Dr' Alice Ackermann

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Dr. Alice Ackermann OSCE/Conflict Prevention
Centre, Vienna
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INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS
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The OSCE is...

• A regional security arrangement
• broad membership - 56 participating States
• norms and value-based organization
• comprehensive and co-operative Security
• - three dimensions of security
• political decisions, not legally binding
• consensus - equal sovereign states
• extensive field presence - 19 operations in 17
  countries

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56 participating States
from Vancouver to Vladivostok
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OSCE Field Activities
MISSIONS
Other OSCE Field ACTIVITIES
IS
Office in Minsk
Astana
Bishkek
Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan
FI
SD
mission
RUS
NW
Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine
ES
The Conflict in the Area Dealt by the OSCE
Minsk Conference
LV
DK
KAZ
IR
LI
UK
Georgia
NL
BL
KGZ
PL
B
D
Vienna
L
F
UKR
CZ
TAD
SK
UZB
MO
CH
A
H
RO
SL
I
BH
TKM
CR
GEO
P
AZ
E
SER
BUL
AR
MON
Zagreb
ALB
TUR
Ashgabad
GRE
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Baku
Yerevan
Dushanbe
Montenegro
Moldova
Revised July 2006
Serbia
The boundaries and names shown on this map do not
imply official endorsement or acceptance by the
OSCE
Kosovo
Skopje
Albania
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Major OSCE Focus

• One of the major focus of the OSCE is
• early warning
• conflict prevention
• crisis management
• post-conflict rehabilitation

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• Addressing the conflict cycle

Early warning
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ADDRESSING A WIDE-RANGE OF POLITICAL AND
SECURITY-RELATED CONCERNS

• Arms Control
• Confidence-building Measures
• Human Rights
• National Minorities
• Democratization
• Rule of Law
• Civil Society Development
• Border Management and Security
• Anti-Trafficking
• Police Training
• Tolerance Building
• Counter-Terrorism
• Economic and Environmental Issues

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Types of Crisis/Conflict Situations Addressed by
OSCE

• Political Crises
• Protracted Conflicts
• Crisis Situations in the context of post-conflict
  reconstruction
• Other security challenges (e.g. violent
  extremism trafficking)

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A Unique Toolbox for Crisis/Conflict Management

• Long-standing history of crisis/conflict
  management activities
• Structures and Mechanisms
• Political Dialogue and Good Offices (CiO,
  Personal/Special Envoys, SG, D/CPC Permanent
  Council)
• Support for political negotiations
• Institutions (e.g. HCNM RFOM ODIHR OSCE
  Parliamentary Assembly)
• Field Operations
• Special body of Existing OSCE Mechanisms and
  Procedures
• Co-operation with other Actors

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Co-operation with the European Union

• OSCE-EU co-operation well- developednatural
  born partners (Solana)
• Almost half of OSCE participating States are EU
  members
• EU covers more than 70 of OSCEs core budget
• OSCE and EU share well-established and extensive
  mechanisms for co-operation
• HQ level-Staff meetings
• Ambassadorial and Ministerial EU-OSCE Troika
  meetings
• Field level European Commission delegations EU
  Special Representatives co-operation on project
  level activities
• ENP continues to provide opportunity to bring
  EU-OSCE closer together in a number of regions
  (Eastern Europe and Southern Caucasus)

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• The OSCEs Perspective on ENP and its Crisis
  Management/Conflict Management Capabilities

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ENP as Efficient Tool for Conflict Management
from OSCE Perspective

• In general, from OSCE perspective ENP functions
  as efficient tool for conflict/crisis management
  as well as conflict prevention
• In particular, ENP seen as a much needed tool
  that complements existing OSCE efforts
• Complementarities
• ENP is complementary to the OSCEs broader
  efforts in addressing all three dimensions of
  security
• ENP focus is similar to that of the OSCE
  stability, promoting and supporting long-term
  reform processes, addressing security-related
  problems
• Democratization and consolidation of democratic
  gains
• Rule of Law
• Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
• Economic Development and Reforms
• Enhancing Border management and security
• Fighting illicit trafficking (drugs, human
  beings)
• Complementarity takes place mostly on level of
  OSCE field presences ? ENP provides a link
  between OSCE-EU on field level

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ENP Commitment to Support Peaceful Resolution
of Conflicts

• From OSCE perspective, ENP commitment to support
  peaceful resolution of conflicts important
• ENP Action Plans for Armenia and for Moldova, for
  example, entail support to the settlement and
  peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh and
  the Transniestria conflicts
• ENP allows EU to increase its political support
  to OSCE-established and OSCE-led conflict
  settlement frameworks (e.g. Minsk Group and the
  52)
• ENP can provide a potential economic boost and
  might be used as an important leverage/carrot for
  advancements in negotiations
• ENP can contribute also to the people-to-people
  level to the peaceful resolution of conflicts
  (e.g. 2007 visit of a delegation of Armenian and
  Azerbaijan intellectuals to each others capitals)

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Recognizing and Managing the Limitations

• ENP is excellent example for the enhancement of
  EU-OSCE co-operation
• There are some limits as to ENPs crisis
  management efforts
• ENP focuses on long-term reform
• ENP allows for less engagement in immediate
  crisis management
• ENP allows for less engagement in managing
  re-occurring crisis situations
• OSCE-EU face similar limitations when it comes to
  resolve crisis and conflict situations,
  particularly in the case of protracted
  conflicts-gt Need for political will on part of
  political leaders
• Prevention, management, and resolution of crisis
  and conflict situations need to be viewed from a
  long-term viewnot processes that yield instant
  results but require sustained commitment