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Ministerial Council 2013

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OSCE Chairpersonship

What's it all about?

Once a year, OSCE foreign ministers convene for the Ministerial Council meeting to assess the Organization’s progress, and to take decisions on new commitments to ensure political, military, economic, environmental and human security.This year's event takes place in Kyiv, hosted by the OSCE Ukrainian Chairmanship.

The two-day meeting provides a rare opportunity for the 57 participating States and 11 partner countries, including Afghanistan, to engage in high-level multilateral and bilateral talks on their current security relations and concerns.

Final Decisions and Declarations

The final decisions and declarations adopted at the 2013 OSCE Ministerial Council have been announced:

  • Human Trafficking: decision highlights importance of prosecution, protection, prevention and partnerships in combating trafficking
  • Roma & Sinti: Decision urges OSCE States to address discrimination and intolerance against Roma and Sinti

  • Freedom of Thought: Decision on legal personality of religious communities, state registration, inter-faith dialogue, discrimination in public institutions and the protection of religious sites

  • Environment: Recognizing trans-boundary impact that energy production, transportation and consumption have on the environment, and encourages the use of renewables, energy efficiency measures and innovation.
  • Cybersecurity: Declaration welcomes confidence building measures to reduce conflict stemming from Information & communication technologies
  • Energy Security: Decision strengthens OSCE’s work in protecting critical energy infrastructure.
  • Transdniestria: 5+2 negotiations supported at the highest level, reaffirming the territorial integrity of Moldova.

Preparation

In the run-up to the Ministerial Council, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and the Organization’s Chairperson in Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara discussed ongoing developments in Ukraine.

Protest

On the eve of the Ministerial Council (MC), OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier visited Kyiv's main protest site at the Square of Independence. He spoke with groups of demonstrators and listened when they explained their reasons for protesting.

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier visits the protests in the centre of Kyiv, 4 December 2013.

Shortly afterwards, the Secretary General released this statement.

Zannier said he welcomed assurances from Minister Kozhara that Ukraine would respect citizens’ right to peacefully protest and that recent incidents of excessive force were being investigated.

Respect of fundamental rights, such as freedom of assembly, the right to free expression and giving journalists the liberty to do their work is essential to ensuring cohesive and secure societies. All sides should enter dialogue peacefully and without resort to violence or other actions which prevent constructive engagement

  OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier    

 

Day 1

It begins! Delegates from all 57 States are streaming into the venue in Kyiv for the beginning of the 20th OSCE Ministerial Council. We will be live updating this page throughout the day with the latest from the event.

Each State's Head of Delegation is given an opportunity to make a statement during the opening session of the MC, which begins at 9:30am today. Here's the order in which they will speak: //www.osce.org/mc/109157

The head of each delegation arrives one by one at the venue and is greeted by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister Leonid Kozhara, with journalists looking on.

10:07am - Before the first session begins, it is customary for all Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegation to pose for a family photo outside the main meeting room.

Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegations pose for a family photo at the 20th OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv, 5 December 2013.

Opening Statements

10:20am - Ukrainian Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, spoke first and said:

Ukrainian Prime Minister says it's understandable that Ukrainians might be unhappy with his government's decision on EU deal #OSCE2013

This morning, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović held a press conference with US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland to discuss the issues related to the protection of journalists in the OSCE region

R-l: OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović, and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs of the United States Victoria Nuland, alongside Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Mass Information Oksana Romanyuk at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv, 5 December 2013.

The main plenary room of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv, 5 December 2013.

With Azerbaijan finishing their statement, the first part of the opening session is over and delegates have broken for lunch. Many more statmements coming up after lunch with Turkmenistan, Latvia, Croatia, and Norway speaking first. Stay Tuned!

And we're back!

The delegates are back in their seats and we have heard statements from Italy,Portugal Croatia, Norway, Latvia and Montenegro.

All statements made are published online and are available here

So far, the topics being emphasised most in the statements of delegations are the right to protest, the Helsink+40 process, arms control, cybersecurity, and Afghanistan.

Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia gave a press conference to Russian-speaking journalists, and covered topics including the ongoing negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the OSCE Minsk group

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov giving an informal briefing to the media, Kyiv, 5 December 2013.

16:30-    Frans Timmermans, Foreign Minister of Netherlands, emphasised  that we need to strike a balance betweeen providing for citizens' privacy of information  and providing for their security.

