Special Adviser On Holocaust Issues
Special Adviser on Holocaust Issues
The Special Adviser is responsible for offering policy advice on Holocaust-related matters, doing so in close coordination with the Department of State’s Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and with the Office of International Claims and Investment Disputes in the Office of the Legal Adviser.
The current Special Adviser is Stu Eizenstat, whose mandate is up for renewal in June. Since the Special Adviser is a political appointee, Stu is not a likely candidate to stay in office. So far, only Roman Kent, who represents the survivors, has written a support letter on behalf of Stu to the Secretary of State.
The Special Adviser is a non-paid position, and he is
in theory working with the Special Envoy and the State Department. On the other hand, Stu Eizenstat had great autonomy to work and a real presence and clout in Europe. His position may not be well known within the US, as his mandate was for foreign countries, but his words and actions carry real weight in Europe.
If no substitute is found and the position of the Special Adviser is therefore eliminated, it means less support for our work, so CAR's interest is to preserve that office. Since the Special Adviser deals not only with art, but with all property losses, the position is also important for other restitution issues. For example, there are ongoing negotiations in Poland for restitution for real estate claims.
Mr. Lauder would be an ideal person for the job, being a former US Ambassador to a European country, being involved with the Washington Conference and having an interest in restitution issues for decades. Stu Eizenstat has not been preparing all the information needed for this position by himself, there are pro bono attorneys (I am also in touch with) who have been advising him and keeping him informed. We have substantial knowledge in-house and we could also tap into the same informal network to support Mr. Lauder’s work.
The current Special Envoy is Tom Yazdgerdi, who is a carrier foreign service officer. He is new to the job, but he may turn out to be one of the better envoys, it is too early to see. His effectiveness will also depend on whether the Special Envoy’s office would be allocated a realistic budget, as they have been downsized drastically in the past years. E.g. Stu was unable to organize a follow up event regarding the Washington Conference because the State Department would not allocate 50.000 USD for such an event.
The Office of the Special Envoy should be kept going and funds should be allocated. The WJRO is lobbying for the enactment of the JUST Act (Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today Act of 2017 http://www.jewishchronicle.org/2017/02/27/wisconsin-senators-support-legislation-on-holocaust-assets/ ), and there is a good chance of passing it. The JUST Act would place reporting obligation on the office of the Envoy, something they cannot fulfill in their current understaffed status. On the other hand, having yearly reports would enable the Adviser and the Envoy to reach out to European governments and demand action based on the State Department’s yearly report.
In 2018, at the 20th anniversary of the Washington Conference, Germany will organize a meeting for experts to discuss what has been accomplished in the past 20 years and what the outstanding issues are. It is essential that such an event is properly organized, attended, publicized and our message gets through (that we have just started the process and there is a lot more to do.) The Special Envoy is already invited to that event, and it would give a great opportunity to assess Germany’s commitment to restitution.
The Special Adviser is responsible for offering policy advice on Holocaust-related matters, doing so in close coordination with the Department of State’s Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and with the Office of International Claims and Investment Disputes in the Office of the Legal Adviser.
The current Special Adviser is Stu Eizenstat, whose mandate is up for renewal in June. Since the Special Adviser is a political appointee, Stu is not a likely candidate to stay in office. So far, only Roman Kent, who represents the survivors, has written a support letter on behalf of Stu to the Secretary of State.
The Special Adviser is a non-paid position, and he is
in theory working with the Special Envoy and the State Department. On the other hand, Stu Eizenstat had great autonomy to work and a real presence and clout in Europe. His position may not be well known within the US, as his mandate was for foreign countries, but his words and actions carry real weight in Europe.
If no substitute is found and the position of the Special Adviser is therefore eliminated, it means less support for our work, so CAR's interest is to preserve that office. Since the Special Adviser deals not only with art, but with all property losses, the position is also important for other restitution issues. For example, there are ongoing negotiations in Poland for restitution for real estate claims.
Mr. Lauder would be an ideal person for the job, being a former US Ambassador to a European country, being involved with the Washington Conference and having an interest in restitution issues for decades. Stu Eizenstat has not been preparing all the information needed for this position by himself, there are pro bono attorneys (I am also in touch with) who have been advising him and keeping him informed. We have substantial knowledge in-house and we could also tap into the same informal network to support Mr. Lauder’s work.
The current Special Envoy is Tom Yazdgerdi, who is a carrier foreign service officer. He is new to the job, but he may turn out to be one of the better envoys, it is too early to see. His effectiveness will also depend on whether the Special Envoy’s office would be allocated a realistic budget, as they have been downsized drastically in the past years. E.g. Stu was unable to organize a follow up event regarding the Washington Conference because the State Department would not allocate 50.000 USD for such an event.
The Office of the Special Envoy should be kept going and funds should be allocated. The WJRO is lobbying for the enactment of the JUST Act (Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today Act of 2017 http://www.jewishchronicle.org/2017/02/27/wisconsin-senators-support-legislation-on-holocaust-assets/ ), and there is a good chance of passing it. The JUST Act would place reporting obligation on the office of the Envoy, something they cannot fulfill in their current understaffed status. On the other hand, having yearly reports would enable the Adviser and the Envoy to reach out to European governments and demand action based on the State Department’s yearly report.
In 2018, at the 20th anniversary of the Washington Conference, Germany will organize a meeting for experts to discuss what has been accomplished in the past 20 years and what the outstanding issues are. It is essential that such an event is properly organized, attended, publicized and our message gets through (that we have just started the process and there is a lot more to do.) The Special Envoy is already invited to that event, and it would give a great opportunity to assess Germany’s commitment to restitution.