,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #ac  ,,in ,,the       
,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states   
,april #bf1 #bjag ,mr4 ,wicker 7for     
himself1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,rubio1     
,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4      
,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,boozman1 ,mr4        
,gardner1 and ,mr4 ,udall7 submitted the
 following concurrent resolution2 which 
was referred to the ,committee on       
,foreign ,relations  ,,concurrent       
,,resolution  ,calling upon the         
,president to issue a proclamation      
recognizing the abiding importance of   
the ,helsinki ,final ,act and its       
relevance to the national security of   
the ,united ,states4  ,whereas the      
,final ,act of the ,conference on       
,security and ,cooperation in ,europe   
7,,csce7 concluded on ,august #a1 #aige 
7in this joint resolution referred to as
 the ,helsinki ,final ,act71 established
 a comprehensive concept of security    
that encompasses political-military1    
environmental and economic1 and human   

rights and humanitarian dimensions2     
,whereas the ,helsinki ,final ,act set  
out a declaration of ten fundamental    
,principles ,guiding ,relations ,between
 ,states1 which all participating       
,states committed to respect and put    
into practice in their relations with   
each other1 that have been the basis of 
the international order in the ,,osce   
,region since its inception in #aige2   
,whereas these ,principles1 adopted on  
the basis of consensus by all           
participating ,states and reaffirmed    
through the years1 enshrine--  7#a7     
sovereign equality1 respect for the     
rights inherent in sovereignty2  7#b7   
refraining from the threat or use of    
force2  7#c7 inviolability of frontiers2
  7#d7 territorial integrity of ,states2
  7#e7 peaceful settlement of disputes2 
7#f7 nonintervention in internal        
affairs2  7#g7 respect for human rights 
and fundamental freedoms1 including the 
freedom of thought1 conscience1 religion
 or belief2  7#h7 equal rights and      

self-determination of peoples2  7#i7    
cooperation among ,states2 and  7#aj7   
fulfilment in good faith of obligations 
under international law2 ,whereas the   
,helsinki ,final ,act1 for the first    
time in the history of international    
agreements1 recognized that respect for1
 and implementation of1 commitments to  
human rights and fundamental freedoms   
are integral to stability and security  
within and among nations2 ,whereas1 in  
the #aiij ,charter of ,paris for a ,new 
,europe1 the participating ,states      
declared1 ,human rights and fundamental 
freedoms are the birthright of all human
 beings1 are inalienable and are        
guaranteed by law4 ,their protection and
 promotion is the first responsibility  
of government1 and committed themselves 
to build1 consolidate and strengthen    
democracy as the only system of         
government of our nations2 ,whereas1 in 
#aiia1 participating ,states met in     
,moscow and unanimously agreed that     
issues relating to human rights1        

fundamental freedoms1 democracy and the 
rule of law are of international        
concern1 as respect for these rights and
 freedoms constitutes one of the        
foundations of international order2 and 
declared categorically and irrevocably  
''' that the commitments undertaken in  
the field of the human dimension of the 
,,csce are matters of direct and        
legitimate concern to all participating 
,states and do not belong exclusively to
 the internal affairs of the ,state     
concerned2 ,whereas the ,,csce was      
renamed the ,organization for ,security 
and ,cooperation in ,europe 7,,osce7 in 
,january #aiie1 reaffirming the         
continued relevance and applicability of
 previously made principles and         
provisions in a ,europe no longer       
divided between ,east and ,west and as  
the number of participating ,states     
increased from the original #ce to #eg  
today2 ,whereas the ,helsinki ,final    
,act1 by making respect for human rights
 and implementation of commitments by   

participating ,states a permanent       
priority in the relations between       
,states1 provided an international      
foundation for the democratic           
aspirations of peoples throughout       
,europe and contributed to the peaceful 
end to the ,cold ,war2 ,whereas the     
seventh ,principle confirmed the right  
of the individual to know and act upon  
his or her rights1 which inspired       
citizens from the participating ,states 
to associate and assemble for the       
purposes of monitoring and encouraging  
compliance with the principles and      
provisions of the ,helsinki ,final ,act 
and subsequent documents of the ,,csce  
and ,,osce2 ,whereas1 during the        
,communist era1 members of              
nongovernmental organizations1 such as  
the ,helsinki ,monitoring ,groups in    
,russia1 ,ukraine1 ,georgia1 and        
,armenia as well as in ,lithuania1 and  
similar groups in ,czechoslovakia and   
,poland1 sacrificed their personal      
freedom and even their lives in their   

