Praktik og procedurer i forbindelse med den årlige session i Tbilisi fra 1. til 5. juli 2016
Tilhører sager:
- Hovedtilknytning: OSCE alm. del (Bilag 28)
Aktører:
OSCE - Praktik og procedurer i forbindelse med den årlige session i Georgien 2016.docx
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20151/almdel/OSCE/bilag/28/1629924.pdf
1/2 OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling Til: Dato: Delegationens medlemmer 26. april 2016 Praktik og procedurer i forbindelse med den årlige session i Tbilisi fra 1. til 5. juli 2016 Hermed omdeles Practical and Procedural Information samt udkast til rapporter og resolutionstekster fra forsamlingens tre komitéer til brug for OSCE’s Parlamentariske Forsamlings (OSCE PA) årlige session i Tbilisi den 1. - 5. juli 2016. Som det fremgår af papiret, er der en række krav og tidsfrister, som I skal over- holde, hvis I ønsker at fremsætte ændringsforslag eller forslag til supplerende resolutioner (”supplementary items”). Jeg har opsummeret krav og tidsfrister i nedenstående skema. Underskiftsskemaer til brug for eventuelle ændringsforslag bliver omdelt så snart de modtages fra OSCE PA sekretariatet. Forslag Krav Frist for modtagelse i Folketingets sekretariat Frist for modtagelse i OSCE PA´s sekretariat Forslag til supplerende resolutionsudkast (supplementary items) Skal som minimum være underskrevet af 20 med- lemmer af OSCE PA fra mindst 4 forskellige lande. I kan maksimalt under- skrive 4. Torsdag den 26. maj 2016 Fredag den 27. maj 2016 Kompromisforslag til sup- plerende resolutionsud- kast (compromise draft resolutions) Skal som minimum være underskrevet af forslags- stillerne og af 10 af under- skriverne på de supple- rende resolutionsudkast Torsdag den 16. juni 2016 Fredag den 17. juni 2016 Ændringsforslag til rap- portørernes resolutions- udkast (amendments to draft resolutions) Skal som minimum være underskrevet af 5 med- lemmer af OSCA PA fra mindst 2 forskellige lande Torsdag den 16. juni 2016 Fredag den 17. juni 2016 Ændringsforslag til sup- plerende resolutionsud- kast (amendments to supplementary items) Skal som minimum være underskrevet af 5 med- lemmer af OSCA PA fra mindst 2 forskellige lande Torsdag den 23. juni 2016 Fredag den 24. juni 2016 OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16 OSCE Alm.del Bilag 28 Offentligt 2/2 Delegationssekretariatet vil koordinere og videreformidle forslag til OSCE PA’s Interna- tionale Sekretariat. Af praktiske hensyn vil den interne tidsfrist for aflevering af forslag til delegationens sekretariat være torsdagen inden de tidspunkter, hvor OSCE PA´s Inter- nationale Sekretariat skal have dem i hænde. Forslag til supplerende resolutioner og ændringsforslag fordeles alene elektronisk. Er- faringerne fra tidligere år viser, at i tiden frem til de anførte tidsfrister kan I forvente et stort antal henvendelser fra diverse forslagsstillere med anmodning om støtte fra den danske delegation. Såfremt I selv ønsker at fremsætte forslag, anbefales det at være ude i god tid før udlø- bet af tidsfristerne. Maj - juni er typisk en travl tid i de fleste parlamenter, og det kan derfor være forbundet med visse praktiske problemer at få indsamlet det nødvendige antal underskrifter. Samtidig vil jeg også bemærke, at der maksimalt kan behandles 15 supplementary items på sessionen i Tbilisi. Hvis flere end 15 supplementary items har fået det fornødne antal underskrifter, vil Standing Committee med et flertal på 2/3 beslutte, hvilke supplemen- tary items, der skal behandles. Reglerne for valg til posterne i forsamlingen er desuden beskrevet i de vedlagte infor- mationer, ligesom det fremgår, hvilke poster der er på valg. I Tbilisi skal der således vælges: 1 Præsident 3 vicepræsidenter 1 kasserer Formand, næstformand og rapportør for hver af de tre komitéer Med venlig hilsen Eva Esmarch, delegationssekretær
1st Comm DRS_ENG.pdf
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20151/almdel/OSCE/bilag/28/1629926.pdf
OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16 OSCE Alm.del Bilag 28 Offentligt
1st Comm RP_ENG.pdf
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20151/almdel/OSCE/bilag/28/1629925.pdf
AS (16) RP 1 E Original: English REPORT FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND SECURITY 25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue RAPPORTEUR Ms. Margareta Cederfelt Sweden TBILISI, 1 – 5 JULY 2016 OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16 OSCE Alm.del Bilag 28 Offentligt 1 REPORT FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND SECURITY Rapporteur: Ms. Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden) Introduction The OSCE, now in its fifth decade, continues to establish itself as the primary forum for transatlantic and Eurasian dialogue in the spheres of security and human rights, and in the economic and environmental dimension. As a community based on shared values and principles, the OSCE carries unparalleled moral authority in Europe and, therefore, the implementation of OSCE commitments is an essential element for peace, security and stability in the OSCE region. However, there has been a palpable loss of trust between participating States in recent years and a corresponding decrease in political will, resulting in reduced willingness to compromise in key areas in order to move the OSCE’s agenda forward. This culminated last year in the inability of the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Belgrade to reach consensus on a number of key issues. Since so many of our common challenges require real multilateral engagement, this gridlock and loss of trust has had a tangible and negative impact on our mutual security. Acknowledging this, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly should utilize its full capacity to tackle emerging threats in the spirit of rebuilding trust among participating States. The parliamentary dimension of the OSCE should work towards overcoming the lack of trust between OSCE participating States and towards being more vocal in expressing its position. Only by strengthening dialogue and political will can diplomatic efforts truly bring together belligerent parties in negotiating a peaceful settlement to conflicts and in working together towards addressing common threats. This report will touch upon five main points in this regard: transnational terrorism, the crisis in and around Ukraine, protracted conflicts, women in armed conflict, and the link between security and democracy. Transnational Terrorism Violent extremism is having a growing and palpable impact on security in the OSCE area, with far too many lives being cut short by terrorist tactics, including suicide bombings, mass shootings, kidnappings, and beheadings. As governments work to effectively respond to the evolving terrorist threat, they should make full use of the OSCE and its anti-terrorism activities, which focus on improving the international legal framework against terrorism, strengthening travel document security, countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism, and countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes. Likewise, the OSCE would do well to tailor its activities to the needs of participating States, while working to ensure that counter-terrorism is not used as a cover for targeting