US embassy cable - 05WARSAW3447

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 003447 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PL, OSCE 
SUBJECT:  OSCE: HDIM OPENING FOCUSES ON OSCE REFORM 
 
1.  Summary:  The opening session of the 2005 Human 
Dimension Implementation Meeting gave participants a 
chance to set out their views of the OSCE, against the 
backdrop of reform discussions ongoing in Vienna. 
Poland, the U.S., and Kyrgyzstan voiced strong support 
for OSCE's human rights work and for the need to hold 
States accountable for implementing their OSCE 
commitments.  Others, including Russia, Belarus, 
Kazakhstan, and to an extent CiO Slovenia, advocated 
"updating" OSCE standards and ensuring they are 
unbiased and applied equally to all countries. 
Kazakhstan made a clear push for their 2009 
Chairmanship bid, but in doing so also exposed the 
approach towards the human dimension they likely would 
take as CiO: putting economic reforms first.  The new 
OSCE Secretary General added to the reform debate by 
proposing that the OSCE once again take up the issue of 
culture as a confidence building measure to promote 
tolerance.  End summary. 
 
Support for the OSCE 
-------------------- 
 
2.  Polish Undersecretary of State Piotr Switalski gave 
one of the strongest statements in support of the OSCE 
that we have heard in years.  He said OSCE has become a 
"proxy target" for some participating States which are 
really questioning the basic standards and values that 
the OSCE represents.  Those who fear democracy believe 
that those who advocate it are plotting to destabilize 
other countries and gain influence.  The mistrust is 
unfounded but it is damaging the OSCE.  Restructuring 
the OSCE or giving it a legal personality will not fix 
the current situation; rather, substantive issues must 
be addressed.  There should be no "value gap," since it 
is not true that there are differences in democratic 
values among OSCE States.  However, the OSCE needs to 
support those States that need assistance and to deal 
with a growing "civilization gap" as new minorities 
migrate into Europe.  Above all, OSCE States should be 
willing to face the hard questions and issues: "Why is 
it that we sometimes refrain from raising instances of 
non-compliance with OSCE commitments?  Why do we allow 
the Moscow Mechanism to be perceived as offensive?  Why 
do States sometimes hide behind NGOs, allowing them to 
raise the difficult issues?"  He also raised bilateral 
issues with Belarus, expressing Polish concerns with 
the treatment of the Union of Poles in Belarus. 
 
3.  U.S. Ambassador Finley gave a strong statement in 
support of the OSCE and in particular of its election 
activities. OSCE election standards and the 
independence of its election observations must be 
supported.  She raised specific concerns about the 
human rights situation in Belarus, Uzbekistan, 
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Chechnya. 
Belarusian OSCE CoE Director Denis Sidorenko took issue 
with the U.S. statement.  He said that while "new 
democracies" have made great progress over the past few 
years, the "established democracies" like the U.S. have 
had new problems with elections, intolerance and anti- 
Semitism, and restrictions on media freedoms. 
Sidorenko therefore rejected Finley's and Switalsky's 
criticisms, and stressed that OSCE should focus on 
concrete assistance projects. 
 
4.  As if in response to the Belarusian statement, 
Kyrgyz Vice Ombudsman Mamaturaim Momunov gave his 
explicit support for Ambassador Finley's intervention 
and for using the HDIM to raising specific human rights 
concerns with individual countries.  He thanked the 
OSCE for its assistance programs in Central Asia, 
adding that anti-democratic developments in neighboring 
countries present obstacles to reform within 
Kyrgyzstan.  For example, Kyrgyzstan is worried about 
the use of torture and the prison conditions in other 
Central Asian States.  Also, while Bishkek did 
everything it could to protect Uzbek refugees who fled 
to Kyrgyzstan after the events in Andijon, the Kyrgyz 
government came under significant pressure from its 
neighbor to return the refugees to Uzbekistan. 
Momounov proposed that Bishkek host a conference in 
December on the protection of human rights, focusing on 
the countries that have had regime change recently, 
including Ukraine and Georgia, to discuss the 
difficulties they face from the problems previous 
regimes left behind.  (Note: In a later session on 
migration and refugees, a Kazakh representative 
expressed disappointment over the Kyrgyz opening 
statement and said she would report its contents to 
Kazakh authorities.) 
 
Other Opening Statements 
------------------------ 
 
5.  The Russian opening statement focused on terrorism, 
saying it threatens democracy but that some countries 
use "combatting terrorism" as an excuse to violate 
human rights due process.  Russian speaker Lebedev also 
said OSCE standards should be updated since today's 
security situation is complicated and solutions like 
the Orange Revolution are not effective.  Azerbaijan 
(speaking on behalf of the GUAM) said OSCE priorities 
should include work on combating trafficking in 
persons, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing and 
aggressive nationalism.  Georgia added that the HDIM 
should be held outside of Warsaw every other year and 
reiterated its willingness to host it. 
 
6.  Kazakhstan's First Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat 
Aliyev made a statement clearly aimed at securing his 
country's bid for the 2009 Chairmanship of the OSCE, 
but which signaled several Kazakh priorities that we 
would oppose. (Note: The 2009 Chairmanship decision 
must be made in 2006.)  He stressed that States must 
not use the fight against terrorism as a pretext to 
crack down on opposition.  However, he also said the 
OSCE should look more carefully at reform processes, 
since economic reform and political liberalization are 
separate.  He said that when civil society develops too 
quickly in the absence of economic reform, then social 
destabilization results.  Thus Kazakhstan supports step- 
by-step reforms, where economic reforms come first and 
define the political system.  Aliyev sees "double- 
standards" when media and NGOs fail "to uphold OSCE 
standards."  [Comment:  While OSCE documents contain 
commitments for participating States, they stipulate 
that NGOs and the media should be free and independent. 
Aliyev's comment was a veiled suggestion that media and 
civil society should avoid stirring up instability by 
criticizing government leaders and policies.]  Aliyev 
repeated Kazakhstan's offer to hold a conference on 
inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue next year. 
Finally, he pointed to President Nazarbayev's recent 
address presenting a package of political reforms, 
including provisions to ensure free and fair elections 
in December and the creation of a State Commission on 
democratic reforms. 
 
OSCE Reform Issues 
------------------ 
 
7.  The Slovenian Chairmanship's representative, Boris 
Frlec, reiterated the OSCE principle that human rights 
are not solely an internal affair.  This principle 
allows participating States to use peer pressure to 
hold each other accountable for the implementation of 
their OSCE commitments.  He supported the 
recommendations in the report of the Panel of Eminent 
Persons to create a human dimension committee and to 
ensure that OSCE election observation standards are 
unbiased and more standardized. 
 
8.  OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut 
focused on how the OSCE could increase its cooperation 
with other international organizations, noting it could 
work with the newly created UN Peacebuilding 
Commission.  He also proposed that the OSCE - perhaps 
working with UNESCO - consider resurrecting its focus 
on culture as a confidence building measure, 
particularly to build tolerance and combat 
discrimination.  OSCE High Commissioner on National 
Minorities Rolf Ekeus stressed the need for minorities' 
education and language use, participation in political 
and administrative bodies, including police, 
citizenship, cultural expression, and repatriation and 
property restitution issues. 
 
ASHE