courageous and vocal support for the    
principles enshrined in the ,helsinki   
,final ,act2 ,whereas members of        
nongovernmental organizations1 civil    
society1 and independent media across   
the region covered by the ,,osce        
continue to risk their safety to advance
 the principles enshrined in the        
,helsinki ,final ,act1 often in the face
 of harassment and threats from their   
own governments who are ,,osce          
participating ,states2 ,whereas the     
,united ,states ,congress contributed to
 advancing the aims of the ,helsinki    
,final ,act by creating the ,commission 
on ,security and ,cooperation in ,europe
 to monitor and encourage compliance    
with its principles and provisions2     
,whereas many countries continue to fall
 significantly short of implementing    
their ,,osce commitments1 particularly  
in the ,human ,dimension2 ,whereas the  
,russian ,federation is responsible for 
the clear1 gross1 and uncorrected       
violation of all ten ,principles of the 

,helsinki ,final ,act2 ,whereas1 for    
many years1 the ,russian ,federation has
 ignored its ,,osce commitments related 
to the ,human ,dimension of             
comprehensive security by cracking down 
on civil society and independent media  
through harassment1 intimidation1       
burdensome legal constraints1 and       
violence1 undermining the ability of its
 citizens to freely choose their        
leaders2 ,whereas ,russia's internal    
repression is directly related to its   
external aggression1 including in       
,ukraine1 ,georgia1 and ,syria2 ,whereas
 the ,government of the ,russian        
,federation has interfered through      
information warfare and cyber-intrusions
 and otherwise engaged in deliberate and
 malicious efforts to undermine         
confidence in the democratic            
institutions and processes of other     
,,osce participating ,states2 ,whereas  
the first ,principle recognizes the     
right of each participating ,state to be
 or not to be a party to bilateral or   

multilateral treaties including the     
right to be or not to be a party to     
treaties of alliance2 they also have the
 right to neutrality2 ,whereas the      
,,osce's participating ,states bear     
primary responsibility for raising      
violations of the ,helsinki ,final ,act 
and other ,,osce documents2 ,whereas    
successive ,united ,states              
,administrations since the ,helsinki    
,final ,act was signed in #aige have    
made the ,act's ,principles ,guiding    
,relations ,between ,states a basis for 
,united ,states policy toward ,europe   
and the ,,osce region as a whole2 and   
,whereas ,congress has strongly         
supported and encouraged the ,united    
,states to encourage improved compliance
 with these ,principles1 including by   
raising its concerns about noncompliance
 in a direct and frank manner and       
continues to do so today3 ,now1         
therefore1 be it  ,that ,congress calls 
upon the ,president to-- 7#a7 issue a   
proclamation--  7,a7 reaffirming the    

,united ,states commitment to the       
,guiding ,principles of the ,final ,act 
of the ,conference on ,security and     
,cooperation in ,europe2  7,b7          
reasserting the commitment of the       
,united ,states to full implementation  
of the ,helsinki ,final ,act1 including 
respect for human rights and fundamental
 freedoms1 defense of the principles of 
liberty1 and tolerance within societies1
 all of which are vital to the promotion
 of democracy2  7,c7 urging all         
participating ,states to fully implement
 their commitments under the ,helsinki  
,final ,act2  7,d7 calling upon all     
participating ,states to respect each   
other's sovereign right to join         
alliances2  7,e7 condemning the clear1  
gross1 and uncorrected violation of all 
ten core ,,osce principles enshrined in 
the ,helsinki ,final ,act by the        
,russian ,federation with respect to    
other ,,osce participating ,states1     
including ,georgia1 ,moldova1 and       
,ukraine2 and  7,f7 condemning all other

 violations of the ,helsinki ,final ,act
 and its fundamental ,guiding           
,principles2 and  7#b7 conveying to all 
signatory states of the ,helsinki ,final
 ,act that respect for human rights and 
fundamental freedoms1 democratic        
principles1 economic liberty1 and the   
implementation of related commitments   
continue to be vital elements in        
promoting a new and lasting era of      
democracy1 peace1 and unity in the      
region covered by the ,organization for 
,security and ,cooperation in ,europe4