliance between our countries, we must 
express our concern at the situation the Roma and Sinti face 
in Italy. 
 
-- The Roma continue to face discrimination and unequal 
access to public services. 
 
-- The May 2008 anti-Roma incidents in Naples and other 
cities, which included the burning of Roma Caravans and 
dwellings, concern us. 
 
-- It is important for public officials to condemn these 
sorts of race-based reprisals immediately, whenever they 
occur. 
 
-- The wholesale fingerprinting of all Roma, including 
children, would be the sort of step that could inflame a 
difficult situation. 
 
-- We urge that your government reconsider this policy that 
appears discriminatory towards the Roma. 
 
---------- 
Kazakhstan 
---------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) For Embassy Astana: 
 
-- We commend Kazakhstan's progress in combating trafficking 
in persons.  We urge you to maintain the momentum you have 
built up on all fronts - prosecution, protection, and 
prevention. 
 
-- We stress again that implementation of the Madrid 
commitments is necessary for Kazakhstan to be an effective 
OSCE chairman. 
 
-- Much work remains to be done on the promised legislation 
that is to be presented to Parliament by the end of 2008. 
 
-- On ODIHR, we welcomed your public affirmation in Madrid 
that Kazakhstan would work to preserve ODIHR's current 
mandate and autonomy and fight future attempts to undermine 
it. 
 
-- We welcomed that affirmation, but have not heard 
Kazakhstan's representatives in Vienna speak out in support 
of ODIHR when its election monitoring functions are 
challenged.  We urge your government to do so. 
 
-- On freedom of media, we welcome the restoration of access 
to RFE/RL's internet sites.  We expect that this access will 
remain uninterrupted in the future. 
 
-- Several opposition websites remain blocked, however, and 
we urge you to allow free access to these opposition media 
websites in accordance with Kazakhstan undertakings to 
protect freedom of expression. 
 
-- We note that while no journalists have been imprisoned 
recently for libel, these provisions nevertheless remain in 
the law.  We urge you to replace such criminal penalties with 
civil remedies, as many other countries have done. 
 
-- We remain concerned about a package of amendments to 
Kazakhstan's religion law under consideration in parliament 
which appear aimed at asserting greater government authority 
over so-called "non-traditional" religious groups, such as 
evangelical Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Hare 
Krishnas. 
 
-- We urge you to ensure that ODIHR's recommendations on the 
law are incorporated so that the law meets OSCE standards. 
 
-- We also encourage your government to reach an equitable 
settlement with the Hare Krishna community land dispute. 
 
-- We note that Kazakhstani law now prohibits the worst forms 
of child labor and welcome your government's efforts to 
combat it. 
 
-- We urge improved enforcement given the continued serious 
problem that child labor represents in cotton and tobacco 
production, particularly among migrant workers. 
 
---------- 
Kyrgyzstan 
---------- 
 
¶16. (SBU) For Embassy Bishkek: 
 
-- We are concerned that by several recent actions that call 
into question Kyrgyzstan's commitment to freedom of 
expression for the media.  The recent amendments to the 
broadcasting did not follow through on the government's 
commitment to make the national television and radio network 
independent.  These amendments may force the closure of 
smaller local broadcasters that cannot comply with the new 
Kyrgyz language requirements. 
 
-- We urge the government to take concrete actions to protect 
journalists.  These include making progress on the 
investigation into the October 2007 murder of journalist 
Alisher Saipov, and urge that the government decriminalize 
libel and slander. 
 
-- We are concerned that Kyrgyzstan, in its understandable 
effort to combat extremism, is replacing a commendably open 
religion law with an extremely restrictive one.  We urge the 
government to seek ODIHR review of the law to ensure it is 
compatible with Kyrgyzstan's religious freedom commitments in 
the OSCE. 
 
-- We encourage the government to amend the newly passed and 
restrictive law on public assembly, taking into account the 
review by the ODIHR expert panel that was completed on June 
¶30. 
 
-- We also continue to be concerned about the treatment of 
refugees in your country.  While we acknowledge efforts to 
resettle many asylum seekers, we ask that your government do 
more to ensure the safety of all registered refugees and 
investigate past cases of illegitimate refoulements and/or 
kidnappings, including Uzbek asylum seeker Erkin Halikov. 
 