legitimate political opposition and suppressing the legal activities of nonviolent civil society groups. Countering the terrorist threat is complicated by the refugee and migrant crisis now impacting nearly all OSCE countries, which has been precipitated by ongoing conflicts in Europe and 2 its surrounding neighborhood. Allegations of migration’s links to terrorism have led to the politicization of the crisis and in some cases the scapegoating of desperate people who are fleeing war and repression. But while acknowledging the core humanitarian concerns of the crisis, it is important that we also recognize it as a fundamental security issue and work to improve the process of screening asylum seekers. In order to address the crisis’s root causes, the OSCE and its participating States should focus on conflict resolution and prevention in countries of origin. The nexus between human trafficking and illegal migration further undermines the security and stability of the OSCE region. Since human trafficking networks are known to have links to terrorist activities, the OSCE needs to develop new ways to move the partnership with the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation forward. The experience in border management, in addition to the existing mechanisms for information sharing between participating States and their joint effort in countering organized crime, places the OSCE in a unique position to tackle the issue of irregular migration and its possible links to terrorist activities. Participating States should acknowledge this issue as a shared responsibility by ensuring that they fully uphold OSCE commitments. While taking actions on the national level to protect our citizens from the terrorist threat, we must not forget the root causes, which need to be addressed on the international level. A comprehensive, multi-layered strategy is needed, one that includes targeted efforts to address the grievances that terrorists exploit, including economic grievances. Parliamentarians have a role to play in strengthening international legal frameworks against terrorism by working in their national parliaments to promote universal anti-terrorist conventions and protocols on a national level, and also working to ensure that national legislative initiatives targeting terrorist activities uphold key OSCE principles, including freedom of expression. Russian Aggression Against Ukraine The OSCE’s response to the crisis in and around Ukraine has demonstrated that its tool box is well-equipped for crisis management, with the Organization providing essential instruments for promoting de-escalation and dialogue. The Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine in particular and the Observer Mission at two Russian checkpoints have had a crucial role in addressing the crisis by providing daily unbiased reports from the field. However, we should also acknowledge and address a number of issues including a lack of resources, restrictions on the OSCE monitors’ freedom of movement, and the challenges posed by the OSCE’s lack of legal personality. Also, the fact that the conflict was not prevented at its early stages – despite all of the OSCE’s preventive action mechanisms – highlights the need for the OSCE to continue to strengthen its political dialogue and to develop capabilities for early warning detection and reporting. The subsequent upsurge of violence in Eastern Ukraine is exacerbated by the provision of weapons and military equipment to the rebels by the Russian Federation. This further fuels the ongoing killing in the southeast and clearly shows the continuing aggression by Russia towards the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Therefore, recognizing that the achievement of a political solution to the crisis is a top priority for the international community, we must continue promoting good governance in Ukraine and building confidence based on the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. 3 Regarding perhaps the most tragic incident of the Ukraine conflict, the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 on 17 July 2014, we must continue to press for greater transparency and urgency in the investigation, with a view towards ensuring justice and closure for the victims and their families. A declaration calling for an open, transparent and independent international investigation into the crash was approved by the Permanent Council with the consensus of all 57 participating States the day after the tragedy nearly two years ago, but to this date, the investigation has been hampered by a lack of openness and co-operation by some governments. This tragedy has been one of the main rifts of trust between participating States and, therefore, efforts for the resolution of this issue should be pursued. Another major issue of controversy has been the Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of Crimea. This act of aggression towards another OSCE participating State has breached the founding principles of the OSCE as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, fundamentally undermining Ukraine’s right to territorial integrity. The OSCE PA has been clear since the beginning that the Russian Federation’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 was illegal and illegitimate. Since that time, there has been a steady deterioration in human rights and a systematic attack on media freedom on the peninsula. While the issue of Crimea has been overshadowed in some ways by other priorities of the international community in Ukraine, including the alleviation of the conflict in the Donbas region, it is important to continue to point out that Ukraine’s sovereignty over all of its territory – including Crimea – must be respected. To prevent the Ukraine crisis from becoming another protracted conflict, the OSCE should work towards facilitating a constructive discourse that will bring all sides to the negotiating table and establish a long-term solution. The Parliamentary Assembly could strengthen its role in this effort by facilitating, inter alia, more in-depth and productive dialogue between parliamentarians. Protracted Conflicts As outlined in the German OSCE Chairmanship’s priorities for 2016, emphasis is being placed this year on crisis and conflict management, particularly regarding conflicts in Moldova and the South Caucasus. In concrete terms, the OSCE should strengthen its commitment towards solving the protracted conflicts in the region by means of its current negotiating formats and mechanisms. Because participating States still use unilateral decision-making and violence for addressing differences, diplomatic negotiations are hindered from adequately addressing protracted conflicts. This was recently exemplified by the major violations that took place along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone on the side of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which represented the most serious escalation of this protracted conflict since 1994. The OSCE should utilize its full toolbox of conflict resolution mechanisms, including the Parliamentary Assembly and its capabilities and outreach, in order to stabilize the situation on the ground and exert more pressure for the facilitation of a peaceful negotiated solution of