OSCE and Council of Europe exchange letters of co-operation on FRY
VIENNA, 16 February 2001 - The Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Jan Kubis, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Walter Schwimmer, yesterday exchanged letters endorsing mutual co-operation of the two organizations with regards to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The agreement identifies areas of close co-operation and co-ordination between the heads of the respective operations in Belgrade, including their work programmes.
The two organizations agreed to co-operate in efforts to strengthen the protection of human rights, the rule of law, democratic institutions and civil society. They will focus, in particular, on minority issues, media, civil society and institution-building in the fields of the judiciary and law-enforcement, including the reform of the penitentiary system.
The Council of Europe and the OSCE both share the common goal of integrating the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into European structures, and have further agreed to exchange information regularly on their respective monitoring activities.
On 9 November 2000 the FRY submitted a request to accede to the Council of Europe and to a number of its fundamental instruments. The Council of Europe's priority in the FRY is to assist the authorities and the society in meeting the requirements of membership, in particular the ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights. The FRY became a participating State of the OSCE on 10 November 2000; subsequently, on 11 January 2001 the OSCE Permanent Council decided to deploy a mission to the FRY. The mission's mandate is to provide assistance and expertise to the Yugoslav authorities at all levels, as well as to interested individuals, groups and organizations, in all areas of the Organization's activities.
For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: [email protected]