Moving towards democracy, human rights and economic growth is our goal here in Astana: H.Clinton

ASTANA. December 1. KAZINFORM /Yelizaveta Voronchuk/ We must address serious shortcomings in implementing our commitments to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it public at the OSCE Summit in Astana on Wednesday.

"In towering civil society is keyed the future of this region and the OSCE as a whole. Last night I was privileged to attend a townhome meeting with NGOs leaders from across the OSCE at the Eurasian National University. I was impressed by their commitment to build a better life for their fellow citizens", she said.

The essential human dimension of the OSCE vision of lasting security demands that we do more to make good on the promise of Helsinki. "We are not asking participating states to accept new principles or rights, only to honor existing commitments", the U.S. top official said.

"As President Gerald Ford famously said in Helsinki at the ceremony of signing the final act 'History will judge this conference not by what we say here today, but by what we do tomorrow, not by the promises we make, but the promises we keep'. That is why I believe, our reaffirmation of Helsinki principles are to be accompanied by a focus on implementation", H. Clinton noted.

|Our goal here in Astana should be to move towards democracy, human rights, economic growth, and strengthening our security community. In other words, let us embrace the vision of Helsinki and apply it faithfully in this new century", the U.S. Secretary of State resumed.