the conflict. Furthermore, the Parliamentary Assembly should also strengthen its involvement in addressing the repercussions of the August 2008 conflict between the Russian Federation and the territory of Georgia. The issue of illegal resettlement of displaced persons to change the 4 demographic situation undermines trust between the negotiating parties and hampers the actual implementation of commitments. There should be more involvement on the parliamentary level for the implementation of the EU-brokered Six-Point Agreement of 12 August 2008. In concrete terms, the access to humanitarian aid in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia should be made available and provisions should be put in place guaranteeing its transit. Moreover, the OSCE PA should utilize its diplomatic power to draw the attention of the wider international community and ensure more transparency and accountability thereby reducing tensions on the ground. There needs to be stronger political will and more dedicated involvement on the side of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly so as to ensure dialogue and concrete action within the internationally recognized territory of Georgia. The fact that talks with the EU on visa liberalization for Georgian citizens is underway demonstrates the democratic development in the country. Moreover, the upcoming elections in Georgia on 8 October 2016 will serve to further strengthen the democratic development of Georgia. The promotion of confidence-building measures, as well as the active work of the OSCE field presences, is vital. In particular, the OSCE should provide increased opportunities for civil society to participate and play a constructive role in a variety of fields, ranging from the promotion of democracy to social development. Specifically in protracted conflict zones, NGOs have produced many useful conflict management programmes, which can be synergistic with that of the OSCE. Civil society can offer valuable professional advice and information from the ground about activities in the area. The ability of NGOs to provide training and educational programs often enables them to bring together conflicting parties and facilitate dialogue. Women in Armed Conflict Building long-term stability and security is an inclusive process that requires greater involvement of women in decision-making and conflict mediation. The OSCE’s work with participating States to implement UN Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security is a positive example of the important role that this Organization can play to help ensure that women are involved in taking preventive measures and decision-making at all stages of conflict resolution. The 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality further sets out goals to prevent violence against women, advance their participation in political and public life, promote women’s participation in conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict reconstruction. In Moldova, the active participation of women in political affairs is a fundamental aspect of democracy, peace-building, and achieving sustainable development. The legal framework to advance women’s participation in decision-making must continue to be reformed in the country, including by building capacity at national and sub-national levels to develop policies to advance women’s rights and their participation in electoral processes. Another conflict area where women should have a more strengthened role is Ukraine. The knowledge, skills, and experience of Ukrainian women are vital to reaching a negotiated solution, and their full involvement is crucial to strengthening the implementation of OSCE commitments in their country during the current crisis. At the Helsinki Annual Session last year, participating States were encouraged to take effective measures to provide comprehensive security guarantees and humanitarian relief to women in conflicts. The continuous development of an OSCE-wide action plan on women, 5 peace and security could be an important step in ending widespread conflict-related sexual violence, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The Link Between Security and Democracy Parliamentarians have an important role to play in providing democratic oversight of the security sectors within participating States, as well as on the governmental side of the OSCE. As elected Members of Parliament are not restricted by the boundaries of official governmental policy, they can more freely address sensitive issues, including security sector reform. However, we must be honest and acknowledge that there is disproportionate influence wielded in some parliaments by well-financed special interests. Corruption is a major challenge to democracy and to the rule of law. We should seek accountability from those who have been implicated in recent corruption scandals and OSCE parliamentarians should provide necessary oversight to ensure compliance with international norms and best practices. Therefore, in order to exercise checks and balances more effectively, a separate group of experts from different branches within the OSCE could complement our oversight role in the Organization. We can thereby strengthen the mechanisms of ensuring commitment to OSCE agreements. Not only would this type of co-operation enhance the quality of democratic oversight, it could help to also rebuild trust among participating States in the OSCE area. Conclusion Healthy dialogue is crucial for strengthening broader co-operation in areas such as arms control, conflict resolution, security sector oversight, and military exchanges. The OSCE should therefore utilize its full capacity to tackle emerging threats by facilitating an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust and co-operation. The consensus-based decision-making process of the OSCE, while in some respects a useful measure to ensure greater legitimacy for the Organization’s decisions, can also be an obstacle to timely action. The relevance of the OSCE is enshrined in its principles, and if the Organization’s mechanisms and tools are not advancing those principles, they should be addressed and reformed to ensure that the OSCE lives up to its mandate. This places the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in the unique position to rebuild mutual support between OSCE participating States through dialogue and discussion. Parliamentarians within the Assembly have a crucial role as representatives of their home countries and diplomats to both uphold OSCE commitments but also to work towards building trust between OSCE participating States. We must also remember that the OSCE is an organization entirely dependent on the political will of its participating States. If these countries cannot agree on fundamental issues and continue to dispute competing narratives over how we have come to the current impasse, there is very little hope for moving forward the OSCE’s agenda and building a common security community for the one billion people living from Vancouver to Vladivostok. It is up to all of us to bring the spirit of Helsinki back to our capitals and try to encourage the political will needed to reach compromises in key areas and reaffirm the principles on which the Organization was founded.
