WASHINGTON – At a Congressional hearing on October 21, the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, spotlighted the many recent violations of the rule of law committed by the Russian government.
“Forty years after the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, we face a set of challenges with Russia, a founding member of the organization, that mirror the concerns that gave rise to the Helsinki Final Act,” said Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who called the hearing.
“At stake is the hard-won trust between members, now eroded to the point that armed conflict rages in the OSCE region. The question is open whether the principles continue to bind the Russian government with other states in a common understanding of what the rule of law entails,” he said.
“Russia’s annexation of Crimea and subsequent intervention in the Donbas region not only clearly violate this commitment, but also every guiding principle of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. It appears these are not isolated instances. In recent years, Russia appears to have violated, undermined, disregarded, or even disavowed fundamental and binding arms control commitments,” Rep. Smith continued.
He said he also questions “Russia’s OSCE commitment to develop free, competitive markets that respect international dispute arbitration mechanisms” and cited recent government actions that “demonstrate Russia’s readiness to abuse its laws and judicial system to limit individual freedoms both within and beyond its borders.”
Witness testimony highlighted case studies corresponding to each of the three dimensions of comprehensive security established by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE): political-military security; economic and environmental security; and human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Tim Osborne, executive director of GML Ltd., the majority owner of the now-liquidated Yukos Oil Co., said, “It is clear that the Russian Federation is not honoring its obligations and commitments under the rule of law or in a manner consistent with the Helsinki process. Russia’s tendency, more often than not, has been to ignore, delay, obstruct or retaliate when faced with its international law responsibilities… Russia cannot be trusted in international matters and that even when it has signed up to international obligations, it will ignore them if that is what it thinks serves it best.”
“Russia had engaged in the uncompensated expropriation of billions of dollars of U.S. investments in Yukos Oil Co.,” observed former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs Ambassador Alan Larson. “American investors – who owned about 12 percent of Yukos at the time of the expropriation – have claims worth over $14 billion, and they are entitled to compensation under international law even though they have no option for bringing claims directly against the Russian Federation.”
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a well-known Russian activist and the coordinator of the Open Russia Movement, said, “Today, the Kremlin fully controls the national airwaves, which it has turned into transmitters for its propaganda… the last Russian election recognized by the OSCE as conforming to basic democratic standards was held more than 15 years ago.”
“There are currently 50 political prisoners in the Russian Federation,” Mr. Kara-Murza continued. “These prisoners include opposition activists jailed under the infamous ‘Bolotnaya case’ for protesting against Mr. Putin’s inauguration in May 2012; the brother of anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny; and Alexei Pichugin, the remaining hostage of the Yukos case.”
“A clear pattern emerges when one looks at Russia’s implementation of its arms control obligations overall,” observed Stephen Rademaker, former assistant secretary of state for arms control and international security and nonproliferation. “Should Moscow conclude such agreements have ceased to serve its interest, it will ignore them, effectively terminate them, violate them while continuing to pay them lip service, or selectively implement them… Russia believes that this is how great powers are entitled to act, and today Moscow insists on acting and being respected as a great power.”
Rep. Smith was joined at the hearing by a panel of lawmakers including the Helsinki Commission’s co-chairman, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.).