*EPF106 09/17/01
Text: OSCE Makes Fight Against Terrorism a Top Priority
(Geoana, Stoudmann at opening of OSCE human rights conference) (530)

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will make the fight against terrorism a top priority, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Mircea Geoana said in Warsaw September 17 at the opening of the OSCE's annual human rights conference.

"This issue has been on and off our agenda for some time . . .It's time to change that [...] with a new sense of urgency," he said.

Gerard Stoudmann, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), noted the "worrying trend" of backtracking on human rights in reaction to security threats and said the terrorist attacks in the United States "should motivate us to redouble our efforts to build democratic societies in which human rights are fully respected."

Following is the text of an OSCE press release on the conference:

(begin text)

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Warsaw
17 September 2001

Press Release

OSCE TO MAKE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM TOP PRIORITY

WARSAW, 17 September 2001 (OSCE) - The OSCE will make the fight against terrorism a top priority. In a message to the opening of the annual OSCE human rights conference, the Organization's Chairman-in-Office, Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, today announced that the OSCE will do more to cut off what he called the "venomous tentacles of terrorism".

"This issue has been on and off our agenda for some time. We haven't paid enough attention to the concerns of our friends in the Caucasus and Central Asia", the statement reads. "It's time to change that [...] with a new sense of urgency."

Today's opening of the OSCE annual human rights conference - the largest all-European meeting of this kind with more than 500 participants from 55 OSCE countries - was overshadowed by last week's terror attacks in the United States. Participants emphasized the link between terrorism and the lack of respect for human rights and democratic values.

"There is a worrying trend of backtracking on human rights in some OSCE countries, often justified as reaction to security threats", said Gerard Stoudmann, the Director of the OSCE human rights office, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). "But last week's terror attacks should motivate us to redouble our efforts to build democratic societies in which human rights are fully respected. We are convinced that the OSCE countries and all other civilized nations share the same basic values, notwithstanding cultural and religious differences - that's the bottom line."

The OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting is held annually to scrutinize the OSCE countries' human rights record. Issues discussed during the two-week conference include democratic elections, the death penalty, trafficking in human beings and Roma and Sinti Issues. More information on the agenda, as well as a live webcast of the meeting, is available on the conference website.

For further information please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, OSCE/ODIHR Spokesperson, 22-5200 600-4162, or 603 683 122.

Press and Public Information Section OSCE Secretariat, Kaertner Ring 5-7, 1010 Vienna, Austria .Tel.:(1) 514 36 180, Fax: (1) 514 36 105 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.osce.org

(end text)

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