osce.org/eea 2012-13 ACTIVITY REPORT Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PUBLISHED BY Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities OSCE Secretariat, Vienna This is not a consensus document. DESIGN red hot 'n' cool, Vienna PRINTER RIEDELDRUCK, Austria Produced on 100% wood-free paper. The printed matter is recyclable. Activity Report 2012-13 Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities 2 Table of Contents Foreword 4 Economic and Environmental Forum process 7 Good Governance 11 Combating corruption 12 Combating money laundering and financing of terrorism 17 Economic Activities 23 Developing business and investment opportunities 23 Dialogue on transport and border-crossing facilitation 26 Migration management 31 Energy security 35 Environment and Security 41 The Environment and Security Initiative 41 Water 47 Managing the land and hazardous substances 50 Security implications of climate change 52 An engaged civil society 54 The Aarhus network 57 Building confidence 62 Resources 64 Publications and web links 64 Giving credit 67 Acronyms and abbreviations 68 How to find us 70 3 Foreword Dear reader, I am honoured to present to you, the OSCE participating My office has continued to assist participating States States and all of our partners, this report on the OSCE’s in strengthening their anti-corruption legislation and activities in the economic and environmental dimension institutional arrangements in accordance with their in 2012-2013.* This is the first such report published international commitments and has focused on key areas during my tenure as the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic such as corruption prevention policies, asset declaration and Environmental Activities and it is my hope that you and asset recovery. In September 2012, together with find the information contained herein stimulating and the UNODC, the World Bank and the Stolen Asset thought provoking. Recovery (StAR) Initiative, we hosted a “Seminar on Identifying, Restraining and Recovering Stolen Assets in Within the reporting period, my office has continued to the OSCE Region”. In early 2014, my colleagues expect implement its mandates. Throughout, our work has been to publish an updated version of the OSCE Handbook on guided by Ministerial Council and Permanent Council Best Practices in Combating Corruption. decisions, the priorities of the Irish 2012 and Ukrainian 2013 OSCE Chairmanships and the input provided by We have also continued our collaborative engagement Delegations through the Economic and Environmental with key partner organizations in tackling money Committee. laundering and terrorism financing, in particular by supporting the implementation of international At the same time, the OSCE Field Operations, in standards, tools and methodologies. In co-operation partnership with both national authorities and non- with the World Bank, my office has provided support to governmental stakeholders, have continued to support the authorities in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and their host countries in introducing comprehensive Serbia to conduct Money Laundering and Financing of economic reforms, promoting sustainable development Terrorism National Risk Assessments. The process of and strengthening institutional and human capacity conducting this type of assessment assists participating in a variety of areas. These activities range from States in identifying threats and vulnerabilities, energy diplomacy to cross-border trade and transport developing inter-agency co-operation and increasing facilitation, from water management to international the effectiveness of national efforts to address money migration, from public participation in environmental laundering and terrorism financing. decision-making to combating corruption and money laundering. My office has worked closely with the Field In addition, in the field of transport, we have promoted Operations to promote regional co-operation, share the use of the OSCE-UNECE Handbook of Best best practices and engage in cross-dimensional co- Practices at Border Crossings: a Trade and Transport operation, when applicable. Facilitation Perspective in the form of capacity building events. The publication of the Handbook’s Russian The highlight of the second dimension in 2012 was language version in February 2013 has assisted us in the OSCE Ministerial Council’s adoption in Dublin of reaching a much wider audience. the Declaration on Strengthening Good Governance and Combating Corruption, Money-Laundering and The OCEEA, together with partner organizations and the the Financing of Terrorism. Our organization now has a OSCE Field Operations has pursued efforts to implement strong, clear mandate to work on good governance with Ministerial Council Decision No 10/11 on Promoting all of its economic, social, environmental, political and Equal Opportunity for Women in the Economic Sphere. security implications. In September 2012, the OCEEA provided support to women entrepreneurs from Afghanistan, Tajikistan and * The report covers activities implemented by the OCEEA and the OSCE Field Operations during the period June 2012 – May 2013 but also includes selected Azerbaijan by organising a training course in Istanbul, key activities conducted by the Co-ordinator’s Office from June to September 2013, such as the Concluding Meeting of the 21st Forum in Prague. Turkey, that included workshops and industrial site visits 4 Foreword to specifically emphasize sustainable development, climate-related risks and regional dialogue. Under the overall guidance and co-ordination of the OSCE with funding from the European Commission’s Instrument for Stability, one of ENVSEC’s major achievements during the reporting period was the recent launch of a three- year project focussed on climate change in Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia. Halil Yurdakul Yigitgüden, Co-ordinator of In addition, my office has contributed to strengthening OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities national and regional capacity to manage wildfires, particularly in the South Caucasus region. Across the for 25 female managers of small handicraft, jewellery OSCE region, we have also promoted disaster risk and textile businesses. assessment preparedness, transboundary natural resource management, the adoption and implementation The preparatory process for the 21st Economic and of international legal instruments such as the Aarhus Environmental Forum on “Increasing stability and Convention and its Protocol on Pollutant Release and security: Improving the environmental footprint of Transfer Registers. Here, we have co-operated with energy-related activities in the OSCE region” was governments, NGOs and industrial representatives from another important activity of my office during the selected participating States. reporting period. Together with the Ukrainian 2013 Chairmanship, we held preparatory meetings in Vienna In November 2012, at the Rome Meeting of the Parties and Kyiv in February and April, respectively, as well as to the UNECE Water Convention, Ukraine and Moldova the Prague Concluding Forum Meeting in September. We signed a bilateral Dniester/Nistru River Basin treaty. This now have a set of recommendations for our future work treaty brings to fruition eight years of transboundary in areas including strengthening policy and regulatory co-operation supported by the OSCE, the UNECE and frameworks to prevent adverse environmental impacts several other stakeholders. Positive results have also of energy activities, promoting renewable energy and been achieved with regard to the OSCE-supported energy efficiency, reinforcing good governance in energy Aarhus Centres network. For the first time, Turkmenistan, activities and enhancing public-private co-operation. Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have opened their doors to Aarhus Centres, and new centres have I am pleased to note our intensified co-operation been opened in Kazakhstan, Montenegro and Tajikistan. on energy and environmental issues with the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation. In June 2012, In the years to come, and in the OSCE’s time-honoured in Jordan, the OSCE organised a workshop on “Water spirit of partnership, we will continue to build upon scarcity, land degradation, climate change, energy these achievements in strengthening economic and security and the role of the civil society” and in April environmental aspects of security. 2013, in Vienna, we hosted an expert workshop on “Sustainable Energy in the Southern Mediterranean”. Yours truly, During the reporting period, the OSCE held the Chairmanship of the ENVSEC Initiative for a second consecutive year. One of our main objectives has Halil Yurdakul Yigitgüden been to renew the Initiative’s focus on security and Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities 5 A surfer paddling by a wind farm, off Colwyn Bay, North Wales, United Kingdom. Finalist of the OSCE Photo Contest “Safeguarding our future: Sustainable Transport and Energy”, 2011 In 2013, the Forum continues the dialogue on energy and the environment. Economic and Environmental Forum process Economic and Environmental Forum process In 2012 and 2013, under the leadership of the Irish and Ukrainian OSCE Chairmanships, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) has striven to facilitate an inclusive, open and effective dialogue among the participating 21ST OSCE ECONOMIC