OSCE, Alm.del - 2008-09 - Bilag 33: Draft resolution for the general committee on political affairs and security: "The OSCE: Adressing New Security Challenges"

Emphasising that one of the pillars of the Helsinki Final Act was, and remains,the notionof the “indivisibility” of security and that this principle means that security is anoverarching issue, and that the security of any single State cannot be pursued to thedetriment of another;Noting that the concept ofthe “indivisibility” of security implies that shared valuesrequire a shared effort and a shared commitment to security that all OSCEparticipating States – on equal footing – must abide by;Recognising that“indivisibility” implies that we are all producers and consumers ofsecurity at the same time and in the same way,and as such, it is becoming increasinglymore necessary to think in terms of not only of security in, but the security of, the OSCEarea;Highlighting, consequently, that as the decades pass, the "indivisibility" of security can nolonger be conceived in terms of a territory or a State but, transversally, of fully-fledgedchallenges which globalisation is posing to every participating State in the OSCE withoutdistinction;Bearing in mind that the “indivisibility” of security todaymeans a shared stance tocounter large-scale organised crime, terrorism, cyber attacks and the financial crisis;Noting that itis precisely the current global financial crisis that has also become aneconomic and social crisis, which is helping us to better understand the newindivisible security challenges and the multipolar, inclusive approach that offers thebest possible way of combating them;Stressing that onenew and major challenge, also for the OSCE area, is that of foodself-sufficiency, and the related political issue of food security;Taking note that in2008 a number of serious incidents broke out in many countries,including the Mediterranean area, Egypt and Tunisia, and that, primarily due to themarked increase in grain prices, some Asian countries blocked rice exports, and somesupermarkets limited purchases to four units per person to prevent hoarding;Noting that alongsidethe dramatic issue of famine is the dangerous neocolonialistrationale that urges governments and banks to buy up millions of hectares of land toproduce food abroad, thereby leading to a crisis for local producers and to a seriousloss of food self-sufficiency in certain countries;

Stressing thefactthat the great race to control foreign staple-food production hasproven to be one of the latest trends in the global economy, and that some OSCEparticipating States have been targeted for such investments by Qatar, the United ArabEmirates, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia;Noting the difficulties being caused by the fact thatcrops used for fuel are morelucrative than those grown for food, that there has been a marked reduction in arableland, that biofuels are becoming increasingly popular; natural disasters are taking theirtoll; rural populations are in sharp decline; and there has been an exponential rise indemand for food from India and China;Notingthat tha lack of food and water affects most of all the weakest part of poorsocieties, not only children but also women, who in the most difficult situationscontinue to deal with the burden of family care and are often left alone by the heads ofthe family, because of work reasons or due to wars;

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,15.Emphasises thatone new and major challenge to security in Europe and in OSCEparticipating States is that of food self-sufficiency, and the related political issue ofworld food security;Emphasises that theissue of food security must therefore become a top priority on theOSCE agenda, transversally embracing attention and commitment to the three areastraditionally falling within the remit of the Organisation (conflict prevention,economic cooperation, human rights), since the Right to Food must be consideredparamount to other fundamental human rights, including political rights;Urges Parliaments to adopt fiscal measures and provide funding to improve the livingstandards in rural areas in order to stem depopulation;Notes that the Parliaments and the Governments of the OSCE participating States,together with the common resources and structures of the OSCE, cannot be merelypassive spectators of this great challenge but must also become active leading players toguarantee respect for the fundamental right to adequate and healthy food;Urges the authorities to take a co-ordinated and consistent approach, jointly with otherinternational players, to attain an objective which must be given top priority by the wholeof the international community;

Supports the work of the Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis which wasestablished on 28 April 2008 by the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, tomake a single and unified response to the food crisis on the part of Member States;Endorses the processes set in motion by the Rome World Food Security Conferenceorganised by FAO on 3 - 5 June 2008, attended by 181 States, and with the “MadridDeclaration” on “Food security For All” adopted on 27 January 2009 by 126 countries;Requests Parliaments to commit themselves to curb increases in the price of agriculturalcommodities, which affects both the poorest citizens in the advanced economies and –more seriously – in backward economies;Urges, in particular, that Parliaments provide resources and adopt legislation to encouragethe balanced agricultural use of the land to be able to meet both food and energydemands, also supporting research centres and universities, to face the most difficultemergencies of the planet;Urges that direct action be taken to reduce the political instability caused by theinfringement of the fundamental right to food, which leads to the radicalisation of conflictand unacceptable inequalities;Draws attention to the need to consistently pursue the Millennium Development Goalsaccording to the provisions of the 1996 Rome Declaration on Food Security, which wasdesigned to halve the malnourished population by 2015 (goal which is still far from beingretained);Urges Parliaments to adopt measures, while respecting fundamental economic freedoms,to hamper massive investments that ultimately expel the rural populations and underminefood sovereignty;Endorses public finance policies consistent with the commitment entered into in theMillennium Development Goals according to which each government undertook todevote 0.7% of GDP to combating poverty by 2015, and urges Parliaments to work in thesame direction;Agrees that it is appropriate to encourage the establishment of a world network of foodand agriculture experts, to co-operate in the common pursuit of improved food securitylevels, primarily in the countries where the minimum acceptable limit is still a distantprospect;Recommends that support be given to the huge agricultural production potential ofRussia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, where13 out of a total of 23 million hectares ofpreviously farmed land could immediately be re-used for agriculture and deemsitessential to adopt international policies for the recovery of cropping on steppic areas;Undertakes to participate in the work of the Special Summit which FAO will beorganising in Rome in the autumn of 2009, attended by 189 governments.