He also commended the open-manner in which the Ukranian delegation have dealt with the criticism expressed on their U-turn on the EU agreement, and the subsequent ongoing demonstrations in Kyiv.

On media freedom:

That's a wrap for Day 1!

The opening statements will continue tomorrow morning with Ireland the first delegation to speak.

Here's the press release that was issued, summing up the day's activities

Although reform is not the primary goal of the Helsinki+40 process, it is clear that we need to modernize and streamline our working procedures and structures to better meet the challenges of our time. This should in no way weaken existing commitments; instead, it should strengthen their implementation"

                OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier

Again, all the statements from today's proceedings are available online here

 

Day 2

The second and final day of the 2013 OSCE Ministerial Council begins again, with statements by the Heads of Delegations continuing in the Plenary Hall. First to speak this morning is the Irish delegation, who chaired the OSCE in 2012.

11:00am  Tajik Deputy Foreign Minister Nizomidin Zohidov says that commitments to human rights must take social stability into account.

The former Foreign Minister, Hamrokhon Zarifi,  recently wrote a book about the OSCE's engagement in Tajikistan and the Central Asian region. Read Here!

Ministerial Council in the News

Irish Times    - US says Ukraine risks ‘chaos’ if protesters’ EU demands not met

Bloomberg    Ukrainian Police Hunt Protest Troublemakers in Kiev

The Voice of Russia-  Moscow urges OSCE to address problem of non-citizenship in EU - Lavrov

Euronews-  Journalists protest outside a Kyiv OSCE security summit

Deutsche Welle - OSCE meeting opens in Kyiv as anti-government protests continue

Interfax - Kozhara: OSCE wants to strengthen presence of observers at presidential elections in Afghanistan

Borderization- Georgian Foreign Minister Maya Pandzhikidze raised an ongoing issue, where barbed wire fences are being erected along the Occupation Line, which  is restricting free movement of the local people. She urged this process to be reversed.

Foreign Minister of Georgia Maia Panjikidze giving an informal briefing to the media after her plenary speech at the OSCE Ministerial Council, Kyiv, 6 December 2013.

Read more about the issue on borderisation in this Al Jazeera article :

Nagorno-Karabakh

Here's a good Economist article on the protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict : http://econ.st/1iFNC47

12:00pm- San Marino just made the 57th and final statement by Participating States. The OSCE Partners for Co-operation are now speaking in the Plenary Hall. Afterwards,  the adoption of Ministerial Council decisions will take place. Stay tuned for details!

Media Freedom

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic had a constructive meeting with Vladimir Makei, Foreign Minister of Belarus.

More Coverage of Ministerial Council in the Media

The Guardian- Ukraine protesters branded 'Nazis and criminals' but refuse to leave streets
Reuters- Yanukovich going to Russia, agency says, as Ukraine protesters defy police
Nachrichten- Burkhalter setzt Fokus auf Südkaukasus
Kyiv Post- OSCE/ODIHR deems lawful Ukrainian government demand to free buildings seized by opposition

Final Decisions and Declarations

The final decisions and declarations of the 2013 OSCE Ministerial Council have been announced and are as follows:

  • Human Trafficking: decision highlights importance of prosecution, protection, prevention and partnerships in combating trafficking
     
  • Roma & Sinti: Decision urges OSCE States to address discrimination and intolerance against Roma and Sinti
     
  • Freedom of Thought: Decision on legal personality of religious communities, state registration, inter-faith dialogue, discrimination in public institutions and the protection of religious sites
     
  • Environment: Recognizing trans-boundary impact that energy production, transportation and consumption have on the environment, and encourages the use of renewables, energy efficiency measures and innovation.
     

  • Cybersecurity: Declaration welcomes confidence building measures to reduce conflict stemming from Information & communication technologies

  • Energy Security: Decision strengthens OSCE’s work in protecting critical energy infrastructure.

  • Transdniestria: 5+2 negotiations supported at the highest level, reaffirming the territorial integrity of Moldova.

And that's it!

With the final press conference finished, the 20th Ministerial Council of the OSCE has officially ended!

"For the first time in 3 years, we have adopted a decision in the human dimension"

OSCE SecGen Lamberto Zannier

The final press release of the event can be read here

 

OSCE 2014

Switzerland will chair the OSCE in 2014 and will hold their Ministerial Council in Basel next December. The Swiss have set a range of priorities and goals for the year.

Read all about it here       (Also available in other languages)

 

 

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