Finland takes over OSCE Chairmanship, will focus on strengthening Organization
Press release 1/2008
1 January, 2008
Finland took over the Chairmanship of the OSCE today and described the Organization as a unique forum of dialogue between 56 participating States whose strength lies in the unanimity required for decision-making.
"Finland's Chairmanship will focus, above all, on intensifying the organisation's operation and on the observance of existing commitments," said Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, the new OSCE Chairman-in-Office. Minister Kanerva took over from Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country chaired the OSCE in 2007.
Finland's Chairmanship will be characterised by many uncertainties, according to Minister Kanerva. The question of Kosovo, the so-called protracted or unresolved conflicts and the fate of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe will be prominent during the year.
The new Chairman-in-Office will outline the Chairmanship’s priorities in a speech on 10 January in Vienna to the Permanent Council, the OSCE’s main regular decision-making body. Soon after, he will make his first visit to OSCE field operations, to Ukraine and Moldova.
The OSCE has become known, particularly, for its election observation activities, which are executed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights headquartered in Warsaw. The Chairman-in-Office noted there would be a presidential election in Georgia on 5 January, to be followed by several presidential and parliamentary elections in participating States ranging from the Russian Federation to the United States.
The OSCE, during the Finnish Chairmanship, can also undertake activities assisting participating States to improve the security and management of their borders, he said. Finland was ready to contribute to such efforts, for example, in Tajikistan.
"We could think of ways to involve neighbouring countries in such activities, including Afghanistan, one of our Asian Partners for Cooperation," said Minister Kanerva.
The OSCE is a product of years, if not decades, of construction work. No organisation is ever complete, and our Chairmanship will be no exception, said the Chairman-in-Office.
He noted the OSCE was a regional arrangement under the United Nations Charter. It is a unique forum based on consensus in decision-making, placing a heavy burden on those who want to develop its activities, but it also guarantees that the decisions enjoy the support of all participating States, he said.
"We are an organisation and an instrument for peace, security, stability and co-operation in our region. We have developed an impressive set of principles, norms and commitments," said Minister Kanerva, whose country was the birthplace of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe process dating back to the early 1970s.
"I would like to thank Minister Moratinos for the excellent conduct of the OSCE Chairmanship, and at the same time would like to welcome Greece and Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis to the Chairmanship Troika which we would very much like to invigorate during our year at the helm,” he said.
The Chairman-in-Office said he wanted to extend his deepest appreciation for the valuable work of the OSCE personnel in different missions, in the Secretariat and institutions.
Further information: Ambassador Aleksi Härkönen, Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force, tel. +358 9 1605 5496 and Juha Kirstilä, Press Attaché to the Minister, tel. +358 9 1605 5012, www.osce.org/cio