SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF UNITED NATIONS RELATIONSHIP WITH ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Press Release
SG/SM/6427
SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF UNITED NATIONS RELATIONSHIP WITH ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
19971218 Addresses Sixth Meeting of OSCE Ministerial CouncilFollowing is the text of a message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Sixth Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the OrganiZation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), meeting at Copenhagen on 18 and 19 December:
As this is the first occasion since my appointment that I have had the opportunity to address the OSCE, I wish to place on record the high importance I attach to the relationship between our two institutions. The United Nations is a global organization and great demands are made upon us to address problems of a global nature -- from refugees to human rights, from development to economic assistance, from global warming to drugs and substance abuse, from conflict prevention to crisis management and peace-building. These demands are all too often greater than the resources made available to the United Nations family to deal with them.
It is in this context that the world as a whole needs a network of effective regional organizations, for they are often better able to address problems that are particularly regional or subregional in nature. This is the significance of the provisions of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, and I warmly applaud the major achievements of the OSCE in recent years and the constantly increasing level of cooperation between our two organizations.
In adopting resolution 52/22 on 25 November, the General Assembly reaffirmed the increasing importance of the continuing implementation of cooperative arrangements between the United Nations, with its universal membership, and the OSCE, as a regional organization with its unique trans- Atlantic and transcontinental character.
The year 1997 was marked by a number of new and significant coordinated efforts between the OSCE and the United Nations. In this regard, I should mention the OSCE's political leadership role in the crisis which engulfed Albania in the first part of this year. The United Nations Security Council mandated the deployment of the multinational protection force, which terminated its tasks last August. An important element during this period was
the cooperation between the OSCE and the humanitarian efforts by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which ensured the prompt delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy population. I am confident that the continuing involvement of the OSCE in Albania, following its successful monitoring of the parliamentary elections last June, will help further to stabilize the democratic process in Albania.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the continuing United Nations Mission (UNMIBH), within the framework of its Security Council mandate, cooperates closely with the OSCE Mission on the ground. In particular, the United Nations International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina assisted the OSCE in its task of organizing and monitoring the municipal elections in September, as well as during the recent parliamentary elections in the Republika Srpska.
In Croatia, the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium -- the operation known as UNTAES -- will come to a successful conclusion on 15 January 1998. The termination of the mandate of UNTAES will be followed by a new dimension of United Nations/OSCE cooperation, in particular in view of the deployment throughout Croatia of the Long-Term OSCE Mission. The continued presence of a United Nations civilian police operation in the Danube region of Croatia -- as requested by the Croatian Government -- in the post-UNTAES period, highlights the unique expertise of the United Nations in the field of monitoring local police forces. This continuing involvement of the United Nations on the ground in Croatia, including with a small civilian presence in the Croatian capital, Zagreb, will help facilitate the mandate and responsibilities of the OSCE in Croatia in the crucial post-UNTAES period.
In The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) will terminate its military component by 31 August 1998, in accordance with the recent Security Council resolution on the extension of the mandate of this peacekeeping mission. The UNPREDEP has established very fruitful working relations with the OSCE Spillover Mission in Skopje. I am confident that this cooperation will be further enhanced following the termination of the mandate of the military component of UNPREDEP.
In Tajikistan, the peace process has entered into a new phase. The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) continues to liaise closely with the mission of the OSCE, in particular in areas related to the observance of human rights and democratization. During the period of the inter-Tajik negotiating process chaired by the United Nations, which resulted in the General Agreement, OSCE representatives participated closely in an observer capacity.
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Regarding the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, the United Nations continues to cooperate closely with the OSCE. Last December, the cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE achieved a new practical dimension with the agreement to establish a joint United Nations/OSCE office for the protection and promotion of human rights in Abkhazia, Georgia. My Special Representative, who is also Head of Mission of the United Nations Observer Mission in Abkhazia, has maintained close working relations with the OSCE mission. In the peace talks under United Nations auspices, the OSCE continues to participate actively as an observer.
The cooperation between our two organizations is indeed multifaceted, and some important aspects of this cooperation include other relevant regional organizations. In this context, I should like to refer to the informal high- level tripartite consultations which involve the Council of Europe. This mechanism was created in July 1993 and the tripartite consultations, attended by the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, have proven effective in establishing new channels of communication and bridging differences in our respective institutional cultures. The recent tripartite meeting in Vienna on the Caucasus, which was chaired by the OSCE, underscored the significance of contacts and exchanges at the working level. These common efforts should facilitate progress in the areas of conflict resolution, crisis management and the promotion of human rights and democratization.
In conclusion, let me express my sincere conviction that the ongoing cooperation and joint efforts between the United Nations and the OSCE serve as a model for such cooperative endeavours in accordance with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. We can improve them further, and I suggest that we should give joint thoughts in the year ahead to such matters as ways of improving preventive action to forestall potential crises, and to peace- building.
In 1998, I hope to convene another in the sequence of joint meetings of the heads of regional organizations started by my predecessor. I look forward to the continued participation of the OSCE. For the present, I extend to you my best wishes for a successful meeting of the Ministerial Council.
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