Special Representative
To:
PA President
and
PA Secretary General
PC Brief Weeks 35/36, 2016
The first of these two weeks saw the informal OSCE Ministerial Council (MC) meeting in
Potsdam, Germany, which was still during the OSCE Summer Recess. The second week
was the full re-launch of the activities with meetings of the Permanent Council (PC), the Pre-
paratory Committee (PrepCom), the Advisory Committee on Management and Finance
(ACMF), the Human Dimension Committee (HDC), a three-day meeting of focal points on
Early Warning, further informal meetings and gatherings, as well as an Ambassadorial Re-
treat on Conflict Cycle. During the first week, I also participated in a two-day brainstorm on
election observation in Helsingor, Denmark (as reported in the News from Copenhagen), and
in the second week Marc Carillet and I participated in the Election Observation Mission in
Belarus. Francesco Pagani represented me at the Ambassadorial Retreat.
Main objectives of the German OSCE Chairmanship for the informal retreat were to re-
launch the much needed dialogue between the OSCE participating States, for instance on
issues like Ukraine and Migration, as well as prepare for the regular MC to be held in De-
cember in Hamburg, Germany, and to present a German initiative for renewed efforts in the
field of conventional arms control. According to the Chairman-in-Office, German Foreign Min-
ister Steinmeier, conventional arms control is urgently needed to adequately address today’s
security challenges in a cooperative way and to prevent a new dangerous arms race on the
European continent which would entail serious military risks. PA President Muttonen also
addressed the meeting, briefing ministers about the dialogue-related activities of the PA. This
has been reported in the News from Copenhagen.
The PC agreed on the agenda for the 2016 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting
(September 19 – 30). Otherwise, there was the regular report by Ambassador Schlumberger
on the activities of the mission in Kosovo and the usual debates under Current Issues, which
started in a civilized manner, but in the end culminated in unpleasant personal attacks.
There was also a full day hearing of candidates for the position of High Commissioner on
National Minorities. The post has been vacant since the non-renewal of the mandate of
Astrid Thors.
At the Ambassadorial Retreat Francesco Pagani suggested that any text prepared for the
MC in Hamburg should acknowledge the PA's efforts in stepping up its toolbox on mediation,
including the appointment of President Emeritus Kanerva as Special Representative on Me-
diation.
Andreas Nothelle
Ambassador
September 13, 2016