Nyhedsbrev fra Ambassadør Andreas Nothelle, uge 15-21, 2016

Special Representative
To:
PA President
and
PA Secretary General
PC Brief Weeks 15/16, 2016
During these two weeks, there were meetings of the Permanent Council (PC), the
Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) under the new (Polish) Chairmanship, the
Mediterranean Contact Group, the three topical committees, the Preparatory Commit-
tee (PrepComm) and the Advisory Committee on Management and Finance (ACMF),
as well as many other informal meetings, a two-day Supplementary Human Dimension
Meeting (SDHM) on Tolerance and Non-discrimination, an OSCE Conflict Cycle
Roundtable Discussion on “Early Warning and Early Action: Narrowing the Gap”, and
the two-day 16th Alliance Against Trafficking In Persons Conference. The Staff of the
Liaison Office spent part of these two weeks at the Bureau Meeting and a subsequent
meeting of the International Secretariat in Copenhagen, as well as at the Leinsweiler
Retreat, which it prepared (see report in the News from Copenhagen).
The PC did not take decisions. Apart from routine reports by ODIHR Director Link and
the Head of the Mission to Moldova, Amb. Scanlan, there were the usual reciprocal
accusations regarding the crisis in and around Ukraine, as well as a number of other
Current Issues discussed, some of which seem to be meant as tit-for-tat items. I
replied to Director Link’s report underlining his personal contribution to the removal of
obstacles for good cooperation on election observation, and the agreements we
reached this year on strengthening our cooperation in all other fields. I also used this
opportunity to remind delegations of the importance of democratic procedures in the
implementation of human rights and the crucial role parliamentarians have in this.
During the OSCE Conflict Cycle Roundtable Discussion on Early Warning and Early
Action I referred once more to the 2012 Food for Thought Paper of the OSCE
Secretariat for a closer cooperation with the PA in addressing conflicts, outlining the
comparative advantages of the involvement of the PA and its members.
The necessary decisions on this year’s Human Dimension Events (the next will be in
May) are being delayed, also because of the request by Russia to move the Human
Dimension Implementation Meeting from Warsaw to Vienna.
I also had a number of meetings with the Permanent Representatives of Azerbaijan,
France, Russia and the USA to follow-up the Leinsweiler Retreat.
Andreas Nothelle
Ambassador
April 25, 2016
OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16
OSCE Alm.del Bilag 30
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Special Representative
To:
PA President
and
PA Secretary General
PC Brief Weeks 17/18, 2016
During these two weeks, there were meetings of the Permanent Council (PC), the Forum for
Security Cooperation (FSC), the Preparatory Committee (PrepComm), a two-day OSCE Human
Dimension Committee (HDC) retreat, meetings of working groups and “groups of friends” (Legal
Framework of the OSCE, Migration, Mediation), as well as several other informal meetings,
including a brainstorming meeting on Ukraine. Marc Carillet participated in the HDC retreat,
which took place outside of Vienna. I travelled to Coblenz, Germany to deliver a speech on the
future role of the OSCE, including the OSCE PA, in European Security.
The PC did not take decisions. The necessary decisions on this year’s Human Dimension
Events (the next will be this month) are still without consensus. The PC also failed to find
consensus of a commemorative Chernobyl Declaration. While, during the first week, Ambassa-
dors Apakan and Sajdik reported about the increased violence and ceasefire violations in
Ukraine, during the second PC it was noted that the Orthodox Easter Truce had led to a
relatively calm situation. This also somewhat calmed down the spirits during the usual exchange
about the crisis in and around Ukraine.
The “4th Informal Brainstorming Meeting on Dialogue in Ukraine” was a full day meeting
attended by representatives of OSCE executive structures, including the OSCE Special
Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine as well as representa-
tives of international think tanks, civil society organizations, the UN Department of Political
Affairs, and the External Action Service of the EU. Discussions and interventions focused on the
identification of feasible avenues for dialogue across the line of contact. Participants generally
recognized that having Ukrainian MPs undertake fact finding visits to the Donbass region
(possibly also facilitated by the PA) could make a contribution to fostering national dialogue.
