OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek to visit Finland
Press release 278/2007
10 December 2007
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek will visit Finland on 10—12 December. The purpose of the visit is to discuss the priorities of the Finnish OSCE Chairmanship in 2008 and the plans of the High Commissioner on National Minorities for next year. Next year, High Commissioner on National Minorities Vollebaek has planned to prioritise in his work, for instance, Roma affairs and so-called kin states. For example, Russia is a kin state for the Russian-speaking minorities of the Baltic States. The minority situation in Kosovo will be another area of focus.
The task of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities is to provide "early warning" and "early action" when tension is building up between ethnic minorities in one of the OSCE participating states. The mode of operation of the High Commissioner on National Minorities is based on so-called quiet diplomacy. The High Commissioner seeks to collect first-hand information and keep the channels open for communication between the parties. Providing advice and recommendations to national governments is an important part of the job. The Office of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities has also project funding at its disposal.
The Office of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, located in The Hague, was established in 1992. The priority areas of operation have included, among others, the Baltic region, the former Yugoslavia, Central and Southern Europe, Central Asia, and South Caucasian countries.
During his visit to Finland, Vollebaek will meet, for instance, Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva and Deputy Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Johannes Koskinen and members of the Finnish delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary General Assembly.
Ambassador Knut Vollebaek was appointed High Commissioner on National Minorities on 1 July 2007. Vollebaek, born in 1946, joined the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs staff in 1973. In 1997-2000 he acted as Foreign Minister for his country. The Norwegian OSCE chairmanship also coincided with this period in 1999. In 2001-2007, Vollebaek worked as Ambassador of Norway to the United States.
Additional information: Aleksi Härkönen, Head of the Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force, tel. +358 9 1605 5496, +358 400 330 406 (mobile), and First Secretary Päivi Peltokoski, tel. +358 40 578 6096 (mobile)