--------- 
Lithuania 
--------- 
 
¶17. (SBU) For Embassy Vilnius: 
 
-- We remain concerned by the continuing problem of 
anti-Semitism and intolerance in Lithuania. 
 
-- It is important when such acts or statements against 
minorities occur that the government condemn them immediately 
and clearly, in line with the relevant provision of the OSCE 
Berlin Declaration. 
 
-- A week had passed before the government denounced the 
anti-Semitic and anti-Russian nature of a March 11 skinhead 
march .  Other incidents, such as the display of swastikas, 
have not been repudiated. 
 
-- We urge you to grant comprehensive cultural heritage 
protection to the historic Jewish cemetery in the Snipiskes 
neighborhood of Vilnius. 
 
-- Doing so would promote and protect Lithuania's diverse 
history and would send a clear message of tolerance and 
respect for human rights. 
 
-- Another specific measure you could take is to provide for 
the return of or compensation for communal Jewish property 
taken by the Nazi and Soviet occupying regimes. 
 
--------- 
Macedonia 
--------- 
 
¶18. (SBU) For Embassy Skopje: 
 
-- We welcome the notable progress Macedonia has made in 
recent years in combating trafficking in persons. 
 
-- We hope you continue to build on your strong and effective 
inter-agency network and vigorous efforts in areas of 
prevention, protection, and prosecution, in order to maintain 
Macedonia's Tier 1 status for 2009. 
 
-- On elections, the June 15 and June 29 re-runs of the 
parliamentary elections were conducted in a substantially 
improved security environment compared to the seriously 
flawed June 1 vote, and professional and effective conduct of 
law enforcement authorities prevented serious incidents of 
violence. 
 
-- Re-runs were nevertheless also marred by serious 
irregularities in a number of polling stations, including 
ballot stuffing and organized group, family, and proxy 
voting.  We urge you to continue to investigate and 
appropriately sanction those found to have perpetrated 
election fraud. 
 
-- It will be necessary to apply lessons learned in future 
elections.  Partisan staffing of electoral institutions, for 
instance, (e.g., local election boards) may be a systemic 
flaw requiring systemic remedy. 
 
-- On the question of ethnic minorities, we are pleased that 
incidents of inter-ethnic disputes in schools decreased for 
the third consecutive year and welcome the upgrading of the 
"sector" for the implementation of the Ohrid Framework 
Agreement to a full secretariat. 
 
-- We urge your government to redouble efforts to increase 
ethnic minority representation in the public administration, 
while maintaining transparency and impartial professional 
recruitment standards. 
 
-- We were disquieted by continued instances of police abuse 
of suspects, including the "Mountain Storm" police operation 
in the village of Brodec.  We welcome the investigation and 
suspension of the officers involved, and urge similar 
investigations and attention in other such cases. 
 
-- With regard to the Roma, we are pleased that Roma NGOs 
report that instances of direct attacks against Roma have 
diminished significantly, but we note that discrimination and 
serious imbalances in access to education and governmental 
services persist. 
 
-- We urge focused implementation of the commitments the 
government made under the "Decade of the Roma" program. 
 
-- We applaud the May 2008 entry into force of the new Law on 
Religious Groups and Communities, which we believe is in line 
with OSCE standards. 
 
-- We look forward to even-handed implementation of its 
provisions for all religious groups and communities.  A clear 
separation of church and state is necessary for such 
even-handedness, as government funding for any group's 
construction projects or of religious education in public 
schools can easily give rise to charges of favoritism. 
 
------- 
Moldova 
------- 
 
¶19. (SBU) For Embassy Chisinau: 
 
-- We urge your government to ensure that media access for 
political parties and candidates is unhindered before the 
Spring 2009 parliamentary elections and that government does 
not influence or pressure media inappropriately. 
 
-- We encourage the Central Election Commission continues to 
maintain its commendable neutrality in registering candidates 
and conducting the vote; 
 
-- We urge Moldova to enhance efforts to prevent trafficking 
in persons, protect victims, and prosecute perpetrators. 
 
