As delivered by Ambassador Ian Kelly
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
November 15, 2012
Ambassador Kobieracki, we warmly welcome you back to the Permanent Council and thank you for your comprehensive report.
Ambassador, we appreciate your report’s focus on an issue critical for the OSCE – the elements of the conflict cycle: early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict rehabilitation, as well as the specific activities the CPC has undertaken during the year in relation to each of these elements. We note the impact of the CPC’s work related to the Ergnet/Dvani Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) which has helped to stabilize the security situation in Georgia. We also appreciate the work of the CPC in support of 5+2 negotiations and related efforts towards confidence-building measures for the two sides of the Transdniestria conflict. We highlight the importance of both the CPC’s efforts to assemble quickly an ad-hoc internal task force to respond to the crisis in the Gorno-Badakshan region of Tajikistan in July and its follow-up session on “lessons learned” in responding to that crisis. We hope that future actions and activities across the OSCE space are built upon a broad understanding of challenges and successes of past activities.
We also welcome the CPC’s political and programmatic assistance to field missions, which enhances the capacities of those missions and ensures that their work reflects Vienna-based policy guidance. We commend both the field mission and the CPC for their efforts to facilitate balloting in Kosovo during the May 2012 Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections. You noted in your report that those efforts demonstrate the “flexibility and agility” of the OSCE. We fully agree with that assessment, and would add “relevance” and “capacity to address conflict prevention” to that list. Similarly, we commend the CPC’s efforts with respect to the Community Security Initiative in Kyrgyzstan, an important effort to which the United States continues to provide substantial financial support.
Finally, we note the focus in your report on the assistance and expertise the CPC offers to participating States in the implementation of OSCE commitments in the politico-military dimension. We appreciate the coordination of the CPC during the year with the newly-established Transnational Threats (TNT) Department to explore areas of mutual interest and to implement joint initiatives, including the regional workshops conducted with the TNT’s Borders Unit.
In conclusion, thank you again, Ambassador Kobieracki, for your report, and we wish you and your team every success.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
