New OSCE Chairman-in-Office makes fight against terrorism Organization's priority for 2002

VIENNA, 17 January 2002 - The new Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama, today 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.

"In my capacity as OSCE Chairman-in-Office, I plan to appoint a Personal Representative on Terrorism", Mr. Gama said. "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.

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.

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.

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.

"As far as Moldova is concerned, Portugal has had the overall responsibility of conducting negotiations on behalf of the OSCE since the beginning of 2001, by delegation of the Romanian Chairmanship", Mr. Gama said. "I have appointed as my representative an Ambassador at large to closely follow the matter. [...] The mediators in November in Prague established a road map for the stabilization and consolidation of the negotiation process that accepted a step by step approach of the fundamental question of the political status of Transnistria within a unified Moldova. In this framework a new round of consultations is starting now with a view to resume high level direct negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol."

With regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Mr. Gama welcomed the commitment of the Azeri and Armenian parties to the cease-fire and said that the Chairmanship would 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.

Speaking about Chechnya, the Chairman-in-Office said that he would 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.

As for the OSCE's engagement in Central Asia, Mr. Gama told the 55 OSCE Delegations that he considered that the OSCE had there an excellent opportunity 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. "In this respect, further co-operation with other international organizations and institutions is to be encouraged", he said.

Mr. Gama underlined that the Portuguese 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 also announced that the OSCE under his Chairmanship would continue to support the work of the Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus.

Regarding the OSCE's field activities in south-eastern Europe, Mr. Gama stressed that this region would remain a priority in 2002.

In this context, 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 today to Skopje to witness first hand the OSCE contribution in the peace process.