IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 204
Voicing concern about serious violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in most states of Central Asia, including substantial noncompli-
ance with their Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) commitments on democratization and the holding of free and
fair elections.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 21, 1999
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. HOYER, and Mr. FORBES) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Voicing concern about serious violations of human rights
and fundamental freedoms in most states of Central
Asia, including substantial noncompliance with their Or-
ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) commitments on democratization and the hold-
ing of free and fair elections.
Whereas 
the 
states 
of 
Central 
Asia—Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—
have been participating States of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1992
and have freely accepted all OSCE commitments, includ-
ing those concerning human rights, democracy, and the
rule of law;
HCON 204 IH
Whereas the Central Asian states, as OSCE participating
states, have affirmed that every individual has the right
to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, ex-
pression, association, peaceful assembly and movement,
freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, or
other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punish-
ment, and if charged with an offense the right to fair and
public trial;
Whereas the Central Asian states, as OSCE participating
states, have committed themselves to build, consolidate,
and strengthen democracy as the only system of govern-
ment, and are obligated to hold free elections at reason-
able intervals, to respect the right of citizens to seek po-
litical or public office without discrimination, to respect
the right of individuals and groups to establish in full
freedom their own political parties, and to allow parties
and individuals wishing to participate in the electoral
process access to the media on a nondiscriminatory basis;
Whereas the general trend of political development in Central
Asia has been the emergence of Presidents far more pow-
erful than other branches of government; most of whom
have refused to allow genuine electoral challenges, post-
poned or canceled elections, excluded serious rivals from
participating in elections, or otherwise contrived to con-
trol the outcome of elections;
Whereas some leaders and governments in Central Asia have
crushed nascent political parties, or refused to register
opposition parties, and have imprisoned and used violence
against, or exiled, opposition figures;
Whereas in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbaev dis-
solved parliament in 1993 and again in 1995, when he
also annulled scheduled Presidential elections, and ex-
HCON 204 IH
tended his tenure in office until 2000 by a deeply flawed
referendum;
Whereas independent media in Kazakhstan, which used to be
fairly free, have been pressured, co-opted, or crushed,
leaving few outlets for the expression of independent or
opposition views;
Whereas on January 10, 1999, President Nazarbaev was re-
elected in snap Presidential elections from which a lead-
ing challenger was excluded for having addressed an un-
registered organization, ‘‘For Free Elections,’’ and the
OSCE assessed the election as falling far short of inter-
national standards;
Whereas Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Justice registered opposi-
tion parties and movements to take part in parliamentary
elections on October 10, 1999, but a leading challenger
was again excluded, and the OSCE has criticized the con-
duct of the election;
Whereas Kyrgyzstan’s parliament has demonstrated some
independence from President Askar Akaev and his gov-
ernment, and opposition parties can function and are rep-
resented in parliament;
Whereas independent media exist in Kyrgyzstan but have
faced serious constraints, including criminal lawsuits by
government officials for defamation;
Whereas local authorities in Kyrgyzstan have recently har-
assed opposition activists, including members of par-
liament, who were attempting to establish a political
party;
Whereas parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are scheduled
for February 2000;
HCON 204 IH
Whereas in Tajikistan, a civil war in the early 1900s caused
an estimated 50,000 people to perish, and a military
stalemate forced President Imomaly Rakhmonov in 1997
to come to terms with Islamic and democratic opposition
groups and agree to a coalition government;
Whereas the provisions of their power-sharing agreement are
slowly being implemented, but opposition groups in
Tajikistan have not received the full allotment of their
slots in election commissions or in government posts, op-
position contenders for the presidency have been excluded
from the race and the major opposition organization has
decided to suspend participation in the work of the Na-
tional Reconciliation Commission;
Whereas free and fair elections and other democratic steps in
Tajikistan offer the best hope of reconciling government
and opposition forces, overcoming the legacy of the civil
war and establishing the basis for civil society;
Whereas a national referendum was held in Tajikistan in
September 1999 on amendments to the Constitution,
Presidential elections are slated for November, and par-
liamentary elections are expected by the end of 1999;
Whereas in Turkmenistan under the rule of President
Saparmurat 
Niyazov, 
no 
internationally 
recognized
human rights are observed, including freedom of speech,
assembly, association, religion, and movement, and at-
tempts to exercise these rights are brutally suppressed;
Whereas Turkmenistan has committed political dissidents to
psychiatric institutions;
Whereas in Turkmenistan President Niyazov is the object of
a cult of personality, all political opposition is banned, all
media are tightly censored, and only one political party,
HCON 204 IH
the Democratic Party, headed by President Niyazov has
been registered;
Whereas parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan are sched-
uled for December 12, 1999;
Whereas in Uzbekistan under President Islam Karimov, no
genuine opposition parties are registered, and only pro-
government parties are represented in parliament;
Whereas in Uzbekistan all opposition political parties and
leaders have been forced underground or into exile, all
media are censored, and attempts to disseminate opposi-
tion newspapers can lead to jail terms;
Whereas Uzbekistan’s authorities have laid the primary
blame for explosions that took place in Tashkent on Feb-
ruary 16 on an opposition leader whose followers have
been tried in court proceedings that did not correspond
to OSCE standards, and a second trial is closed to the
public;
Whereas in Uzbekistan police and security forces routinely
plant narcotics and other evidence on political opposition
figures as well as religious activists; and
Whereas parliamentary elections are scheduled in Uzbekistan
by the end of 1999: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) expresses deep concern about the tendency
of Central Asian leaders to seek to remain in power
indefinitely and their willingness to manipulate con-
stitutions, elections, and legislative and judicial sys-
tems, to do so;
HCON 204 IH
(2) urges Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to come into compli-
ance with OSCE commitments on human rights, de-
mocracy, and the rule of law, specifically the holding
of free and fair elections that do not exclude genuine
challengers, to permit independent and opposition
parties and candidates to participate on an equal
basis with representation in election commissions at
all levels, and to allow domestic non-governmental
and political party observers, as well as international
observers;
(3) calls on Central Asian leaders to establish
conditions for independent and opposition media to
function without constraint, limitation, or fear of
harassment, to repeal criminal laws which impose
prison sentences for alleged defamation of the state
or public officials, and to provide access to state
media on an equal basis during election campaigns
to independent and opposition parties and can-
didates;
(4) reminds the leaders of Central Asian states
that elections cannot be free and fair unless all citi-
zens can take part in the political process on an
equal basis, without intimidation or fear of reprisal,
HCON 204 IH
and with confidence that their human rights and
fundamental freedoms will be fully respected;
(5) calls on the leaders of Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan to condemn and take effective steps to
cease the systematic use of torture and other inhu-
man treatment by authorities against political oppo-
nents and others, and to permit the registration of
independent and opposition parties and candidates;
(6) encourages the Administration to raise with
the governments of other OSCE participating states
the possible implications for OSCE participation of
any participating state in the region that engages in
clear, gross, and uncorrected violations of its OSCE
commitments;
(7) encourages the Administration to seek for-
mation of an OSCE Human Dimension Mission to
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to investigate the
human rights situation; and
(8) urges the Voice of America and Radio Lib-
erty to expand broadcasting to Central Asia, as
needed, with a focus on assuring that the peoples of
the region have access to unbiased news and pro-
grams that support respect for human rights and
the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.
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