(April 11, Vienna: Amb. Stephan Minikes to OSCE Permanent Council)

The rules and procedures governing U.S. military commissions for
suspected international terrorists would afford impartial, full, and
fair trials with appropriate due process safeguards, U.S. Ambassador
to the OSCE Stephan Minikes told the Permanent Council in Vienna April
11.

The procedures, announced by the U.S. Department of Defense March 21,
"are consistent with fundamental international standards governing
criminal trials, specifically consistent with the procedural
safeguards found in the Geneva Conventions," said Minikes, and they
are also consistent with the procedural safeguards found in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

He added: "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."

As an additional safeguard, Minikes said, an impartial three-member
panel that might include civilians would review guilty verdicts, and
the commissions themselves would 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."

Minikes raised the subject of military commissions in the context of
his response to a report to the Permanent Council by Ambassador Gerard
Stoudmann, director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Minikes also commented on elections in Ukraine and Hungary, Latvian
election legislation, riots in the Kyrgyz Republic, and the ODIHR
budget.

Following is a transcript of his remarks:

(begin transcript)

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.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)