-- We hope the government will continue to implement 
improvements in registration procedures and access to public 
places for all religious groups in Moldova, as provided for 
by the Law on Religion adopted in August 2007. 
 
------ 
Russia 
------ 
 
¶20. (SBU) For Embassy Moscow: 
 
-- We hope that we can have a productive exchange of views at 
this year's HDIM.  There is much to be learned from the 
exchange of best practices across the region. 
 
-- We value this opportunity to sit down together to review 
implementation of OSCE commitments among participating 
States, including by the United States. 
 
-- There are some troubling trends across the region on these 
human dimension issues.  Your government has highlighted in 
public statements the need to address many of these problems 
and has launched many positive initiatives in a number of 
areas. 
 
-- We are encouraged by several new initiatives launched by 
the Russian Government to establish rule of law, combat 
corruption and build an independent and effective judiciary 
and hope that these efforts will be successful. 
 
-- In this context, a free and vibrant civil society and 
press are integral components to rule of law and countering 
corruption and we note statements by President Medvedev that 
Russia will seek to meet its OSCE commitments in this regard. 
 
-- We were encouraged that the Duma rejected proposed 
amendments to the media law that would have allowed media 
outlets to be closed for libel without a court order. 
 
-- We are concerned about the new government edict 
eliminating tax-free status for foreign-funded NGOs and hope 
that implementation of this edict will not hinder the broad 
scope of the important and good work that such NGOs are doing 
in Russia. 
 
-- On the question of democratic elections, we noted at the 
time, following reports by OSCE PA and COE observers, that 
the government effectively limited political pluralism 
through the use of administrative resources, that media 
coverage, particularly among state-controlled television, was 
biased, and that there was intimidation and restriction of 
the political opposition. 
 
-- We hope that the government will address those concerns in 
order to allow for an electoral environment that meets 
Russia's OSCE commitments to open, democratic elections and 
OSCE observation thereof. 
 
-- We urge Russia to move forward with plans to build a 
multiparty system that allows for a diversity of views and 
opposition voices, and hope that such a system would not be 
hampered by excessively burdensome legislative registration 
requirements. 
 
-- We share the Russian Government's concern about hate 
crimes and xenophobia.  We have seen such crimes increase in 
several countries, and realize that this is an issue of 
serious concern in Russia, as there has been a significant 
increase in 2008 in ethnically motivated attacks. 
 
-- In this context, we welcome President Medvedev's public 
condemnation of xenophobia and the efforts of Human Rights 
Ombudsman Lukin to draw attention to the issue. 
 
-- We see law enforcement organs taking some steps to 
prosecute these crimes, but we believe more could be done to 
address the underlying intolerance that motivates such crimes 
and improve the capacity of the criminal justice system in 
this regard.  We stand ready to work with Russia both 
bilaterally and through the OSCE to address this challenge. 
 
-- We would like to commend your government for opening up 
the refugee status determination procedure to allow greater 
access, as well as to reconsider previously rejected cases 
where applicants continue to assert they would face 
persecution if repatriated. 
 
-- Migrant labor is an issue that OSCE participating States, 
including the United States, struggle with at times.  This 
remains a sensitive issue in many European countries. 
Russia's migration legislation, implemented last year, 
usefully clarified labor laws for migrant workers. 
 
-- We would urge improved implementation of that law, and 
that it be put into the framework of a comprehensive 
migration policy, addressing equal employment, taxation, and 
access to health care for migrant workers. 
 
-- Religious freedom is also an important issue to OSCE 
participating States.  We note Russia's efforts in recent 
years to maintain a multi-religious society and ensure 
religious freedom but are concerned about difficulties some 
religious minorities face with regard to unequal treatment 
compared to "traditional" religious denominations, 
impediments to legal registration, the misuse of 
anti-extremism laws, and the failure to return property 
confiscated from religious groups. 
 
------ 
Serbia 
------ 
 
¶21. (SBU) For Embassy Belgrade: 
 
-- We welcome the parliamentary passage of implementing 
legislation for the national strategy for judicial reform. 
We urge you to implement the legislation as quickly as 
possible now that the new government is formed. 
 
