Jane todays event is sponsored by our tpwhrobal Europe Program under the direction of our newly minted director, dan hamilton, who will take overing moring this program for me in a little while. Its also sponsored by our kennon institute in partnership with the u. S. Helsinki ommission. Dan jones the Wilson Center after holding positions in the u. S. Department of state, including notably, assistant secretary for european affair responseable for nato, the osce and transatlantic security issue os they have in ordericbaltic and balkan affairs. He also retains an affiliation and taught for a while at johns hopkins. Our conversation today marks an important milestone. 30 years ago today, the charter of paris for the new europe was signed by 34 european and north american country, symbolizing an end to the 40year division of europe into two possible camps. It formally signaled the end of the cold war and set the osce, or the csce, the conference on security and cooperation in europe, on the course of becoming the consensus based Security Group we now call the osce, the organization for security and cooperation in europe. Here at the Wilson Center were good at understanding history and how history shapes policy and we have a deep connection to the osce through our programs like the kennon institute and now our global Europe Program, through our former Wilson Center physical lows, including ambassador wolfgang issinger, who is chair of the conference where i serve on his committee. Through, among others, former Helsinki Commission chief of staff Spencer Oliver who is on this call and will participate later in the program and frankly through my role and the role of our first speakers as members of congress who remain close to the osce and i must say call out a former chairman of the Helsinki Commission, good friend of all f ours, steny hoyer. Our speakers today will delve into the origins of the group but also the critical roleplayed by congress in the development of the principles undermining the helsinki final act in 1975, the charter of paris in 1990 and the creation of the osce. As i mentioned, having visited the osce personally myself, somebody id like to recognize who i believe is on this call is lamberto danae, former secretary yen of the osce. We are still involved with lamberto and he headlines a number of events at Wilson Center, its very good to see you, my friend. But having said all that good stuff, while 30 years does call for celebration, the osce now faces significant challenges. Freedom is still elusive for many europeans, thats not a secret. The continent is not fully at peace. Thats also not a secret. And europe is again wracked by divisions in part exemplified by the current leadership crisis within the osce, about which well hear a lot. Looking forward, what are the prospects for a more whole, free, and atpeace europe . What is the future of the osce . And what is the role and responsibility of the United States which will be under new leadership in a very short period of time . To discuss these issues i am delighted that we will begin with two key members of congress who can speak to the constructive and bipartisan role that congress has historically and currently played with respect to the osce. To start us off will be my former colleague, senator ben cardin of maryland, who is in his third term as senator but prior to that served in the house, where i was, for a number of years where he represented marylands third Congressional District. Ben has spoken at the Wilson Center many times, most recently in 2018 for an event titled rule of law a linchpin of u. S. Foreign policy, hes been a commission thorne u. S. Helsinki commission since 1993, serving as chairman of the commission in the 1th and 113th congress. In 2015 he was named special representative on antisemitism, racism and intolerance to the osce Parliamentary Assembly. Our other speaker is republican congressman robert aderholt, who represents alabamas fourth Congressional District and has been in Congress Since 1997. Hes a member of the House Committee on appropriations, serves as Ranking Member of the subcommittee on commerce, justice and science. Hes been a commissioner on the u. S. Helsinki commission since 2001 and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Wilson Center. So lets start with you, ben. For five to seven minutes of opening remarks followed immediately by congressman aderholt. Ben jane, first of all, thank you very much for this opportunity and thank you for holding this event. First of all, it gives me a chance to see some of my friends. Its great to have Spencer Oliver on the call and robert aderholting, my colleague from alabama, the two of us have worked very closely together within the osce. And ill start with that understanding. The osce and u. S. Helsinki commission has operated in a very nonpartisan, bipartisan way since day one. So its an area where we come together promoting the principles of helsinki and is brought and it has brought us together in the United States congress with a Common Mission to advance goals that are important to Democratic States. So thank you for holding this event. Its a historic day. 30th anniversary of the charter of paris. Lets go back a little bit in time if we might at least to start. 1975, when the helsinki final act was entered into, it was basically an initiative in which russia wanted to claim he yit macy as a Democratic State and theyre the ones who really wanted to have the commission for security and cooperation in europe to show to europe that they were part of the democratic fiber of the continent even though they were not. And the years between 1975 and 1990 were years of struggle. Im going to just fast forward a little bit to 1987. 