Special Representative
To:
PA President
and
PA Secretary General
PC Brief Week 36, 2014
This week, there were meetings of the Permanent Council (PC), the Forum for Security Coop-
eration (FSC), the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom), the Human Dimension Committee and
several meetings on technical issues, as well as informal briefings and discussions.
During the regular meeting that week, the PC again failed to take a decision on the agenda of
the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw which is scheduled to start
on September 22, 2014 (!!). Open objections to the current draft agenda came from Azerbaijan
and the Holy See, with the Russian delegation voicing sympathy for the objections. Azerbaijan
was dissatisfied with the agenda item on media freedom, opposing an explicit mentioning of
the protection of journalists. The Holy See had supported the original draft and the following
revisions, but has always been unhappy with the failure to mention media responsibility, and it
opposed the newly introduced wording on the topic regarding anti-discrimination, most likely
because of their standard position that the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sex-
ual orientation is not an OSCE commitment. The Chairmanship threatened to proceed with a
non-consensual agenda, but then proposed a substantially shorter agenda without specifica-
tions and subtitles. This agenda was adopted by Special PC today, with all delegations who
spoke emphasizing that this should not serve as a precedent for future HDIMs.
In the PC, a record number of ten items was raised under “Current Issues”. Two of them were
directly on Ukraine, while several others could be seen as related attacks and counter-attacks
between Russia and Western countries. While the Chairmanship and the Conflict Prevention
Center are working hard to help reduce the grave risk for European security stemming from
the crisis, others seem to be more interested in repeating what one can read in the media on a
daily basis. From talks with colleagues I know that some are very unhappy with this unproduc-
tive way of addressing the crisis in an organization which should reduce tension rather than
serve as a propaganda platform. On a positive note, there was a presentation on the comple-
tion of the organization’s successful work on regional disarmament in the context of the Day-
ton Peace Accords, a process which will be handed over to the states in the region. In the de-
bate following the routine report by the mission to Kosovo, Albania and the USA launched an
appeal to bring Kosovo into the organization and allow for its participation in the Permanent
Council. Under “Any Other Business” I informed the PC about the talks President Kanerva had
in Moscow.
Also, during the Summer Recess, two Special PC meetings took place that held – again fruit-
less – discussions on the Ukraine crisis. No decisions were taken. The Liaison Office was rep-
resented in both meetings. Roberto Montella and Firuze Demir from the Office also staffed the
PA’s election observation to Turkey.
Andreas Nothelle
Ambassador
September 8, 2014
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