Portuguese Chairmanship priorities

The new OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama, announced in his first speech to the Organization's 55-nation Permanent Council in Vienna that the fight against terrorism will be one of OSCE's priorities during the Portuguese Chairmanship in 2002.

Focus on terrorism

"In my capacity as OSCE Chairman-in-Office, I plan to appoint a Personal Representative on Terrorism", Mr. Gama said in his address to the Permanent Council on 17 January 2002.

"This Personal Representative will be responsible for driving forward the initiatives laid out by the Bucharest Action Plan and the Programme of Action adopted in [the Bishkek International Conference in December 2001]". Mr. Gama also announced that Portugal was contemplating the elaboration of a draft proposal for a possible OSCE Charter on Terrorism.

Adapting to the changing security environment

In his speech to the 55 OSCE Delegations, Mr. Gama said that another fundamental objective of his Chairmanship would be to ensure an appropriate involvement of the citizens in OSCE activities.

"In this spirit, we will work with representatives of the civil society and with OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly, as this institution plays a key role in bringing the OSCE closer to the people", he said.

The new Chairman-in-Office announced that, as foreseen by the Bucharest Declaration, his Chairmanship would aim at presenting a report on the reform of the OSCE to the Porto Ministerial Council meeting to take place at the end of this year.

"Our goal is to ensure that the OSCE is capable of adapting to the evolving security environment and to continue to be the efficient tool as proved so far", Mr. Gama said.

Comprehensive approach

With regard to the activities in the three OSCE dimensions - human, politico-military and economic and environmental - the Portuguese Foreign Minister stressed that his Chairmanship would strive to strenghten the OSCE's comprehensive approach to security, "by promoting greater articulation and complementarity between the dimensions" and with the assistance of the Organization's High Commissioner on National Minorities, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Representative on Freedom of the Media.

Work on the ground

Turning to the OSCE field activities, the Portuguese Foreign Minister told the OSCE Delegations that the Organization in 2002 would closely follow the ongoing conflict prevention and resolution efforts in the Caucasus as well as developments in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and in the Baltics:

Moldova: new round of consultations is starting with a view to resume high-level direct negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol.

Nagorno-Karabakh: the Chairmanship will give its full support to the efforts carried out by the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group in view of the political resolution of the conflict
Chechnya: the Chairman-in-Office will seek to strengthen the work of the Assistance Group through the current mandate, and would offer political support to the Russian authorities in their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Central Asia: an excellent opportunity for the OSCE to strengthen its activities in all three dimensions and to implement the principles identified under the concept of the Platform for a Co-operative Security
Belarus: the Portuguese Chairmanship will continue to support the work of the Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus
Mr. Gama underlined that the new Chairmanship would pay particular attention to the closure process of the missions in the Baltic States.

"This closure does not imply that the OSCE will no longer closely follow the respect of the rights of the minorities in these countries. In this respect, the existing co-operation with the High Commissioner on National Minorities and with ODIHR will be enhanced", he said.

Mr. Gama identified the consolidation of peace in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the most immediate challenge.

"The OSCE plays an instrumental role in promoting confidence and building up new capacities, by accompanying the sensitive re-entry of the police force into former conflict areas and by strengthening a multiethnic police force and bringing it closer to European standards", he said, and informed the OSCE Delegations that he would travel the same day to Skopje to witness first hand the OSCE contribution in the peace process.