Tuesday, March 08, 2005
192 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
United StatesTitle
Slovenia’s Leadership of the OSCE
Official Transcript:
Members:
Name:
Hon. Sam Brownback
Title Text:
Chairman
Body:
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Statement:
Name:
Hon. Chris Smith
Title Text:
Co-Chairman
Body:
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Statement:
Name:
Hon. Ben Cardin
Title Text:
Ranking Member
Body:
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Statement:
Name:
Hon. Alcee Hastings
Title Text:
Member
Body:
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Statement:
This hearing examined the challenges facing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2005. New and emerging threats from external actors, including terrorist organizations and rogue regimes, have led the organization to take a greater look at its periphery and seek multilateral responses to issues ranging from terrorist financing to arms proliferation. Issues related to OSCE work were on the agenda of the recent Bush-Putin summit in Bratislava and could impact the organization’s future activity.
The testimony of His Excellency Dimitrij Rupel, Foreign Minister of Slovenia and this year’s OSCE Chairman, presented an overview of the wide array of initiatives undertaken by the OSCE regarding issues like human trafficking, organized criminal activity and official corruption, anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance, human rights violations in countries of Central Asia, and areas of tension or conflict in the Caucasus, the Balkans and elsewhere in the expansive OSCE region. Strategies for continuing to pursue these issues were discussed.
Relevant issues:
Relevant countries: