Spain in high gear as its OSCE Chairmanship enters second phase, says Ambassador

The OSCE under this year's Spanish Chairmanship has already made progress in several areas, such as raising the profile of the Organization and encouraging greater dialogue across all areas of security. Now Spain is moving into an even higher gear to ensure its priority commitments are met, says Madrid's Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Ambassador Carlos Sanchez de Boado y de la Valgoma.

"The culmination of any Chairmanship is the Ministerial Council, and this year in Madrid at the end of November will be no different," said the Ambassador. "We are firmly on the road to Madrid; we have covered much ground and our route is clear, but our journey is far from over. We have consulted and informed all the participating States about our ideas and projects. We have done this with all of them equally, because we believe that the Organization belongs to all of us and not to any one country or a group of them."

Key challenge

A key challenge, he said, would be to work with the delegations of the 56 OSCE participating States to find consensus on possible Ministerial Council Decisions that will guide the OSCE's work in the years ahead. Future Chairmanships, the legal status of the OSCE, regional security in Central Asia, combating trafficking in human beings - those are just some of the two dozen possible topics that will need to be boiled down to a manageable number to help achieve Madrid's aim of streamlining the event and giving it a more political flavour.

"Our aim is to make full use of the negotiating channels we have in Vienna to try to have a clear picture of what Ministerial Council Decisions are feasible before we even get to Madrid," said Ambassador Sanchez de Boado. "But let's not forget this is not just about one flagship event. It's about a living Organization and about working day in, day out to make a difference for our citizens across the OSCE region."

Looking back on the first half of the Spanish Chairmanship, which began on January 1, 2007, the Ambassador said Spain had focused deliberately so far on priorities and activities that reinforce its core goal of achieving greater inclusiveness, consistency and coherence to ensure the OSCE is strengthened.

Raising the OSCE's profile

"We have certainly helped raise the profile of the OSCE and highlighted its relevance. One needs to look no further than the list of high-level speakers we have had at the Permanent Council: Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus; Prime Minister Ivo Sanader of Croatia, the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Portugal and Ukraine, and not least of all Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice within days of each other, and a long list of other personalities," said the Ambassador.

Spain's priorities for its Chairmanship year include the fight against terrorism, water management and land degradation, and encouraging participation in pluralistic societies.

In the politico-military dimension of security, two important conferences were held in Vienna on the public-private partnership in countering terrorism and on fighting the threat of illicit drugs. A further meeting takes place next month that will focus on the victims of terrorism, a specific priority for Spain.

The Chairmanship encouraged further dialogue in this area of security, notably through joint meetings of the Forums for Security Co-operation and the Permanent Council, the two main regular venues for dialogue and decision-making at the OSCE.

In tune with the times

The Ambassador said by choosing land degradation and water management as priorities, Spain had sought to show the OSCE was in tune with the times and aware of the necessary balance between the three dimensions. Crucially, Spain has also championed a draft OSCE environmental security strategy. Several conferences, not least the Economic and Environmental Forum, highlighted the Spanish focus. More is to come in the autumn, including a desertification workshop in Uzbekistan.

In the human dimension, the Organization held a conference on discrimination and tolerance in Bucharest and the Chairmanship will host another major event in Cordoba in November, on fighting discrimination against Muslims. The Ambassador noted the Chairmanship had consulted non-governmental organizations and there had been a workshop on gender balance in police management. There will also be a first Youth Forum in Madrid.

The OSCE under the Spanish Chairmanship has observed elections in Armenia and Kazakhstan, among others. Further observation missions will follow before the end of the year, including in Ukraine and possibly Russia.

Building relations

Spain has also focused on building relations between communities affected by the protracted conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh.

"As the Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, outlined at the start of the year at the Permanent Council here in Vienna, to achieve progress on the 'frozen conflicts', the metaphorical walls between divided communities must be torn down," said the Spanish Ambassador, who chairs the Permanent Council this year. "But it is also true that nothing can be done, nothing can be solved if there is no political will," he added.

"Clearly, recent developments show this is not something that can be solved overnight but we pay permanent attention to this and work actively to try to reduce tensions. The sincere political will of the parties involved will ultimately be decisive."

He said the Chairmanship had also turned its attention to the political situation in Ukraine and Albania, energy sustainability and the search for a role for the OSCE in post-status Kosovo. Internally, it had helped shepherd through this year's budget and was helping to encourage the use of the new three-committee structure. It would continue to respond as required when new matters arise.

"The OSCE faces a hectic schedule and a complex political landscape on the way to Madrid," said Ambassador Sanchez de Boado. "Spain will do its utmost to complete this journey successfully. But to get us there, we need the help of all the participating States, we need their co-operation and their generous approach."

Interview by Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson and Head of Press and Public Information at the OSCE Secretariat.