1987 was my first year in the United States congress. My best friend at that time was steny hoyer who is chair of the u. S. Helsinki commission. He asked me to get involved with the work of the u. S. Helsinki commission in 1987. I did. The first issues i got roved involved with were basically soviet jews, trying to save soviet jews under the umbrella of the u. S. Helsinki commission. I remember meeting with representatives of the soviet union and talking about these issues. It was a struggle. I had the opportunity to visit berlin, a divided city, to see the impact of the cold war and the division of europe. And recognize that the damage recognize the damage that had been done. Erestroika came in 1987, 1988, 1989 with gorbachev where he was trying to move toward a more open society. And then in 1989, the fall of the berlin wall. Paris came a year later. The second summit of the of the helsinki process. And it was a major accomplishment to get to 1990. But the years between 1975 and 1990 were years of struggle. They were years of trying to promote the principles of helsinki even though we were very far from reaching those goals. And i want to acknowledge up front the work of the frontline crusaders and on that, the founder of the Moscow Helsinki Group in 1976, spent 15 year prison in russia as a result his advocacy on behalf of human rights for the people of russia. He found a new home in the United States. He died this past september at the age of 96. But the point i bring up here with mentioning yuris name is that the helsinki process was not just a dialogue among governments but between governments and their citizens. And we should acknowledge the importance of Civil Societies because theyre facing renewed repression in the osce region. So the paris charter was a major accomplishment. It was a major statement. Something to celebrate. That was the commitment that democracy as the only system of government for our nations. That was the statement of the paris charter. Defending the free media from attack. Deterring electoral misconduct through observation missions. And the premiere organization in the world defending human rights. And ill just give you one example if i might of that advancement. That was the progress we made combating human trafficking, modern day slavery. I say that because that was an initiative that started in the u. S. Helsinki commission. We took it to the Parliamentary Assembly. It was adopted in the Parliamentary Assembly. And it led to legislation such as trafficking and persons report in the United States congress which is the premier document globally on evaluating how well each country is doing in fighting modern day slavery. One of the great accomplishments of the charter of paris was the Parliamentary Assembly, giving a legislative arm to the osce. I want to acknowledge once again Spencer Oliver the longtime secretary general of the osce Parliamentary Assembly. He really went up against the bureaucracies of our government and established the Parliamentary Assembly as an effective voice within the osce. We initiated so many of the activities within the osce and we were not restricted as they are in vienna by the consensus rule. Its a proud record of accomplishments but theres still much room for improvement. We talk about going forward, this act just acknowledge that the osce needs to be more open in the way it does business. It has to have greater access to nongovernmental organizations. They have an issue of how Organizational Work is done through consensus. They have on able to overcome those obstacles. But the principal problem within the osce today is not the deficiencies in its organization. Its the lack of commitment by the Member States to the principles of helsinki. Tremendous the principle pls defending human rights of its citizens. Principles of noninterference and sovereignty, territory of Member States. So on this 30th anniversary of the paris charter, lets remember the key mission, to build and solve and strengthen democracy as the only system of government of our nations. We all know we can do better. From the point of view of the United States, let me say, we recognize that we have challenges in our own country. And we recognize that helsinki process that every state can do better. And we welcome the active participation of other states as to how well were doing in our own state. But make no mistake about it, we have countries that have done major violations to the principles of helsinki from russia to belarus to turkey to azerbaijan, to hungary. The list goes on and on. We are committed to a nonpartisan process to continue the great work that was started in 1975, that was really brought to height in 1990. We are committed to making sure as we transition from one administration to another, the bipartisan work we have within the osce framework, within the helsinki process, will only be strength tond advance the principles of democracy and democratic institutions. With that, jane, i turn it back to you. Jane thank you very much, ben. Ongressman aderholt. Thank you so much jane. Im thrilled to be here with my colleagues from the osce. Senator cardin who we just heard from, who has been a mentor to me on the osce and has worked alongside him for many years and hen of course its good to see george, who will be ginning us a little later. Worked with him for several years as parliamentarian from georgia. And then of course our current secretary general, Roberto Montello and the former Spencer Oliver. So secretary general for the osce Parliamentary Assembly. Get to work with a lot of great people and of course not to