-- We congratulate you on the arrest of Stojan Zupljanin on 
June 11, 2008, and on the 2007 arrests of Zdravko Tolimir and 
Vlastimir Djordjevic and the continued investigations and 
prosecutions of several organized crime and war crimes 
suspects. 
 
-- We urge you to do more to capture the remaining three 
fugitive war crimes suspects under indictment by the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 
(ICTY) -- Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and Goran Hadzic. 
 
-- We welcome the strides Serbia has made in addressing 
corruption in the police and the judiciary.  The fact that 
the Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a former 
Supreme Court judge for bribery shows Serbia's commitment to 
fighting official corruption. 
 
-- We were pleased with the conduct of the presidential and 
parliamentary elections in 2008, which the OSCE assessed as 
being in line with international standards and conducted 
professionally. 
 
-- We welcome the significant efforts Serbia has been making 
to comply with the minimum standards for combating 
trafficking in persons, including training law enforcement in 
victim identification, providing services to victims, and 
investigating and prosecuting traffickers. 
 
-- We would like to raise again the restrictive 2006 Religion 
Law, which recognizes only seven "traditional" churches and 
requires all other religious communities to reregister to 
receive official recognition. 
 
-- In addition to being discriminatory, we hear reports that 
the law continues to be applied arbitrarily, including the 
refusal of the Religion Ministry to register many minority 
churches. 
 
-- These minority religious communities have experienced 
increasing incidences of vandalism against their houses of 
worship -- often without appropriate police response. 
 
-- We also urge greater attention to the question of finding 
durable solutions for the large numbers of internally 
displaced persons in Serbia. 
 
-------- 
Slovakia 
-------- 
 
¶22. (SBU) For Embassy Bratislava: 
 
-- The Press Law which took effect on June 1, 2008, contains 
a very broad right of reply, which grants any reader, 
including government agencies and entities with no connection 
to a story, the right to respond regardless of whether 
articles are factually correct, so long as they "touch on the 
honor, dignity, or privacy" of a person or legal entity. 
 
-- Many independent experts who evaluated the Press Law 
believe that this broad wording could allow undue government 
and political influence over media editorial boards. 
 
-- We urge you to amend the Press Law consistent with the 
recommendations made by the OSCE Freedom of Media 
Representative. 
 
-- We are pleased that Deputy PM Caplovic has outlined a 
comprehensive strategy to address the situation of Slovakia's 
Roma minority. 
 
-- We support Caplovic's efforts to bring attention to this 
pressing human rights issue in Slovakia and to create 
realistic solutions for the problem. 
 
-- We urge the ministries of your government to utilize at 
least the 2 percent minimum of the Eurofunds allocated to 
Slovakia to implement these programs. 
 
-- We encourage the government to approve a plan and to 
allocate the necessary funds for it that would aid cities and 
villages relocating Roma families from unsafe buildings. 
 
-- This would help improve the situation surrounding forced 
evictions of Roma, such as those noted by the Milan Simecka 
Foundation and of the inadequate housing provided for evicted 
Roma families in Nove Zamky. 
 
-- We are concerned by apparent tightening of requirements 
for the registration of religious groups in Slovakia by 
requiring at least 20,000 adherents for official 
registration. 
 
-- We encourage the government to loosen these requirements 
to allow greater freedom in the registration of new religions 
in conjunction with Slovakia's commitment to religious 
freedom. 
 
-- We congratulate the Slovak Parliament on its work with 
NGOs and Human Rights organizations to amend to the 
Anti-Discrimination Law. 
 
---------- 
Tajikistan 
---------- 
 
¶23. (SBU) For Embassy Dushanbe: 
 
-- The United States believes that protection of human rights 
and the promotion of democracy are fundamental to creating a 
stable and prosperous society. 
 
-- Democratic reforms, inasmuch as they improve the way the 
people perceive their treatment by the government, can 
enhance stability. 
 
-- Protection of property rights is a key to any functioning 
economy.  When governments revoke such rights, it must be 
done only with full transparency, including consultation with 
the affected property-holders, and with full restitution for 
the market value of the property in question. 
 
-- Property that is state-owned is managed for the benefit of 
the community at large; the public should be informed of how 
the government manages such property. We urge you to make 
public your plans for the development of city property, and 
to duly inform those whose rights may be affected by these 
plans. 
 