2nd Comm RP_ENG.pdf
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20151/almdel/OSCE/bilag/28/1629927.pdf
AS (16) RP 2 E Original: English REPORT FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT 25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue RAPPORTEUR Ms. Marietta Tidei Italy TBILISI, 1 – 5 JULY 2016 OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16 OSCE Alm.del Bilag 28 Offentligt 1 REPORT FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT Rapporteur: Ms. Marietta Tidei (Italy) Introduction The nexus between the environment, economics and security has never been more acutely felt than it is today. In recent years, we have seen the cascading and interrelated effects of corruption, energy, climate change, food security and migration as contributing factors to destabilization in many areas of the OSCE region. For instance, when looking at the current crisis in Syria, which is heavily impacting Europe and the broader OSCE area, we can trace its roots to a series of interconnected socio- economic, political, and environmental factors, including growing poverty, rising unemployment, lack of political freedom, corruption, a widening rural/urban divide, resource mismanagement, and the impact of water shortages on crop production. It is our obligation as OSCE parliamentarians, recalling the comprehensive approach to security that OSCE participating States agreed to in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, to rise above legalistic disputes and tackle the underlying causes of so many of our common security challenges, which today, more clearly than ever, have a component rooted in the economic and environmental dimension. As the Parliamentary Assembly noted succinctly in its very first Declaration adopted at the Budapest Annual Session in 1992, “security has an environmental aspect”. Climate Change 2016 is an important milestone year for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, marking 25 years since parliamentary delegations met in Spain to adopt the Final Resolution of the Madrid Conference establishing the PA. But this year also marks an important 25th anniversary for the international community in another respect. In 1991, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) held its first meeting to tackle what was already seen at that time as a serious challenge to humanity, the threat of climate change. The following year, the INC adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the UNFCCC was opened for signature. More than two decades later, the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference (COP 21) concluded last December with the adoption, by consensus, of the Paris Agreement by the 195 countries represented at the Plenary Assembly. This historic Agreement, which is universal in character and must be deemed to be binding in every respect, will come into force in 2020. It sets out a new global action plan to put the world on track to stave off the worst effects of man-made climate change. The Agreement sets out to achieve three main objectives: 1) to implement measures to keep the increase in global average temperatures to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and simultaneously to step up efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C; 2) to enhance the capacity for global adjustment to the consequences of climate change; 2 3) to guarantee funding to support climate change mitigation measures. As important as the Paris Agreement is, it should be kept in mind that it only sets out to mitigate – not stop – the effects of climate change. We should pause then to reflect on the impact that climate change is already having around the world – effects that will likely worsen even if the Paris targets are met. As a UN report issued on the eve of COP 21 documented, weather-related disasters are becoming increasingly frequent, and “predictions of more extreme weather in the future almost certainly mean that we will witness a continued upward trend in weather-related disasters in the decades ahead”. The OSCE Secretariat is increasing its attention on this issue, particularly in relation to the link between climate change and security and the possible impact of environmental degradation on migratory pressures. The OSCE, with its comprehensive approach to security could help to assess the potential environmental challenges and threats to security and stability that could be magnified by climate change. But to do so, and to further develop its early warning capacity, the Organization needs a clear mandate, agreed to by all the participating States, that would allow us to address the potential security implications of climate change through co-ordination with other international organizations and through the promotion of political dialogue aiming at contributing to the carbon reduction goals laid out in the Paris Agreement. Migration Migration is a sensitive issue which should be addressed at several levels. First of all, we should recognize that the political discourse about migration is worryingly distorted by demagogical approaches aimed at leveraging the most negative instincts of fear and mistrust. Hysteria impedes a frank and open discussion about migration, based on the economic evidence that in a globalized world where everything moves – goods, financial assets, production chains – facilitating the movement of skills and talents allows unlocking the economic potential of labour mobility. Considering the current demographic shifts, with the global population of those 60 years old and older expected to exceed the number of young people for the first time in history in 2050, greater labour mobility is part of the solution to address the talent shortages and encourage innovation. Therefore, a first level of action is to mobilize governments to promote and expand feasible, accessible, and effective labour migration policies. We need to raise awareness through public discourse that migration is an integral part of our global economic environment and that it substantially contributes to economic growth and social development. There is a need to come together and discuss common issues concerning migration management and to find solutions that are mutually beneficial, equitable, and sustainable. As Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman has said, “The grandiosity of problems generated by globalization must go together with the available instruments and effective collective actions”. For this we need political will and open dialogue. This includes stepping up efforts to: improve policy coherence between migration management, industrial and labour policies, economic development and environmental policies; encourage legal migration, including high- and low-skilled migration, through long-term and short-term schemes, while combating irregular migration; understand the demand and supply of labour markets; create conditions 3 for improved economic development and co-operation; facilitating integration of migrants in host societies and their reintegration on return to their countries of origin. While humanitarian responses are important in the short-term perspective, we must complement those efforts with a long-term strategy for migration management. The United Nations’ High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants, scheduled for 19 September 