VZCZCXRO7038
PP RUEHAST RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR
DE RUEHC #7587/01 0281526
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 281517Z JAN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 7391
INFO ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 007587 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KDEM OSCE
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL:  STATEMENT ON DISCUSSION 
OF HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS IN THE OSCE 
 
¶1. (U) Post is authorized to present the following statement 
at the Permanent Council meeting in Vienna when appropriate. 
The Department suggests that, in the interest of brevity, 
that Post drop the bracketed text when delivering this 
statement in the Permanent Council.  Post may, at its 
discretion, include that text in a longer written submission. 
 
Begin text: 
 
Madam Chairwoman, 
 
At the January 22 meeting of the Permanent Council, we 
embarked on an important and relevant discussion.  The 
distinguished Russian Ambassador, repeating his charge of 
double standards in the OSCE asked why we bring up human 
rights violations in the emerging democracies east of Vienna 
while ignoring those in the developed democracies west of 
Vienna. 
 
This discussion addresses our OSCE obligation to hold 
ourselves accountable to meet our common OSCE commitments. 
Human rights violations occur in all of our countries, both 
east and west of Vienna.  When they do occur, or when we 
believe they have occurred, it is our duty to raise the issue 
and ask the State involved for an explanation.  We welcome 
and encourage the Russian Federation and others to inquire 
about human rights violations that occur in the West.  And we 
are the first to admit, human rights abuses do occur in the 
U.S. and all countries, East or West. 
 
A mature democratic system, however, ultimately is self 
correcting.  It may take time, but given a vibrant civil 
society, independent media, an independent legislative 
branch, free and fair elections, a system where power is not 
overly concentrated, and strict adherence to the rule of law 
where the law is consistent with international standards and 
commitments, errors will be corrected, with or without 
international attention.  The OSCE commitments covering each 
of these essential aspects of a democratic system are 
designed, in part, to help build a vibrant, self-correcting, 
open and democratic system of government.  So the most 
important question when an abuse occurs is not one of 
geography, but rather whether participating State in question 
is meeting, and has a track record of meeting, its OSCE human 
dimension commitments. 
 
 
 
(When a protester is arrested in an OSCE participating State 
that has a track record of meeting its OSCE commitments, we 
can have reasonable assurances that in that State: 
 
-     permission for peaceful protests and assemblies, are 
routinely granted with minimal bureaucratic procedure and 
maximum flexibility and even when unsanctioned, are rarely 
broken up by police; and 
-     the media were able to freely observe and report on the 
events with no government or police guidance or interference 
(as, we note, is the case with all of the instances cited by 
our Russian colleague today); 
 
If brought to trial, we have reasonable certainty that: 
-     the judge will be independent of the police and the 
authorities; 
-     the proceeding will be open to the media, NGOs and 
other interested parties; and 
-     laws will be applied fairly, consistently and without 
prejudice. 
 
After the judicial proceedings and irrespective of whether 
the protester was convicted or acquitted, we have reasonable 
certainty that: 
-     they will not be expelled from school or fired from 
their job for participation in a demonstration; 
-     they will not be drafted into the military; 
-     they will not be prohibited from traveling; and 
-     they will not be evicted from their apartments; 
 
If the demonstration was organized by an NGO or other civil 
society group, we have reasonable certainly that: 
-     it did not need to be registered or given permission by 
a government authority to organize and work; 
-     if they wanted to rent premises for headquarters or 
meeting places, they did not have to rent from the government 
or seek government permission to rent facilities; and 
-     outside financial support for the group will not be 
subject to government restrictions. 
 
STATE 00007587  002 OF 002 
 
 
In terms of the media that cover these events, we have 
reasonable certainty that: 
-     the newspaper or journal that reported on these events 
did not need government permission to operate; 
-     the newspaper or journal will not be required to print 
in government facilities, to buy their paper from the 
government or receive government permission to publish; 
-     distribution channels will be available based on 
commercial factors with no government interference; 
-     outside financial support for the newspaper will not be 
subject to government restrictions; and 
-     the newspaper or journal will not be shut down for 
technical violations of tax or other laws. 
 
In terms of the local authorities=, we have reasonable 
certainly that: 
-     they cannot order tax, health or other inspections of 
civil society organizations for political reasons, and 
without legal recourse; 
-     elected members of local governmental bodies are 
elected in fully democratic elections; 
-     elected officials are accountable to their citizens; and 
executive power is not held in the hands of one individual or 
clique.) 
 
 
It was only a few weeks ago in Helsinki when we all 
recommitted ourselves to the principle that the commitments 
undertaken in the field of the OSCE human dimension are 
matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating 
States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs 
of the State concerned.  Neither should governments treat 
expressions of concern from their own citizens as threats to 
their power.  Rather, they should use such opportunities to 
reflect and consider corrective action. 
 
Openly discussing the fulfillment of our shared commitments 
in the OSCE forum can be a powerful impetus to change and for 
advancing the sort of systemic changes that are critical for 
the broader protection of human rights and fundamental 
freedoms.  We have all accepted that we will strive to live 
up to our shared standards, and that we will accept the 
scrutiny of our fellow participating States.  We therefore 
welcome a broad discussion of the implementation of OSCE 
commitments. 
 
Thank you Madam Chairwoman. 
CLINTON