-- These principles seem not to have been respected in 
numerous evictions by the authorities in Dushanbe, and in 
particular with regard to the Jewish Community in Dushanbe. 
Government officials are obliged to follow the law in 
respecting private property, or reallocating public land for 
use, and must do so with full transparency. 
 
-- We urge you to provide full and prompt restitution to 
those whose property has been seized or demolished, including 
that of the Jewish community for the razing of the only 
synagogue in Dushanbe. 
 
-- We ask that you to allow the International Committee of 
the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) full access to all 
prisons. 
 
-- We are concerned that child labor continues to be used in 
the cotton sector, despite legal prohibitions. 
 
-- There are many practical measures you could take to combat 
this practice, such as not closing schools during the 
harvest, reprimanding government officials who pressure 
students to work, and using labor inspections to catch 
violators. 
 
-- We call on your government to implement the 
recommendations in the ODIHR reports on the November 2006 
elections.  Action should be taken now to improve performance 
in the next elections. 
 
-- We are concerned with the use of criminal libel and 
slander laws to pressure the media.  We urge their 
replacement with civil remedies, as many other countries have 
done.  We further encourage you to register and license 
independent radio and television stations, including six 
community radio stations which have been established in rural 
areas with U.S. funding through Internews. 
 
-- NGOs can be valuable partners for governments, including 
in providing services in areas where governments have 
difficulty doing so. 
 
-- Registration requirements for NGOs, however, are unduly 
complicated and have been used as a tool to harass some 
legitimate NGOs.  We urge that they be simplified, and that 
the National Democratic Institute be registered. 
 
-- We note that in many countries, including some in the 
region, efforts to restrict religious practice simply 
strengthen the growth of radicalism.  We urge your government 
ensure that any new legislation concerning freedom of 
religion or belief meets international standards and 
encourage you to seek technical assistance from ODIHR on such 
legislation. 
 
-- We also urge your government to reverse the banning of the 
Jehovah's Witnesses, Ehyo Protestant Church, and Abundant 
Life Christian Center, and allow them to freely practice 
their faith. 
 
-- Tajik women continue to see their social and educational 
gains of the twentieth century erode.  We urge you to give 
the Committee on Women's Affairs real authority that will 
make them a true player and advocate for women. 
 
------ 
Turkey 
------ 
 
¶24. (U) For Embassy Ankara: 
 
-- We have concerns about the respect for religious freedoms 
for minorities.  Minority religious groups face difficulties 
in obtaining recognition of their groups and their leadership 
structures. 
 
-- Minority religious groups have difficulties establishing 
and maintain places of worship and institutions for religious 
education and instruction. 
 
-- Their children are not exempt from compulsory religious 
instruction in schools. 
 
-- Many reforms are necessary to improve the situation, and 
these take time, but there is one concrete measure that you 
could take prior to the HDIM: We urge the Turkish Government 
to take the actions necessary to allow the opening of the 
Theological School at Halki. 
 
-- Another concrete step your government could take is to 
ensure consistent implementation of 2006 law allowing 
citizens to change religious affiliation or not specify a 
religious affiliation on their ID cards.  This may require 
disciplining officials who ignore the 2006 law and harass 
citizens seeking these changes. 
 
------------ 
Turkmenistan 
------------ 
 
¶25. (SBU) For Embassy Ashgabat: 
 
(Should Turkmenistan still be blocking consensus on the HDIM 
Agenda in Vienna, please use this point:)  We urge your 
government to join consensus in Vienna on the agenda for the 
HDIM as proposed by the Chairmanship.  The issue of which 
NGOs attend the HDIM and the OSCE's policies on NGOs is 
unrelated to the adoption of the agenda and we urge you not 
to link them. 
 
-- We urge your government to send an appropriately senior 
delegation to this year's HDIM prepared to discuss the steps 
that your government has begun to take to meet its OSCE 
commitments and international human rights obligations. 
 
-- We are deeply troubled by the June 20 detention and abuse 
by Turkmen authorities of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 
(RFE/RL) contributor Sazak Durdymuradov.  Any attempt to 
threaten journalists is an unacceptable affront to human 
rights and violates the word and spirit of our OSCE 
commitments. 
 
