Chairman-in-Office urges Foreign Ministers' meeting to sharpen OSCE's focus and expand capabilities

LJUBLJANA, 5 December 2005 - Opening the 13th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel called on the 55 participating States to take decisions that would chart a course for the OSCE's next decade, sharpening its focus and increasing its capabilities in areas where it had added value.

Hosting the gathering of more than 40 foreign ministers and other heads of delegation, the Chairman-in-Office stressed that the OSCE's usefulness was measured by its success in the promotion of democracy, peace and security.

"I believe that the willingness is there to pull together and to work in the common interest of peace and security. The 30th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act has reminded us of the importance of the human dimension in the work of the OSCE. The human dimension remains the bedrock of our Organization. Our common commitments unite us", he added.

Minister Rupel recalled that at the start of the year, when Slovenia took up the Chairmanship, the OSCE had no budget, no way of dividing up the costs of the OSCE, and no Secretary General. There were also echoes of the Cold War in some public statements, and the very relevance of the Organization was being questioned.

"Now I believe the waters are calmer and the mood more constructive. We have an excellent Secretary General in Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, agreement has been reached on scales of contribution, and I am hopeful that the financial difficulties that we experienced at the beginning of this year will not resurface in 2006."

Fast-breaking developments in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the spring had demanded a rapid and constructive international response: "In both cases, the OSCE was the lead international agency that immediately responded on the spot", said the Chairman-in-Office.

Progress for peace had also been made this year in the framework of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: "An OSCE-led fact-finding mission to the occupied territories as well as high level meetings, particularly between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, have provided hope that we may reach a solution to this conflict."

This needed to be coupled with broad political stability in the southern Caucasus. Stability and reforms in Azerbaijan had to follow the November 6 Parliamentary elections which, while recording progress, failed to meet a number of important OSCE standards: "It is now necessary for the Government in Baku to live up to its commitments and to rectify the election and diversify power", he said.

In Georgia, the Chairman-in-Office said there were also grounds for optimism, with the joint declaration on 30 May between Georgia and the Russian Federation on the agreement of closure of Russian military bases in Georgia: "I understand that implementation is proceeding well. This also means progress with regard to the commitments of the last OSCE Summit in Istanbul", he added.

While the situation in the South Ossetia region of Georgia remained volatile, the OSCE was helping to build confidence between the parties, and was supporting economic rehabilitation.

Looking at Moldova, Minister Rupel said that after more than a year, negotiations had resumed on a peaceful and sustainable resolution of the status of Transdniestria: "The new 5+2 format, that now involves the EU and US in the negotiation process, has brought a new dynamic to the fore that offers hope for a settlement to this long-standing dispute."

On Kosovo, the Chairman-in-Office welcomed the start of discussions on its future status, saying that he expected a resolution to the Kosovo status issue would come next year. For many years, he said, the OSCE had been playing a key role in strengthening democratic institutions, human rights and the rule of law in Kosovo and that role should be continued. He hoped for a clear commitment by the Ministers about what future role the OSCE should play.

Turning to the OSCE's counter-terrorism activities, the Chairman-in-Office said the nature of conflict was changing. The enemies now wore backpacks and targeted innocent civilians on public transportation.

"Attacks this year demonstrate that terrorism remains a threat to us all. It is therefore vital that the OSCE continues to play its part in the international effort to combat terrorism. We must not allow terror to undermine the principles and values on which our societies are built. We must find a way to ensure security and defend human rights. Because the link between security and human rights is at the heart of the OSCE, the Organization is well suited to assist States in grappling with this thorny issue", he added.

The Chairman-in-Office also called on the Organization to play a bigger role on migration and integration, calling them two of the most important issues facing the OSCE area today.

"We need to manage migration, and to ensure open, yet secure, borders. I hope that we can agree during the next two days to decisions on migration and to a concept on border management and security. Managing diversity within our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural cities and societies is a challenge faced by almost all OSCE states."

In an increasingly inter-connected world, the OSCE also needed to be plugged into a wider network, the Chairman-in-Office said. "We should take greater advantage of our status as a regional arrangement of the United Nations. We should undertake activities to ease the UN's burden and strengthen the OSCE's competence. Co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia Prosecutor's Office in trial monitoring is a good example."

He added that the OSCE should build on the co-operation agreement made with the Council of Europe earlier this year, and exploit the scope for closer OSCE-EU and OSCE-NATO co-operation, as well as being more open to NGOs, civil society, the press and public.

"We should also seriously think about adding the dimension of the dialogue between cultures and civilizations, particularly between the Middle East and the OSCE region."

Slovenia's year of office, he said, had included the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Helsinki Process, which led to the creation of the OSCE.

"This has been an adventurous, constructive, even a wonderful process. Maybe, back in 1975, the statesmen who signed the Helsinki Final Act could not have imagined how much they would influence or contribute to the transformation of Europe. However, we can now agree it was they who started the process of All-European integration and harmonization", said Minister Rupel.