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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 161 Introduced in House (IH)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 161

Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to the St. Petersburg 
Declaration of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
                        Parliamentary Assembly.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 1999

   Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Sawyer, Mr. 
Salmon, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Sabo, and Ms. Danner) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to the St. Petersburg 
Declaration of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
                        Parliamentary Assembly.

Whereas parliamentarians of the participating states of the Organization for 
        Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) met in St. Petersburg, Russia 
        from July 6 to 10, 1999, in order to assess OSCE activities and 
        deliberate means to further ensure stability and democracy in Europe;
Whereas the United States delegation consisted of 17 members of Congress, 
        including--

    (1) Representative Christopher Smith, Chairman of the delegation;

    (2) Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Vice Chair of the delegation;

    (3) Representative Steny Hoyer, Vice President of the OSCE 
Parliamentary Assembly; and

    (4) the following members of the Helsinki Commission: Representatives 
Matt Salmon, Benjamin Cardin, and Louise Slaughter, and Senator Kay Bailey 
Hutchison;

Whereas the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted the St. Petersburg Declaration, 
        which included United States-drafted language on the trafficking of 
        women and children, the assassination of Galina Starovoitova, the 
        conflict in Kosovo, and the infrastructure of southeastern Europe;
Whereas the section entitled ``The Situation in Kosovo''--

    (1) supports the OSCE Mission in Kosovo in its efforts aimed at 
ensuring peace, security, and construction of civil society in Kosovo;

    (2) urges all parties involved in Kosovo to make the utmost effort to 
ensure the safe return and resettlement of all displaced persons and 
refugees, regardless of ethnicity or religious belief, and to work towards 
reconciliation between all sections of society;

    (3) calls upon all the authorities of the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross full, 
immediate, and ongoing access to all prisoners arrested in relation to the 
Kosovo crisis, and to ensure the humane treatment of such prisoners;

    (4) urges OSCE participating states to fully assist the International 
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in its efforts to provide justice for 
all peoples of the region and to ensure that those indicted for criminal 
acts will be brought to justice and receive a fair trial; and

    (5) encourages all viable efforts designed to create regional stability 
and promote good neighborly relations for the future in the Balkans;

Whereas the section entitled ``Regional Infrastructure in South-Eastern 
        Europe,'' authored by Senator George Voinovich, calls upon the OSCE 
        participating states to mobilize the necessary resources to assist the 
        people of southeastern Europe in their quest to achieve lasting peace, 
        as well as economic and political stability;
Whereas the section entitled ``Common Security and Democracy in the Twenty-First 
        Century''--

    (1) calls upon the OSCE to seize current opportunities to strengthen 
peace and security in the OSCE region and to further promote human rights 
and the law;

    (2) supports the initiatives of the European Union to prevent and 
peacefully resolve the conflicts on the European continent, and to convene 
a conference on reconstruction in the Balkans in line with the decisions of 
the United Nations Security Council concerning peace in Kosovo;

    (3) welcomes the fact that the principles of the Stability Pact for 
southeastern Europe have been accepted by Russia, which must find the place 
it deserves in the pact's implementation, and acknowledges that it should 
be implemented with the full cooperation of international organizations, 
including the United Nations, the European Union, OSCE, and the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization;

    (4) recommends that efforts be made to attain even closer cooperation 
and coordination with the United Nations, the European Union, the Council 
of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the Western European 
Union in conflict resolution; and

    (5) calls for greater political participation and representation for 
minority groups in OSCE participating states, ensuring respect and 
effective exercise of equal rights; and

Whereas the section entitled ``The Trafficking of Women and Children,'' authored 
        by Representative Chris Smith--

    (1) condemns the fact that millions of women and children are 
trafficked into the international sex trade, in gross violation of their 
fundamental human rights; and

    (2) urgently appeals to the governments of OSCE participating states 
and countries of origin and destination to adopt legislation and 
enforcement mechanisms to punish trafficking perpetrators, while protecting 
the rights of the trafficking victims: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) commends the Organization for Security and Cooperation 
        in Europe Parliamentary Assembly for its commitment to 
        furthering democratic principles throughout Europe;
            (2) urges the United States to recognize and fulfill its 
        role in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
        Parliamentary Assembly and the principles that have been 
        expounded in the St. Petersburg Declaration; and
            (3) urges all member states and international bodies of the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
        Parliamentary Assembly to adopt the principles of the St. 
        Petersburg Declaration and to continue their efforts in 
        securing stability and justice in Europe and throughout the 
        world.
                                 <all>
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