-- We call on your government to fully investigate the 
incident, address the allegation of abuse, and hold those 
responsible to account for any abuse that may have occurred. 
 
-- We commend the government's decision to develop a 
national strategic plan to catalogue and to implement the 
international human rights conventions to which it is a 
party, and for having already taken some steps toward 
fulfilling its international human rights obligations, 
although much work remains to be done. 
 
-- These steps include: 
 
-Establishing a Human Rights Commission under the President 
in late 2007, as part of its publicly stated intention to 
fulfill the country's international human rights obligations. 
 The Commission has been demonstrating its commitment to the 
process by working closely with UNDP, the EU, and OSCE to 
integrate international human rights obligations into Turkmen 
legislation, judicial practice, and state institutions. 
 
-Revising the Laws on Women's Rights and Children's Rights, 
and instituting a new Law on Trafficking in Persons to bring 
national laws into conformity with the country's OSCE 
international treaty and convention obligations.  We 
understand you are currently undertaking a significant 
revision of the National Constitution that will facilitate 
other planned reforms. 
 
-Reinstating a tenth year of compulsory schooling and, in 
higher education, expanding student enrollments, extending 
the term of study to five years, and beginning to 
re-establish post-graduate programs. 
 
-- We urge the government to continue its positive momentum 
on reform by fully implementing steps it has already begun to 
take, including: 
 
-- Revising and reforming the Criminal Code, the Criminal 
Procedure Code, the Civil Code, and the religion law, in 
cooperation with international experts.  This will represent 
positive developments in building a sound framework for 
strengthening the rule of law and supporting human rights. 
 
-- Registering the first non-government organization since 
¶2005.  We urge the government to continue to register 
non-government organizations in the coming months.  Two 
religious organizations were also successfully registered in 
2007, and additional registrations would be welcomed. 
 
-- Turkmen television media organizations have begun 
broadening their coverage of international news events, and 
the United States encourages additional efforts to increase 
public access to information via television, Internet and 
print sources.  In the spirit of greater international 
coverage, the United States would welcome press accreditation 
for additional foreign correspondents in Turkmenistan. 
 
-- For the first time, the government engaged this year in 
substantive discussions with visiting high-level ICRC, OSCE, 
and EU delegations.  The United States remains optimistic 
that such dialogues will continue and lead to concrete 
cooperation with such entities that will advance 
Turkmenistan's human rights goals. 
 
-- On May 20, we delivered to you a non-paper entitled "Steps 
for Further Democratic Reform and Human Rights Protection" in 
Ashgabat and Washington DC.  We urge you to implement the 
steps outlined in the non-paper: end harassment of RFE/RL 
journalists and their families and work towards accrediting 
RFE/RL's reporters; release prisoners of concern; register 
the Turan Mugallym and Trust Group non-governmental 
organizations; make public the registration requirements for 
religious organizations and register organizations that meet 
them including Svet Zhizni and Imam Yoly groups; and 
eliminate negative voting. 
 
-- The non-paper included a section on "Suggested Democracy 
and Human Rights Cooperation Proposals."  We stand ready to 
discuss those cooperation proposals in further detail and 
begin implementation. 
 
-- One concrete action you could take prior to HDIM would be 
to release former FM and OSCE Ambassador Batyr Berdiyev. 
 
-- In addition, we would welcome the lifting the suspended 
sentences of two Jehovah's Witnesses, Bayram Ashirgeldiyev 
and Begench Shakhmuradov, as has been done with most other 
Jehovah's Witnesses sentenced for conscientious objection to 
military service. 
 
------- 
Ukraine 
------- 
 
¶26. (SBU) For Embassy Kyiv: 
 
-- We note the recent transfer of responsibility for asylum 
and migration issues from the State Committee on 
Nationalities and Religion to the Ministry of Interior. 
 
-- We encourage the new State Department of Migration 
Services to ensure that during the transition phase, asylum 
seekers do not face unnecessary and increased processing 
delays. 
 
-- We understand that the Cabinet of Ministers decree has 
instructed the SCNR propose necessary legislation to carry 
out this transfer by September 1, 2008. 
 
