Discorso pronunciato dall’Ambasciatore Inigo Lambertini, Vice Rappresentante Permanente dell’Italia presso le Nazioni Unite, al Meeting in Consiglio di Sicurezza sul Briefing da parte del Chairperson-in-Office dell’Organizzazione per la Sicurezza e la Cooperazione in Europa —
Mr. President,
I would like to thank H.E. Minister Kurz for briefing the Security Council in his quality of OSCE Chairperson in Office. I congratulate Austria for taking over the OSCE Chairmanship and look forward to working together as member of the Troika this year and in 2018 as incoming Chairmanship in Office.
The OSCE is the largest regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the UN Chart. At the very roots of both the UN and the OSCE foundation lays the same view and goal of a ruled-based international order based on multilateralism, territorial integrity and equal sovereignty of nations. We stand committed to these principles and to their respect.
Synergies and complementarities between the UN and the OSCE have still untapped potential to develop, considering that OSCE stands as a fundamental forum of dialogue and cooperation not only amongst its Participating States but also with its Mediterranean partners. In this regard I’d like to briefly outline what we consider as two main priorities.
Firstly, we deem OSCE has a unreplaceable role in facilitating the settlement of most of the conflicts still affecting Europe. Its prompt engagement in the crisis in Ukraine, that Italy supported by contributing to the SMM activities, proved the Organization’s vitality and capacity to respond with monitoring and mediation mechanisms. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission as well as the OSCE role in the Trilateral Contact Group are crucial to the respect and implementation of the Minsk Agreements and to pursue the political efforts for a sustainable solution of the crisis. As well, we support the efforts of the Normandy format in seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
As well, the OSCE mediation role in protracted conflicts must be underscored. For the Nagorno Karabakh, Transnistria and Georgia, the diplomatic tracks promoted and coordinated by the OSCE stand as the main frameworks to put an end to instability. As incoming OSCE Chairmanship, we will redouble this endeavor. These conflicts are not frozen: talks have never stopped and should be relaunched especially for the sake of the communities involved who bear the heaviest burden of protracted crisis.
Secondly, the Mediterranean dimension. As member of the OSCE Troika, Italy is chairing the OSCE Mediterranean Contact Group for relations with the six Mediterranean Partner countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Jordan. Emerging challenges and conflicts in the Mediterranean and Middle East do have an impact on security, development and human rights for the entire OSCE membership. The Organization has a role to play in engaging Mediterranean partner countries in the political dialogue on transnational threats to our security.
I would like also to point out the relevance of migration issues for OSCE: with its holistic approach, its field offices and missions, the Oorganization is well equipped to contribute to the international efforts to respond to mass migration flows, starting with the exchange of best practices and cooperation with Mediterranean partners. Hence, we welcome and strongly support the Decision adopted by OSCE Ministerial Council of December 2016 in Hamburg endorsing this view on migration, which we’ll put high in our agenda in 2017 and in 2018.
As Chairman of the Mediterranean Contact Group and as a Mediterranean Country, we will focus our program on the fight against human trafficking, illicit trafficking of cultural property, cyber security, gender equality, economic cooperation especially on SMEs, and dialogue between think tanks and policy planners of the two shores.
For this purpose we intend to constructively associate OSCE partners to the Contact Group activities. First of all, we will build on successful initiatives like the Carabinieri training course organized by CoESPU in Vicenza within the OSCE project “Combating Human Rights Trafficking along the Migratory Routes” which includes participants from partner countries and whose second phase will start in June. As well, we are proposing to organize the Annual OSCE Mediterranean Conference under our Chairmanship in Sicily in late October 2017 putting all the priority issues I just mentioned in the agenda.
Allow me to conclude by underscoring that the transnational nature of challenges and threats to the international security we have to confront requires a comprehensive and integrated approach. We are strongly committed to promote this cross-dimensional approach within both the UN and the OSCE. The nexus between security, development and human rights, with a special focus on conflict prevention and on the role of women in mediation as well as in conflict and post conflict situations, is at the core of the Sustaining Peace and 2030 Agendas. As such it must be further integrated within the UN system and in its cooperation with regional organizations.
Thank you