mention all the staff, i see alex johnson on the call. Its a Great Organization to work with. But i have had the privilege of for almost 20 ce years. Right after about my third term in congress i was table go, and oddly enough my first osce Parliamentary Assembly meeting was in berlin. That was my first exposure to it. Have y a great place to that, and my first trip to berlin as well. As we talk about this here today, as senator cardin mentioned, it was 30 years ago that the leads of the participating states of what is now the osce met in paris, adopted the charter of a new europe which boldly proclaimed democracy as, let me quote, the only system of government for our nations. It also declared, quote, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms to be irrevocable. This the charter was built upon, of course, the helsinki accord signed back in the mid 1970s, which provided framework for toe o. S. C. As we know it today. It ceased from being an Ongoing Forum for negotiations and dialogue and instead it evolved into a dynamic structure with multiple institutions within the larger body. The participating states extolled the role that private citizens and nongovernmental organizations have in promoting human right, promoting democracy and also the rule of law. I think its noteworthy in his speech to the summit, thenpresident george h. W. Bush said we salute all those individuals in private groups in the west who showed that the protection of human rights is not just business of the government. It is real jus leaders, ordinary citizens. And this really remains true today as we witness citizens working to further the cause of freedom and a lot of times they do this at a lot of personal risk. The osce of course is widely known as having one of the most comprehensive human right commitments in the world. And thats no small part due to the breadth of human rights commitments agreed on at this landmark summit in paris. And ill be honest with you, when i came in, 2001, as a member of the osce, what attracted me to the osce and to get involved was the involvement with human rights commitments. And human right commitments for people around the world. Whether that be in their Political Freedoms that they had, but also their religious freedoms that they could worship as they choose. Would not be persecuted or discriminated because of it. And what the final the helsinki final act, what it was for the integrity of the state, the charter paris is for fundamental freedoms. The fall of the berlin wall of course in november of 1989, the collapse of the soviet union in 1991, really gave the paris summit its landmark bookends. Decade a long, tense and the cold war and really catastrophic feefers nuclear war, really at that point gave way to hope of real security, lasting cooperation in europe and a postwar goal of europe being whole, free, and at peace seemed to be attainable. As we look back over 30 years, its not hard to consider the unfulfilled promise of those euphoric days in paris or even consider whether the High Water Mark of the o. S. C. May have predated the formal creation in 1995. Of course it goes without saying there are many regions within oh the osce footprint that remains where there is strife. Where peace and democracy still hang in the balance. Also compounding these matters are the leadership vacuum at the o. S. C. Institution that was envisioned by the paris charter to resolve conflicts and restore confidence. But while our predecessors in paris meeting, they had a very interesting time during their day, the conversations that took place without a pandemic going on and of course like we have ever seen in our own lifetime. And just as no one participating in that charter could predict the collapse of the soviet union which at that time was only a year away, we cannot see the contours of the world that will emerge from the lockdowns were seeing now and the disruption the coronavirus has brought to the entire world. I think the question will be is, will the postcovid era be marked by economic resurgence and spirit of cooperation by prolonged recession and conflicts, will we get another chance to revitalize the lofty aspirations thats contained in this charter . And whatever the future holds, i believe that a revitalized o. S. C. Will be a powerful asset for our leaders as they navigate in a new era and we continue to call upon all governments to respect the inalienable rights of the governed. With that, let me close and say thank you for allowing me to participate today and be a part of this. Its great to be with all of you today. Jane thank you very much, robert. I want to introduce the rest of our program and ask you both one question if i can keep you that long. But let me make an observation first and that is how refreshing from the Vantage Point of a weary american it is to see two members of congress in different parties not only engage their friendship with each other but the mission that they share of being very good stewards of the osce. Lets just contemplate that for one second. As many of you on this call know, i served there with both of them for nine terms and left in 2011 because the toxic partisanship was just, for me, too hard to take, so i came to the oasis of the Wilson Center where we are nonpartisan and we try to reflect, you know, views from both sides. The interesting thing is members of both parties choose to appear on our forum. Im happy to be where i am but im also happy youre both where you are. Keep taking your vitamins. Let me mention who else will be on this program. One question to both of you and turning this program over to dan toing more, we will have two europeans. We will have rob