Chairmanship transition from Belgium to Spain highlight of OSCE Magazine

VIENNA, 3 December 2006 - An overview of the achievements of the outgoing Belgian OSCE Chairmanship and a preview of the priorities of the incoming Spanish Chairmanship are the lead items in the end-of-the-year issue of the Organization's Magazine.

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, Chairman-in-Office in 2006, reflects on the key initiatives under his leadership, aimed at restoring confidence in the OSCE as an effective instrument for peace and stability. At the same time, he takes a look ahead at the ambitious agenda of the Ministerial Council meeting in Brussels on 4 and 5 December.

In an interview, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos shares his vision of Spain's turn at the helm of the Organization and its priority themes in 2007: fighting terrorism, tackling land degradation and water management as serious security issues, and encouraging diversity and participation in pluralistic societies.

The Magazine also examines the close co-operation between OSCE and the Republic of Montenegro through interviews with President Filip Vujanovic and Head of Mission Paraschiva Badescu. An article on how the Roma community is being empowered through education illustrates how the OSCE's wide-ranging activities in its newest participating State are fostering inclusiveness among Montenegrin citizens.

A special section is devoted to the five Asian Partners for Co-operation, which have shown a steady interest in the OSCE's gradual, multidisciplinary and consensual approach to security. Takashi Koizumi, one of a handful of OSCE staff members from Japan, describes how he applies patience, persistence and expertise to build confidence among local communities in a post-conflict setting near Skopje.

The cover story gives the returns issue in Croatia a poignant human face through the camera lens of documentary photographer Ivor Prickett, who also contributes a first-hand account of life among struggling returnees.

The Magazine also pays tribute to the late Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, who was the recipient of the OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy in 2003.

Published in English and in Russian, the OSCE Magazine can be accessed on the OSCE website. Online editions in French and Spanish have been introduced. Readers can also subscribe to the print version at www.osce.org/publications or by sending a note to osce-magazine-at@osce.org