2016, will represent the culmination of the on-going debate on migration at the international level. We want to be part of this debate. Prevention of Corruption Corruption has extremely negative impacts on society at large. Deepening economic disparities, lack of rule of law, weak governance, and corruption are among the factors that contribute to global threats such as terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organized crime, as well as to illegal economic activities. Corruption weakens trust in the political system. Popular dissatisfaction of gravely corrupted institutions may sometimes result in violent forms of reaction that may undermine political stability, impacting negatively on economic development and security. Supporting good governance and transparency are essential factors to prevent corruption. Effective anti-corruption measures require combined efforts and strong alliances among governments, civil society, the business community, and academia to foster and enhance citizens’ trust and social consensus on the non-tolerance of corruption. But most of all, what is profoundly needed is to redesign the entire matrix of social behaviour, so that corruption becomes not only illegal but ethically unacceptable. In this regard we parliamentarians play a critical role. We can and must support the efforts of our governments and civil society actors and create a barrier to corruption with our private and public behaviours and actions. Indeed, improving the efficiency of public administration, especially if combined with greater transparency in public affairs and higher standards of integrity in the behaviour of public servants, is essential in mitigating corruption-related risks. Many OSCE participating States have introduced income- and asset-disclosure systems for public officials. But we need to do more to promote measures to effectively manage conflict of interest through the strengthening of asset declaration systems applicable to public officials. Food and Water Security 2015 was an important year for the issue of food security. The Expo in Milan dedicated to the theme “Feeding the Planet” was a huge success with the public, surpassing the threshold of 20 million visitors. The Milan Expo saw the launch of the “Milan Charter”, which has received widespread endorsement. This instrument deals with three types of paradoxical situations: 1) combating food waste (about one-third of the food which the world produces is wasted); 2) reducing the share of crops used as livestock feed. This affects both the areas of land under fodder crops, and above all water use. As many as one billion of the world’s 4 seven billion inhabitants still have no access to drinking water, leading to 4,000 child deaths every day; 3) the third development paradox is the simultaneous co-existence of starvation and binge eating. Every year, 36 million people die of starvation, while 3.4 million die of obesity (twice the 1980 figures), not to mention diseases relating to diabetes, heart disease, tumours connected with overeating, and unbalanced diets. Together with food security, water security is a growing issue for the OSCE area, with certain regions in particular that are seriously prone to a water crisis. Central Asia, unfortunately, has been affected by two massive environmental disasters in recent years: the pollution of the Caspian Sea and the – by now – irreversible drying up of the Aral Sea. Erstwhile fertile and pollution-free areas have now become unproductive, poisoned lands. On the subject of protecting water resources, we need effective forms of international regulation to which the countries with vast strategic water resources and the largest water basins, above all, should subscribe. Such regulation should also envisage the fairer distribution and use of adequate financial resources for effective reclamation and basin depollution policies. Energy The need for superseding hydrocarbons as the world’s primary energy source must be placed on our planet’s environmental strategic agenda as a process to be managed and governed, not left to chance. This approach should embrace three areas of action – technological, economic and geopolitical. The OSCE could play a role in introducing conditions for sharing and co- operation in the energy sector, in order to manage and encourage technological progress. In this regard, intellectual property rights should not hinder the sharing of technological innovation, which should instead be made available to the world, in order to improve health, security, and quality of life. It is also important to prevent financial shocks from upsetting the energy market, which will be difficult to sustain in the medium-to-long term. In the coming years, we will have to come to terms with a stagnant global demand for hydrocarbons, which, if properly managed, will not necessarily lead to budget deficits in hydrocarbon producing countries. If not well managed, however, it will likely lead not only to economic instability, but also geopolitical instability in various regions of the world. Furthermore, it is necessary to foster new sustainable energy supplies in order to reduce the impact and the risks with the atmosphere. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy, which was the worst nuclear accident in our history and which destroyed for many years the life and economies of large areas in current Belarus and Ukraine. This tragedy must be remembered and remain a warning against the real risk of any possible enviromental catastrophe. There will be no energy welfare without serious risk management and protection of the environment. Economic Co-operation It is against this background that Western countries must consider the difficult relations with the Russian Federation and ensure that they keep dialogue open so that solutions can be sought which genuinely respect the full rights of states, including Ukraine. But it should also be recognized that the imposition of sanctions against Russia, whatever the political rationale 5 behind them, have ripple effects across many countries’ economies, and are arguably inconsistent with the spirit of Helsinki. The 2008 financial crisis made it clear that economic relations affect the global geopolitical equilibrium. For this reason, excessively rigid austerity measures must be reconsidered, as they have failed to measure up to the current economic challenges. Such measures have been shown to depress economic activity, when what is needed is economic revival. Conclusion In the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, participating States recognized that “efforts to develop co- operation in the fields of trade, industry, science and technology, the environment and other areas of economic activity contribute to the reinforcement of peace and security in Europe and in the world as a whole”. More than four decades later, in the midst of crises and challenges on multiple fronts, we are reminded of how prescient these words were. In this 25th anniversary year of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, let us redouble our efforts to ensure that OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security includes a robust commitment to the economic and environmental dimension which, as we have seen in recent years, is integral to the broader security situation in the OSCE area and the world.
