Following is a transcript of his remarks:

United States Mission to the OSCE
Vienna
April 11, 2002

STATEMENT ON THE REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR OF ODIHR

Delivered by Ambassador Stephan M. Minikes to the Permanent Council

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to welcome Ambassador Stoudmann back to the Permanent Council.

At your last appearance, we promised to keep the Permanent Council apprised of developments regarding the United States' commitment to human rights in our fight against international terrorism.

On March 21, the Department of Defense made public the rules and procedures that will govern the U.S. Military Commissions that have been established to try suspected international terrorists and their supporters for violations of the law of war.

The procedures take into account the many comments that we have received from our allies, as well as human rights groups and other non-governmental organizations.

It is our firm belief that the Military Commissions will be impartial. They will provide full and fair trials and afford appropriate due process safeguards.

The procedures are consistent with fundamental international standards governing criminal trials, specifically consistent with the procedural safeguards found in the Geneva Conventions. They are also consistent with the procedural safeguards found in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Consistent with the OSCE Vienna, Copenhagen, and Moscow human dimension commitments, the procedures include the presumption of innocence, the right to choose one's council, and the right to be informed of the charges in one's native language.

An impartial three-member panel, possibly including civilians who are temporarily commissioned, will also review guilty verdicts, and the Commissions will be open to the public except when necessary to protect national security and for other reasons relating to the safety and security of those involved.

No individuals have yet been designated for trial by Military Commissions and no Military Commissions have in fact yet been established. We will continue to keep the Permanent Council apprised of developments as they unfold.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ambassador Stoudmann for keeping us abreast of other developing issues in the OSCE region.

We share his assessment of the elections in the Ukraine and in Hungary. We applaud Hungary for holding elections in line with international standards and commitments and for the record high voter turnout. We encourage Hungarian authorities to continue working with the OSCE to address issues regarding media coverage and minority issues.

In Ukraine, we recognize the contribution that a new Election Law, multi-party election commissions, and engagement of civil society in the election process made an improved electoral environment. However, we share the concerns expressed by the International Election Observation Mission regarding media bias and uneven access to the media, the abuse of administrative resources, and uneven implementation of the legal framework for the elections. We urge Ukraine to build on progress demonstrated in the preparation and conduct of the March elections by addressing these matters, and reserve the right to revisit the matter pending issuance of the final observation report.

Regarding election legislation, we too call on the Latvian Government to continue to make progress in implementing the President's promise to remove the language requirements in the election law, working with ODIHR and the High Commissioner's Office in this regard.

Election observation throughout the OSCE region will continue to be a top priority for ODIHR. In this regard, ODIHR has the full support of the United States Government to conduct a reinforced election observation mission in Macedonia for the parliamentary elections anticipated for September. We stand ready to provide our appropriate share of the funding, either by voluntary contribution or as a supplemental budget.

Likewise, ODIHR's role in monitoring the human rights situations in the OSCE region is also important. At our last Permanent Council, I expressed my concern about the riots in the Jalal-Abad Oblast of southern Kyrgyzstan.

The United States Government is concerned about reports that Kyrgyz police fired into an unarmed crowd, triggering further violence and protests. We call on the Government of Kyrgyzstan to form a comprehensive independent commission comprised of NGO, opposition, and government representatives to investigate the incident, with much attention paid to its root causes.

Given the serious situation, we believe it would be constructive if Ambassador Stoudmann were to visit Kyrgyzstan, and we welcome his remarks in that connection this morning, because we feel that this could play an important role in stabilizing the situation and it seems propitious for him to make that trip and we hope that that will be as early as possible.

Mr. Chairman, in closing, I want to thank Ambassador Stoudmann and the entire ODIHR staff for their dedication to their work. I realize that the budget impasse has been a strain on their ability to carry out projects and has hindered planning for election observation. The United States Government recognizes the importance of your work and we will continue to support you in that regard.

And on a personal note, I want to say how sorry we are to hear that you will be leaving your position. You have provided strong leadership and built an effective organization as Director for ODIHR over the past years and your place will be hard to fill. The best, most important mark you will leave will be the standards of excellence and courage that you have set.

Thank you.