OSCE key regional player in promoting dialogue, addressing security challenges on the ground, OSCE Chairperson tells UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS, 27 February 2009 - The OSCE does essential work on the ground and is the natural forum for security dialogue in its region, said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, in an address to the UN Security Council today.

Bakoyannis emphasized the important role the OSCE plays within the UN framework.

"When times are as challenging as they are, close co-operation between the Security Council and a key regional player such as the OSCE becomes all the more indispensible," she said.

She outlined the 2009 Greek OSCE Chairmanship's priorities, first among them the need to support the OSCE's work in the field, particularly in post-conflict Georgia.

The Geneva discussions on Georgia, co-chaired by the OSCE, the UN and the EU, are also critical to addressing humanitarian challenges, she added: " The Geneva platform demonstrates the importance of co-operation between these three major actors. This is the only framework where all the parties to the conflict meet."

She said the OSCE remains an important presence in Kosovo, where the OSCE Mission operates as a pillar of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

"My recent visit to Pristina strengthened my conviction that the OSCE Mission remains a stabilizing factor in Kosovo, ensuring continuity of international presence and maintaining good working relationships with all communities," she said.

Border security and policing, and deepening OSCE engagement with Afghanistan are also high on the Chairmanship's agenda, said Bakoyannis, citing OSCE initiatives to train Afghan experts on border management and security, counter-narcotic policing, customs management and travel document security.

"I am convinced that the OSCE, with its inclusive membership, expertise in police training and border management, and long experience in Central Asia, can make a realistic and meaningful contribution to the security of Afghanistan and its neighbourhood," she said.

OSCE work on the ground is reinforced by high-level political dialogue, and discussion of proposals for a renewed European security dialogue "confirmed the OSCE as a unique platform", said Bakoyannis.

"Its inclusive composition and signature concept of comprehensive security, remain unparalleled across the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian landscapes," she said.