2nd Comm DRS_ENG.pdf
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20151/almdel/OSCE/bilag/28/1629928.pdf
AS (16) DRS 2 E Original: English DRAFT RESOLUTION FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT 25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue RAPPORTEUR Ms. Marietta Tidei Italy TBILISI, 1 – 5 JULY 2016 OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16 OSCE Alm.del Bilag 28 Offentligt 1 DRAFT RESOLUTION FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT Rapporteur: Ms. Marietta Tidei (Italy) 1. Emphasizing that 2016 is an important milestone year for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, marking 25 years since parliamentary delegations met in Spain to adopt the Final Resolution of the Madrid Conference establishing the PA, 2. Recalling that as the Parliamentary Assembly noted succinctly in its very first Declaration adopted at the Budapest Annual Session in 1992, “security has an environmental aspect”, 3. Further recalling that in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, participating States recognized that “efforts to develop co-operation in the fields of trade, industry, science and technology, the environment and other areas of economic activity contribute to the reinforcement of peace and security in Europe and in the world as a whole”, 4. Welcoming the results of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference concluded last December with the adoption, by consensus, of the Paris Agreement by the 195 countries represented at the Plenary Assembly, 5. Welcoming the launch of the “Milan Charter”, a participatory and shared document that calls on every citizen, association, company and institution to assume their responsibility in ensuring that future generations can enjoy the right to food and which has received widespread endorsement, 6. Noting the need for superseding hydrocarbons as the world’s primary energy source, but aware that the relationship of economic relations and the global geopolitical equilibrium require the prevention of financial shocks from upsetting the energy market, 7. Affirming that the nexus between the environment, economics, and security has never been more acutely felt than it is today and that recent years have seen the cascading and interrelated effects of energy, climate change, food security, and migration, which have led to destabilization in the OSCE area, 8. Recognizing that extreme weather is becoming increasingly frequent, and that due to rising global temperatures, weather-related disasters will continue to grow in frequency in the coming decades, 9. Stressing that corruption and money laundering are contributing factors to global threats such as terrorism, transnational organized crime, as well as to illicit economic activities, 2 10. Deeply concerned that according to experts, higher global temperatures will raise sea levels, leading to the destruction of urban centers, arable lands, and wetlands, effects that will be more acutely felt in the Mediterranean and the Arctic, 11. Conscious that the most vulnerable sectors of the economy are those with the greatest dependency on natural resources, namely tourism and agriculture, and that as environmental problems increase, many areas of the world will be prone to famine, leading to a growing number of “climate refugees”, 12. Taking into consideration the effects of the 2008 economic crisis and the failure of excessively rigid austerity measures in promoting economic recovery, 13. Recognizing that refugees and migrants can positively contribute to the economy and that opening labour markets to asylum seekers can contribute to both economic growth and integration efforts, 14. Pointing out that the migration crisis impacting Europe, spurred by the Syrian Civil War, which was precipitated by a severe drought last decade, is at least partly related to climate change and food security, 15. Bearing in mind that the imposition of sanctions against Russia, whatever the political rationale behind them, have ripple effects across many countries’ economies, and are arguably inconsistent with the spirit of Helsinki, 16. Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy, which was the worst nuclear accident in our history and which destroyed for many years the life and economies of large areas in current Belarus and Ukraine, and expressing profound concern over the ongoing effects of the accident on the lives and health of people, in particular children, in the affected areas of Belarus and Ukraine, as well as in other affected countries, The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly: 17. Calls on all OSCE participating States to redouble their efforts, to identify and pursue comprehensive solutions to our common environmental and economic challenges, including food and water security, climate change, energy security, migration, and improved management and oversight of financial institutions; 18. Urges the OSCE to further develop its early warning capacity in an effort to help counteract potential threats from climate change long before they endanger the stability of any participating State; 19. Encourages the OSCE to co-ordinate its work with that of other international organizations when addressing the security implications of climate change and to promote political dialogue in order to achieve the reduction goals set out in the Paris Agreement; 3 20. Calls on parliamentarians of OSCE participating States to ensure oversight of the targets set by the COP 21 Agreement to be met with the greatest sense of urgency by implementing robust policies and regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy; 21. Further recommends that in line with the Paris Agreement, OSCE participating States focus on ensuring sufficient funding for carbon capturing and storing deployment globally, and on a mechanism for the transfer of relevant knowledge and know-how from industrialized to developing countries; 22. Invites all OSCE participating States to develop best practices in line with the “Milan Charter” on combating food waste, reducing the share of crops used as livestock feed, and focus on the simultaneous co-existence of starvation and binge eating, recognizing that overweight and obesity are now major causes of ill health which present huge social and economic burdens to all states; 23. Calls on OSCE participating States to create food security solutions through a culture of innovation in food systems promoting technological change which is critical to long-run sustainability of the global food system; 24. Encourages the OSCE participating States to take a co-operative approach to sharing and protecting water resources from all forms of pollution and to create effective forms of international regulation