New head of key regional security group affirms value of cooperation with UN

Given the depth and quantity of challenges on the international community’s agenda, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will continue to boost its partnership with the United Nation, its new Chairperson said today.

“When times are as challenging as they are, close cooperation between the Security Council and a key regional player such as the OSCE becomes all the more indispensable,” Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, in her capacity of Chairperson-in-Office of the body, told the Council in a briefing.

She said that post-conflict field work, border issues, the fight against terrorism and crime and human rights concerns are among the 2009 Greek Chairmanship's priorities for the OSCE, the world's largest regional security organization under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter with 56 participating States that nearly circle the globe.

Discussions in Geneva, established following the 2008 conflict in Georgia and co-chaired by the OSCE, the UN and the European Union, were a major concern of her presentation. “The Geneva platform demonstrates the importance of cooperation between these three major actors. This is the only framework where all the parties to the conflict meet,” she underlined.

In addition, she said the OSCE remains an important presence in Kosovo, where she called the organization’s mission a pillar of the UN Mission known as 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 Ms. Bakoyannis, citing 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, reinforced by proposals for a renewed European security dialogue, "confirmed the OSCE as a unique platform," Ms. Bakoyannis stated, adding that its inclusive composition and signature concept of comprehensive security “remain unparalleled across the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian landscapes.”

Given all the challenges present in those landscapes, as well as the global economic crisis, it is vital to further strengthen the partnership between the UN and the OSCE, she concluded, maintaining: “In such circumstances, it is our responsibility to consolidate the pillars of a rules-based international order.”