Switzerland to harness OSCE strengths as wide-ranging chairmanship programme revealed

VIENNA, 16 January 2014 – Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter today pledged to seize the opportunities offered by the OSCE as he outlined priorities for the Swiss Chairmanship of the Organization at the first Permanent Council in Vienna.

Burkhalter called on representatives of the OSCE’s 57 participating States to draw from the lessons of the First World War: “Peace should never be taken for granted. We must not become complacent about peace but rather construct and secure it through constant dialogue, confidence-building and collective efforts to boost mutual understanding.” He added that the OSCE was well-positioned to respond to the “troubling signs of new rifts between the East and the West” as it serves as a forum for dialogue, actively works in the field with common action on the ground and offers a “common roof” over the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian regions.

“Creating a Security Community for the Benefit of Everyone” was the leitmotif of the Swiss Chairmanship, said Burkhalter, emphasizing that behind this motto stood the firm belief that the purpose of all politics should be to serve the people. Switzerland had set three overall objectives, Burkhalter explained: fostering security and stability, improving people’s lives and strengthening the OSCE’s capacity to act. For each of the three objectives, the Swiss Chairmanship had identified three to four priority issues.

2014 should be the year for reconciliation in the Western Balkans, with the OSCE advancing regional cooperation and playing a supporting role in the implementation of the Belgrade-Pristina agreement, he said. Protracted conflicts in the South Caucasus, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the consequences of August 2008 conflict in Georgia, and the Transdniestrian settlement process were also high on the agenda, Burkhalter said. “We are well aware that progress may not come overnight, and that no settlement will be feasible unless the parties are committed. However, we firmly believe that it is not an option to simply wait and see,” he added.

Modernization and up-dating of the so-called “Vienna Document” on conventional arms control to meet the advance of new military capabilities and technologies was essential to ensure military stability, transparency and predictability, he said. Switzerland would also seek to strengthen security sector governance, to focus on the implementation of existing commitments within the human dimension, to put the issue of torture back on the agenda, and to look for effective ways to counter trafficking in human beings.

With natural disasters growing in scale, frequency and severity, Switzerland saw a more reliable management of natural disasters and a shift from disaster response to prevention as essential. Switzerland also wants to work to counter the threat of terrorist attacks, especially kidnapping for ransom, and will address issues such as  human rights in countering terrorism and the return of foreign fighters.

Switzerland was committed to guiding the Helsinki +40 process on new perspectives for the Organization as it reaches its fortieth anniversary in 2015. Burkhalter also stressed that he was particularly attached to the idea of involving young people in the OSCE. The Swiss Chairmanship supports this idea with the launch of a project “Youth for Security and Cooperation in Europe” which brings together 57 “Youth Ambassadors” to a Model OSCE which will work through the year following the OSCE negotiation cycle and present a Youth Action Plan at the end of the Chairmanship.

Switzerland was committed to dialogue with civil society and strengthening its involvement, he added. The Swiss Chairmanship will launch consultations across the OSCE area and wants to organize four regional workshops. It will continue to coordinate closely with Serbia which will chair the OSCE in 2015, and work together on the basis of a joint work plan, Burkhalter said.

This is the second Swiss Chairmanship in the OSCE; previously, Switzerland was at helm of the Organization in 1996.