to which the countries with vast strategic water resources and the largest water basins, above all, should subscribe; 25. Requests OSCE States to play a role in introducing conditions for sharing and co-operation in the energy sector, in order to manage and encourage technological progress, with a view towards ensuring that intellectual property rights do not hinder the sharing of technological innovation; 26. Encourages OSCE participating States to make use of renewable energies as clean sources of energy that have a much lower environmental impact than conventional energy technologies, and recommends transitioning the transportation sector to electricity, enabling community micro-grids and grid-connected energy storage; 27. Notes the progress made by the governments of the affected countries in implementing national strategies to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, and calls upon the OSCE participating States, multilateral and bilateral donors to continue their activities to minimize the health, environmental, social, and economic consequences for the people of affected States; 28. Calls on the OSCE to introduce the principle of the joint responsibility of the sending, transit, and host countries by helping OSCE Partner States to combat human trafficking, enhance co-operation to implement an effective repatriation policy, and adopt a more targeted approach to development investment in Africa; 4 29. Calls on OSCE parliamentarians to mobilize their governments and civil society to more effectively manage migration flows; 30. Affirms the importance of fighting corruption, tax evasion, financial crime and money laundering, and proposes to all OSCE participating States the introduction of strong regulation for offshore banking centers so as to ensure their co-operation and the transparency of their activities; 31. Urges the reconsideration of the imposition of sanctions against OSCE participating States, which could lead to political and economic instability; 32. Encourages OSCE states to reconsider excessively rigid austerity measures as they have failed to measure up to the current economic challenges. 5 GENERAL COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT PROPOSED AMENDMENT to the DRAFT RESOLUTION on 25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue [Set out text of Amendment here:] Principal Sponsor: Mr/Mrs Family Name in Capital Letters Country Signature Co-sponsored by: Mr/Mrs Family Name in Capital Letters Country Signature
3rd Comm RP_ENG.pdf
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20151/almdel/OSCE/bilag/28/1629929.pdf
AS (16) RP 3 E Original: English REPORT FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN QUESTIONS 25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue RAPPORTEUR Ms. Gordana Comic Serbia TBILISI, 1 – 5 JULY 2016 OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16 OSCE Alm.del Bilag 28 Offentligt 1 REPORT FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN QUESTIONS Rapporteur: Ms. Gordana Comic (Serbia) Last year we paused to reflect upon 40 years of the OSCE, and this year we celebrate 25 years of the Parliamentary Assembly. Such milestones justify a pause to recognize the achievements of the Assembly and the Organization as a whole. However, it is important not to be distracted by nostalgia and to look ahead in order to address the uncomfortable fact that we are facing a crisis of leadership and ideas regarding human rights in our region. There is a need to put a spotlight on the lack of energy regarding the human rights agenda and how weak leadership is contributing to an emerging status quo that accepts human rights to be less valuable to lasting security than political and military concerns. The migration crisis has highlighted the problems facing the region as a result of a lack of ideas and leadership. Over the past year migration has brought over a million people to Europe and over 2.5 million refugees to Turkey. Another million people are expected to try to reach the European Union in 2016. As an increasing proportion of the refugees are forecast to be women, an adequate gender-sensitive response will be urgently needed. This crisis is a test for the ideas and leadership of the OSCE and the governments of its participating States. The OSCE has regressed from being the region’s leading organization in establishing accepted human rights standards to a position of treading water. The institutionalization of the Organization has, on the one hand, resulted in the establishment of key human rights bodies such as ODIHR and the Representative on Freedom of the Media. On the other hand, the participating States of the Organization have lost the initiative regarding dialogue on human dimension commitments. Rather than seeking to expand protections they have opted for the politically safer option of rhetoric and recycled dialogue – even reasserting previous commitments is a rare event. Although the OSCE remains an important forum, it has lost its energy concerning human rights. The lack of agreement on human rights-related decisions at recent Ministerial Council sessions demonstrates this. It is important to be clear that when discussing the crisis of ideas and leadership, it is not a criticism of the OSCE Institutions mandated to carry out third dimension commitments and those who work within them. Within their mandates, the OSCE field missions, ODIHR, and the Representative on Freedom of the Media work hard to promote compliance with human rights commitments. It is unfortunate that the dedication displayed by the staff in these institutions does not translate into commitments and bold leadership on the governmental side of the Organization. It is worrying that the willingness to use the OSCE as a platform to push for rights in the region, and spend political capital in doing so, appears to have evaporated. It is necessary to go back to the Istanbul Declaration in 1999 to find any substantial development in the human dimension. The Moscow mechanism, regularly applied in the 1990s, has become a dormant procedure over the past decade. 