The “Open-ended Informal Working Group on the Legal Framework of the OSCE” discussed
once more the consequences resulting from the lack of a clear legal status of the OSCE. While
efforts are being made to come to bilateral agreements, some participating States still seem to
have an issue with seeing the OSCE PA as a fully-fledged part of the OSCE with consequenc-
es, for instance, for the interpretation of the decisions of the European Council regarding visa
bans for PA members. The Russian Federation enquired about the distinction between the PA
and the other (executive) autonomous institutions of the OSCE.
Amb. Jonathan Moore, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, requested a
meeting in order to explain the importance the mission attaches to inter-parliamentary initiatives
in the country. In meetings with the Representative on the Freedom of the Media, and the Swiss
Chair of the Working Group on Migration we discussed further steps in the cooperation between
the Working Group and the PA’s Migration Committee.
Andreas Nothelle
Ambassador
May 6, 2016
OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16
OSCE Alm.del Bilag 30
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Special Representative
To:
PA President
and
PA Secretary General
PC Brief Weeks 19-21, 2016
During these weeks, there were meetings of the Permanent Council (PC), the Forum for Security
Cooperation (FSC), the Contact Group with Asian partners, the Preparatory Committee (PrepComm), the
Advisory Committee on Management and Finance (ACMF), the topical committees, working groups and
several other informal meetings, as well as ambassadorial retreats of the Permanent Council and of the
Mediterranean Contact Group that I attended, the latter preceded by a workshop of experts on Dialogue
in Search for Social Cohesion. Francesco Pagani participated in the Needs Assessment Mission for the
next elections in Montenegro and attended a two-day brainstorming retreat for the PA on mediation in
Helsinki. Marc Carillet attended a two-day Gender Focal Points meeting. One of the weeks was devoted
to part 2 of the Economic and Environmental Forum in Berlin.
The PC extended the Mandate of the Project Coordinator in Ukraine and decided that the next OSCE
Mediterranean Conference will take place in Vienna from the 5-6 October 2016. Secretary General
Zannier presented the Program Outline (draft political instructions for the next OSCE budget), which is
undergoing intensive discussions in the PrepCom. The EU welcomed the joint statement by PA President
Kanerva and Director Link of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights regarding a
constitutional amendment passed by the Turkish parliament lifting the parliamentary immunity of certain
members of parliament.
The ambassadorial (PC) retreat served as an opportunity to discuss the role of the OSCE with respect to
the crisis in and around Ukraine, the OSCE’s involvement in the efforts on tolerance and non-
discrimination, and possible issues for the December Ministerial Council Meeting (MC) in Hamburg. The
discussions, while being lively, did not yield in anything going beyond the OSCE’s routine work. On
Ukraine, the main point of discussion was considerations for an eventual protection of local elections by
international armed police. Among other topics, there was also a discussion on migration.
The retreat of the Mediterranean Contact Group focused on ideas for strengthening cooperation with the
Partners in general, on the outcome of the Expert Workshop on Social Cohesion, which was attended by
the PA’s Special Representative on Border Issues, Ignacio Sanchez-Amor, and on possible OSCE
contributions to stabilizing the situation in Libya. The UN’s Special Representative on Libya, Amb. Kobler,
and representatives from the country’s civil society attended the meeting. Kobler suggested that the
OSCE PA should organize a Libyan “youth parliament” in order to reach out to the Libyan society, help
develop democratic ideas and promote reconciliation efforts.
The FSC discussed the future of conventional arms control and confidence building measures, which
triggered a comprehensive statement by Russia on what it considers to be a hostile atmosphere spread
by countries west of Vienna. It also saw a controversy with Russia about the Anaconda NATO military
exercise to be held next month (7-17 June). It is Polish led and the largest NATO exercise this year with
25.000 troops, including air and land forces.
In a special event on the issue of disabled persons, I recalled the Baku Declaration of 2014.
Marc Carillet referred to the PA’s resolution on the Scales of Contribution in a meeting on the same topic.
The Mediation Retreat in Helsinki was hosted by the Finnish Parliament and sponsored by the OSCE's
Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC). Participants included President Ilkka Kanerva, Vice-Presidents Kent
Harstedt, Christine Muttonen and George Tsereteli as well as Secretary General Roberto Montella.
Andreas Nothelle
Ambassador
May 27, 2016
OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2015-16
OSCE Alm.del Bilag 30
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