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The Watchtower and OSCE

In the August 22, 1997 issue of “Awake” there appeared an article describing an organization known as OSCE:

OSCE—What Is It? Will It Succeed?

By Awake! correspondent in Portugal

AFTER World War II, a power struggle arose between Western democratic capitalist countries and the Eastern Communist Soviet bloc. Each bloc developed its own security organization: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East.

By 1975 the Cold War had thawed enough for 35 States, including the United States and Russia, to sign what came to be called the Helsinki Agreement. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was born. It was a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between the two blocs.

At the Budapest Summit in 1994, the CSCE changed its name to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Today, it is composed of 54 participating States, including the United States, Canada, and all the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Its Objective

The objective of the member nations of the OSCE is to guarantee the security of Europe as well as to foster the implementation of human rights, disarmament, democratic freedoms and the management of regional conflict.

A summit meeting of the OSCE was held in Lisbon, Portugal, on December 2-3, 1996. At first, attention was focused on NATO, since several NATO members, including the United States, are in favor of the expansion of NATO to include more nations from Central and Eastern Europe. But rather than support the enlargement of NATO to include former Eastern bloc allies, Russia and some of her former Eastern bloc allies want the OSCE to become the forum for matters of European security.

The Russian prime minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, said at the meeting: “We are in favor of strengthening the OSCE, which is the only place in Europe where all States can work together. It is the best international place for discussing security and defense.”

The radiant afternoon sun seemed to create a climate of general optimism at the close of the summit, despite the comments of the press regarding its nebulous results. Whatever success or failure the OSCE may realize, peace lovers everywhere can be assured that true peace and security will soon be realized earth wide under the rule of God’s Kingdom.—Psalm 72:1, 7, 8. (Awake August 22, 1997 pg. 31)

The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) is closely aligned with the United Nations. https://www.osce.org/whatistheosce

The following statement appears on their official webpage:

“The OSCE recognizes that the United Nations Security Council bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Thus, the United Nations is the OSCE’s primary partner organization.”  https://www.osce.org/partnerships/111477

Other partnerships include the following: Other partners | OSCE

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) provides support, assistance and expertise to participating States and civil society to promote democracy, rule of law, human rights and tolerance and non-discrimination. ODIHR observes elections, reviews legislation and advises governments on how to develop and sustain democratic institutions. The Office conducts training programmes for government and law-enforcement officials and non-governmental organizations on how to uphold, promote and monitor human rights. https://www.osce.org/odihr

One of the goals of the OSCE is to confront intolerance and discrimination. The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has developed a collection of resources and programmes to raise awareness about discrimination, hate crimes, anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance, including against Muslims, Christians and members of other religions. Through policy advice and training for law enforcement personnel and educators, the Office works to strengthen the capacity of governments to prevent and respond to this problem. ODIHR also works to increase the ability of civil society to monitor and report on hate crimes and incidents.: https://www.osce.org/tolerance-and-nondiscrimination

JW representatives routinely attend conferences of the OSCE. During these conferences Jehovah’s Witnesses sit together with government officials and representatives from other religions to discuss government policy on religious issues. As recently as November 2017 Jehovah’s Witnesses participated with political entities in a briefing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) on violations of religious freedoms.

The goals of the OSCE are political, running contrary to principles the Watchtower prints in its magazines. These include:

– Legislative reviews for governments, on request, to help them bring their legislation into line with international standards;

– Publishing Guidelines for Review of Legislation Pertaining to Religion or Belief, which were drafted by members of the Panel of Experts in association with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission;

– Development of new legislation intended to foster improved relations among religious groups, including in post-conflict societies;

– Promoting dialogue between governments and religious groups, as called for in OSCE commitments.

Yet note what appeared in a 2004 article of Awake magazine:

Christians and Diplomacy
The Bible advises: “Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs.” (Psalm 146:3) This implies that regardless of their motives, world diplomats have neither the ability nor the power to devise permanent solutions.
When Jesus was on trial before Pontius Pilate, he stated: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.” (John 18:36) Peace initiatives are often tainted with nationalistic hatred and political selfishness. Hence, true Christians avoid involvement in this world’s conflicts and its attempts at diplomacy.
Does that mean that Christians are apathetic and uninterested in world affairs? Are they insensitive to human suffering? No. On the contrary, the Bible describes God’s true worshipers as individuals who are “sighing and groaning” over the bad things that happen around them. (Ezekiel 9:4) Christians are simply relying on God to bring peace as he has promised. Is the end of war your idea of peace? God’s Kingdom will most certainly accomplish that. (Psalm 46:8, 9) But in addition, it will ensure the complete security and well-being of all earth’s inhabitants. (Micah 4:3, 4; Revelation 21:3, 4) Such a superior peace can never be attained by diplomacy or the efforts of human “peacekeeping” organizations.
Bible prophecy and past experience clearly indicate that trusting in human diplomacy to bring peace can only lead to disappointment. Those who rest their hope for peace on Jesus Christ and support God’s Kingdom will see their desire for true peace realized. What is more, they will enjoy it forever!—Psalm 37:11, 29. (Awake January 8, 2004 pg. 27 “Will Diplomacy Bring World Peace?”)

“With 56 States from Europe, Central Asia and North America, the OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organization. It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, and puts the political will of its participating States into practice through its unique network of field missions.

“The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects.”

Sending Watchtower representatives for attendance at these events shows that a different set of standards applies to the leaders of the organization as opposed to its members.

Statement by the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia

Religious Freedom Subcommittee of European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses

While researching Jehovah’s Witnesses recurring attendance at the human rights conferences of the OCSE, I found something else that I hadn’t heard of before:

The European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Religious Freedom Subcommittee

Based in UK and/or Belgium this committee for Jehovah’s Witnesses submits statements and documents to the OCSE, the UN, and others. The submissions are all about protecting the human rights, freedom of religion, and assets of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

It is unclear whether any official representative of Jehovah’s Witnesses had actually attended any of the meetings and conferences in person for which submissions or statements were submitted. However, they have done so in the past for OCSE conferences.

Here are a few of the documents submitted by the Religious Freedom Subcommittee of The European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses:

For those entirely new to this topic, visit JWFacts  

For the record: I do not deny Jehovah’s Witnesses the right to stand up for their interests, and demand from governments and international organizations that human rights are protected.
But it’s odd that they are so fiercely opposed to political involvement, yet petition governments and ministers on regular basis.
It is also very odd that Jehovah’s Witnesses petition the United Nations to protect their religious freedoms, and at the same time they believe the UN to be the very entity that will attack all religions.

11 Jehovah will destroy “the great prostitute” by means of “the ten horns” of “a scarlet-colored wild beast.” That figurative wild beast represents the United Nations. The ten horns represent the current political powers supporting that organization. At God’s appointed time, those political powers will turn on symbolic Babylon. They “will make her devastated and naked” by plundering her wealth and exposing her wickedness. (Rev. 17:3, 16) That swift destruction​—as if in one day—​will come as a shock to those who supported her. After all, she has long boasted: “I sit as queen, and I am not a widow, and I will never see mourning.”​—Rev. 18:7, 8. The Watchtower September 2019 study edition pg. 10 par. 11

Furthermore, participation with the OSCE gives the impression that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is a shining example to the world in championing the rights of freedom of religion of all people. But is that the case? Surely, they would not be concerned with solely protecting their own rights.