2 As a result, the crisis of ideas facing the Organization regarding human rights is increasingly stark and noticeable as the years pass. The lack of action regarding discrimination against the LGBT community in the OSCE area is a particularly notable absence in the OSCE’s toolbox and demonstrates how the OSCE has stopped taking the initiative in setting human rights standards for the region. Other areas that have gained international traction over the past ten years have also received minimal attention. For example, the last commitment by participating States to people with disabilities was made in 1991 in Moscow. Twenty-five years ago this commitment was forward-looking. Writing this report in 2016 the lack of progress is almost embarrassing. The migration crisis in particular has served to highlight the lack of ideas and leadership by the Organization. In particular there has been little action on how to ensure that participating States respond in a way that respects the human rights of those fleeing conflict and takes the specific needs of female refugees into account. Instead there has been a rush to close borders, shy away from humanitarian responsibilities, and hope that other countries will take care of the problem. The current attitude is well summarized by a recent Amnesty International statement that “European leaders’ attempts to use Turkey as their border guard to stop refugees and asylum- seekers heading to the EU is a dangerous and deliberate ploy to shirk their responsibilities to people fleeing war and persecution.”1 Shirking responsibilities is the only way to describe the response of participating States of an Organization that actually has commitments regarding refugees and migration. To give a sense of the scale of commitment by OSCE participating States, it is worth listing some of the agreements. In the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, participating States recognized their aim to ‘facilitate freer movement and contacts…and to contribute to the solution of humanitarian problems that arise.’ In 1992 at the Helsinki Summit it was recognized that ‘refugee problems require the co-operation of all of us. We express our support for and solidarity with those countries that bear the brunt of the refugee problems…we recognize the need for co-operation and concerted action.’ In Stockholm that year OSCE Ministers called upon ‘all participating States to…share the common burden.’ In Budapest in 1994 participating States agreed to expand their co-operation regarding refugees. The Lisbon Declaration in 1996 recognized the destabilizing effect of involuntary migration on the OSCE area and signatories committed to address these problems. The Istanbul Declaration saw an agreement to ‘seek ways of reinforcing the application of international law’ regarding refugees. It was only in Sofia in 2004 that appropriate consideration was given to women refugees when OSCE states committed to ‘ensure that proper consideration is given to women claimants...[and requested that] the range of claims of gender-related persecution are accorded due recognition.’ In 2005 in Ljubljana participating States agreed ‘to promote dignified treatment of all individuals wanting to cross borders, in conformity with relevant legal frameworks, international law, in particular human rights, refugee, and humanitarian law,’ in a decision with great resonance with today’s problems. The above commitments were made at different times with different problems in mind. However, they collectively make a powerful statement on the principles agreed to by the 1 Amnesty International: ‘EU-Turkey Summit: Don’t wash hands of refugee rights’, 7 March 2016; https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/03/eu-turkey-summit-refugees/, accessed 29 March 2016. 3 participating States of the OSCE in regard to the human rights of refugees. The fact that there has been nothing new in this area since 2005 highlights the lack of ideas, and the failure to implement these agreements in regard to the current refugee crisis demonstrates the current lack of leadership in our region. It is particularly striking that only in Sofia in 2004 has explicit reference been made to the unique problems faced by women refugees. Women have experienced sexual assault by officials, smugglers, traffickers and other refugees. Reception centers lack lighting and separate spaces for women. There has been a chronic lack of gender-based analysis of the current situation, and as the proportion of female refugees increases, so does the need for a gender-based response. The vacuum created by the lack of ideas and strong leadership in the human dimension is resulting in the erosion of the comprehensive concept of security that stands at the core of the OSCE. This is the agreement that respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law is fundamental to lasting security. For this to work in practice, participating States must take seriously the concept of the third dimension having equal weight to the second and first dimensions. Yet, the growing trend to prioritize ‘hard’ security over human security by participating States is removing the foundations the Organization was built upon. There appears to be an increasing acceptance, both East and West of Vienna, to deal with the perceived threat first and to worry about any implications for human rights later. There is a lack of seriousness in the way human rights are integrated to security solutions; by accepting this through silence the OSCE is risking making itself redundant. It is astonishing that in 1975 a landmark agreement on the importance of human rights to lasting security could be made at a time the world was poised for nuclear war but struggles to be applied seriously today. Evidence of this shift to ‘hard’ security can be found in a variety of areas. For example, regarding freedom of expression, States claim ‘extremism’ as an excuse to shut down newspapers, block the internet or imprison without due reason. There has been a change in the discourse from open discussion of fundamental freedoms to a more restricted discussion of how much freedom should be allowed. The clearest example of the shift in security emphasis is again demonstrated by the refugee crisis. The speed by which countries have responded to the flow of migrants through erecting walls and closing borders demonstrates the lack of seriousness with which the human rights of those affected by the crisis is taken when States are confronted with a security issue. This gradual ‘securitization’ of the crisis is demonstrating a broad consensus towards treating it as a security issue first and a humanitarian crisis second. By separating security from human rights, participating States are in danger of undoing much of the work done to achieve the OSCE’s landmark comprehensive concept of security. As we look to the future it is becoming increasingly urgent to address the lack of ideas and leadership surrounding human rights. The refugee crisis must serve as the catalyst to strengthen the Organization’s human dimension and to make the leaders of our region act. If we do not act to protect the principles we have agreed to now, it may soon be too late.
3rd Comm DRS_ENG.pdf
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20151/almdel/OSCE/bilag/28/1629930.pdf
OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16 OSCE Alm.del Bilag 28 Offentligt