OSCE Chairperson offers support for UN Secretary-General initiative to co-ordinate international assistance to North Africa

BISHKEK, 3 March 2011 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed today the need to co-ordinate international efforts to assist North Africa, and the possibility of creating a co-ordination mechanism among relevant international organizations, under UN leadership.

In a teleconference with the UN Secretary-General and nine other international organizations, Ažubalis underlined the key role the OSCE had played in managing the challenges of democratic transition in Central and Eastern Europe and how the OSCE’s Asian and Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation, including Tunisia and Egypt, could now benefit from this experience.

"The OSCE and the Lithuanian Chairmanship stand ready to support co-ordination of international assistance to Northern Africa," he said.

Ažubalis reiterated the offer he had made to the UN Security Council on 15 February to share the OSCE’s experience and tools with the Organization’s Mediterranean Partners.

“The OSCE, as requested by its partners, is prepared to share its own experience in helping participating States manage transition processes, build strong institutions and promote vibrant civil societies, and prepare and conduct democratic elections,” he said.

The OSCE, a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, promotes co-operative and comprehensive security. At the OSCE Summit in December 2010 in Astana, the Heads of State and Government recognized that the security of the OSCE area and the security of the Mediterranean are “inextricably linked”. They called for enhanced interaction with Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation.

Ažubalis is in Bishkek to meet government leaders as well as representatives of political parties and civil society to discuss continued OSCE support to Kyrgyzstan, in particular with respect to reforms, community dialogue and reconciliation efforts.