-- The transfer provides an opportunity for the Department of 
Migration Services to simplify and streamline the current 
complicated and lengthy application process for asylum. 
 
---------- 
Uzbekistan 
---------- 
 
¶27. (SBU) For Embassy Tashkent. 
 
-- We commend the government of Uzbekistan for its efforts to 
improve human rights in 2008.  Allowing the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to prisons, 
releasing several human rights activists from prison, 
including most recently Mutabar Tojiboyeva, making progress 
on addressing the UN Special Rapporteur for Torture's 
recommendations from 2003, and the implementation of habeas 
corpus reveal a commitment to bringing the Uzbekistan justice 
system up to OSCE standards. 
 
-- We also congratulate the government for the passage of 
human trafficking legislation and the ratification of two ILO 
conventions on child labor. 
 
-- We urge the government to continue its positive momentum 
with respect to the justice system by continuing to allow 
ICRC access to Uzbek prisons, continuing to improve prison 
conditions, granting prisoners unfettered access to 
attorneys, releasing additional prisoners including those 
discussed privately with the U.S. and EU countries, such as 
Sanjar Umarov, and allowing Mutabar Tojiboyeva to leave 
Uzbekistan to receive medical treatment abroad. 
 
-- We are disappointed by the recent increase in harassment 
of independent journalists, including the arrest of former 
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reporter Salijon 
Abdurakhmanov on drug charges in Karakalpakstan.  We call on 
the government to cease its broadcasts concerning Radio Free 
Europe/Radio Liberty's Uzbek-language Service "Ozodlik," 
which potentially threaten the safety of the journalists and 
their families. We also urge that you issue accreditation to 
international journalists, including those from RFE/RL, the 
Associated Press (AP), Reuters, the British Broadcasting 
Service (BBC), Agent France-Presse (AFP), and Deutsche Welle. 
 
 
-- We applaud the enactment of anti-trafficking in persons 
legislation and encourage you to move forward in 
strengthening penalties against alleged human traffickers and 
to allow international monitors to assess the use of child 
labor during the fall cotton harvest, as a first step towards 
implementing the ILO child labor conventions. 
 
-- We strongly believe that it is in the best long-term 
interests of both our countries that you grant amnesty to 
certain individuals convicted of membership in banned 
religious organizations.  We ask you to revive your 2004-2006 
commission responsible for the amnesty and reintegration of 
many of these prisoners and to continue our dialogue on 
religious freedom. 
 
-- We are also concerned by the harassment of certain 
minority religious congregations, and the apparent media 
campaign against them, which we believe could incite 
religious hatred and social unrest.  We urge your government 
to release religious minority prisoners Dmitri Shestakov, 
Irfan Hamidov and Olim Turayev. 
 
-- We request that the government cease the extradition of 
individuals who have sought political asylum abroad, and 
provide assurances of the safety and whereabouts of Erkin 
Halikov, who was extradited from Kyrgyzstan in May.  We 
further call on your government to cease harassment of 
Andijon refugees abroad, returned refugees, and their 
families who remain in Uzbekistan. 
 
-- We urge your government to reconsider its denial of 
accreditation to the Human Rights Watch director in Tashkent, 
Igor Vorontsov. 
 
-- We call on the government to allow the return of 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media forced to 
leave the county following the 2005 Andijon events. Many of 
these NGOs contributed positively to Uzbekistan's development 
prior to their removal and could help verify and publicize 
Uzbekistan's recent improvements in human rights. 
 
-- The United States stands ready to cooperate with 
Uzbekistan on human rights issues.  We are interested in 
contributing to upcoming human rights related events outlined 
by President Karimov in his recent decrees and in sending 
U.S. government officials and international experts to human 
rights conferences in Uzbekistan. 
 
-- We are ready to provide training for law enforcement 
officials on the new habeas corpus law. We are also prepared 
to receive Uzbek Parliamentarians, government officials, and 
religious leaders to the U.S. on exchange programs. 
 
-- We are further interested in exploring the possibility of 
providing training on crowd control tactics to prevent 
tragedies such as the 2005 Andijon events. 
RICE