Partnerships for Security and Co-Operation Partnerships for Security and Co-Operation
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Partnerships for Security and Co-operation Partnerships for Security and Co-operation Bank (ADB) and the Regional Anti-terrorism Struc- Interaction with ture of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Participants at the Baku meeting included represent- organizations and atives of UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, CoE, ICRC, NATO, EU, UN Department of Political Affairs (UNDPA), UN institutions in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO), UN Observer Mission in Georgia and the EU Special OSCE area Representative for South Caucasus. Fostering co-operation on operational issues, the Confl ict Prevention Centre exchanged best practices and lessons learned with other interna- tional organizations, particularly the UN and the EU. The Centre participated in a meeting with the representatives of situation/operation centres from various international organizations, including the Af- rican Union, EU, NATO, UNDPKO, UN Department of Safety and Security and the World Food Programme Interaction with other organizations and institutions in October in Rome. constituted an important part of OSCE activities Throughout the year, the Action against Terror- aimed at promoting comprehensive security and ism Unit pursued co-operation and interaction with stability in the region. more than 20 UN structures, international, regional Under the guidance of the Spanish Chairman- and sub-regional organizations and specialized agen- ship and in accordance with relevant Ministerial and cies to support and assist their counter-terrorism Permanent Council Decisions, the OSCE Institutions, related activities, share experiences and facilitate fi eld operations and Secretariat co-operated closely contacts between national authorities and interna- with other international, regional and sub-regional tional organizations. With Lithuanian support, the organizations and initiatives to increase synergies Unit organized the second Roundtable of Counter- and enhance effi ciency. The co-operation devel- terrorism Practitioners from Regional Organizations on oped both at headquarters and in the fi eld, with the 19 and 20 June in Vilnius, gathering experts from 16 Section for External Co-operation taking the lead in international, regional and sub-regional organiza- supporting the institutional contacts. tions to discuss ways of improving their contribution At headquarters level, the OSCE hosted the to counter terrorism. annual Tripartite Meeting in Vienna on 13 and 14 The Offi ce of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Eco- February. In addition to the United Nations (UN) and nomic and Environmental Activities continued its the Council of Europe (CoE), the European Union participation in the Environment and Security Initia- (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), tive (ENVSEC), in co-operation with UNDP, UNEP, International Organization for Immigration (IOM), UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Regional Environmental Centre for Central and East- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and ern Europe, as well as NATO. Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) dis- The promotion of gender equality in interna- cussed the role of regional organizations in support- tional forums was the focus of the Gender Section ing the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Ter- in collaborating and interacting with other interna- rorism Strategy and the importance of human rights tional organizations and institutions. Together with in the fi ght against terrorism. gender and diversity advisers from the UN system, The 2007 Annual Security Review Conference the WB and the International Monetary Fund, the OSCE Secretary General, Marc was attended by representatives from CIS, CoE, the Gender Section participated in the Organizational Perrin de Brichambaut (left), European Commission, NATO, the Stability Pact for and Institutional Gender Information Network aim- meets the European Union (EU) South Eastern Europe (Stability Pact) and the UN ing at sharing knowledge and policies with regard to High Representative for the Com- mon Foreign and Security Policy, High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Part- gender mainstreaming and the promotion of gender Javier Solana, in Brussels on 20 ner organizations were regularly invited to relevant balance in the workplace. November. (Council of the EU) OSCE events, while the OSCE Chairmanship, the Secretary General and other senior offi cials rep- resented the Organization, upon invitation, in the Summit, Ministerial and relevant meetings of other organizations. In the fi eld, representatives of various interna- tional actors operating in Central Asia and the South Caucasus were invited to co-ordination meetings held in the margins of the Regional Heads of Mis- sion meetings organized by the Confl ict Prevention Centre in Tashkent in May and in Baku in October, respectively. Participants at the Tashkent meeting in- cluded representatives of the ICRC, NATO, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Offi ce on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Bank (WB), Asian Development 100 Partnerships for Security and Co-operation The Offi ce of the Representative on Freedom of the Terrorism Committee in relation to activities in Media co-operated closely with the Council of Europe South-eastern Europe and on the implementation of (CoE) and UNESCO. It strengthened its contacts with UN Resolution 1373, a wide-ranging counter-terrorism the EC’s Directorate General Information Society and measure. Close collaboration continued with UNODC Media and participated in the second UN Internet on border-related activities in Central Asia and within Governance Forum. The Representative also co-signed the Paris Pact Initiative framework. a joint statement addressing diversity in broadcasting The Centre also provided input on OSCE activi- with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opin- ties to the UN Coordinating Action on Small Arms ion and Expression, the Organization of American Mechanism’s database. On the basis of the Memo- States Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression randum of Understanding signed by the OSCE and and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ UNDP, the OSCE started the joint implementation of Rights Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. a project on small arms and light weapons stockpile The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly fostered security in Belarus, and another on the destruction of contacts and co-operation with other international ammunition, heavy weapons and toxic chemicals in inter-parliamentary bodies, including the Parlia- Montenegro. mentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), The OSCE contributed to the work of the UN the European Parliament, the NATO Parliamentary Offi ce for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) on is- Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the sues related to enhancing controls over transfers of CIS. The Assembly worked particularly closely with conventional arms and sharing of experiences on PACE during the six election observation missions in disarmament and non-proliferation among relevant which it took part. In 2007, the Assembly chaired the international actors, also presenting its achievements Parliamentary Troika of the Stability Pact. In this role, and activities in the area of small arms and light the Assembly organized two major events with par- weapons and conventional ammunition and the OSCE liamentary representatives of the CoE and the EU as Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security well as representatives of the Stability Pact, a seminar and non-proliferation. on Parliamentary Oversight over the Budget in Belgrade, In order to draw key lessons, identify gaps and Serbia, and a Conference on Security Co-operation in develop best practices through discussion on experi- the Region in Portoroz, Slovenia. ences in mediation, focusing on Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia and South-eastern Eu- United Nations rope, the Confl ict Prevention Centre and the UNDPA co-organized high-level consultations on Operational- As a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the izing Mediation Support: Lessons from Mediation Experi- UN Charter, the OSCE paid considerable attention to ence in the OSCE Area in Mont-Pelerin, Switzerland, on developing co-operation with the UN. 22 and 23 May. The Chairman-in-Offi ce presented the OSCE’s The Action against Terrorism Unit supported priorities and activities to the UN Security Council on the UN in its implementation of the international legal 28 September, highlighting how the OSCE concept of framework for combating terrorism. The OSCE and multi-dimensional and co-operative security and its UNODC organized joint events to promote inter- varied instruments can positively contribute to UN national co-operation in criminal matters related to work. The Chairmanship also represented the OSCE terrorism. The Unit also participated in the Counter- at the Security Council open debate on the role of re- Terrorism Committee’s Executive Directorate on-site gional and sub-regional organizations in maintaining visits to Turkey and to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international peace and security on 6 November. OSCE promoted the UN sanctions regime against During his visit to UN headquarters on 21 Au- Al-Qaeda and the Taliban through the OSCE Counter- gust, the Secretary General, the UN Secretary-General terrorism Network and various other activities. Ban Ki-moon and a number of high-level UN offi cials The Offi ce of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Econom-