Naujienos

Mr. Chairman, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen,

I am particularly pleased to address the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council on behalf of the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship, on a subject so high on our common agenda.

The visit of the NATO Secretary General in Vienna this June to the Annual Security Review Conference highlighted common approach of the OSCE and NATO towards the democratic, common and indivisible Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security community and the need for joint efforts in achieving this goal. 

Since 2003 Afghanistan has been an OSCE Partner for Co-operation. Security and stability in Afghanistan has a direct impact on the southern belt of the OSCE – the Central Asian states and in fact the security of whole OSCE region itself. This has been the driving motivation behind the 2007 decision at the Madrid OSCE Ministerial and 2010 Astana commitment: “the need to contribute effectively… to collective international efforts to promote a stable, independent, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan.” As the Chairmanship we keep hearing that an expected withdrawal of international assistance forces from Afghanistan in 2014 is viewed by the neighboring Central Asian states with increasing concern.

Mr. Chairman,

Leading since 2005 the PRT Chaghcharan in Ghor, Lithuania understands well the multitude of challenges facing Afghanistan. As the 2011 OSCE Chairmanship, Lithuania has made the OSCE’s engagement with Afghanistan one of its main priorities. This has been reflected in a number of practical steps either already taken or planned.

During his visits to all Central Asian countries the CiO Lithuanian Foreign Minister A. Ažubalis discussed Afghanistan in detail with the leaders of the countries. In 17 May he also visited Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province and met with Governor Mohammad Anwar Jegdalek. As a follow-up to this visit the OSCE-supported joint training study to Lithuania of the Tajik and Afghan border guard officials is scheduled for later this year. The OSCE is ready to pull its share of the responsibility working with Afghanistan in co-ordination with UN, NATO, EU and other international and regional actors involved.

Given the political nature of the organization and limited resources, to date the OSCE engagement with Afghanistan has been carried out in several ways:

First, Afghan participation at OSCE events and activities. Dozens of officials and civil society representatives from Afghanistan have participated in OSCE pol-mil, human rights and economic events, the Ministerial and the OSCE Summit in Astana. The Afghan counter-drugs Minister and representatives of the main international stakeholders addressed the major OSCE conference on counter-narcotics and border management, which has been held in Vienna in June. In the wake of the conference, the OSCE is preparing a Concept to combat illicit drugs and chemical precursors.

At the end of June, the OSCE’s Annual Security Review Conference included a special session dedicated to OSCE Partners for Co-operation, in particular to Afghanistan and Partners along the southern edge of the Mediterranean.

Secondly, on four occasions (2004/5/9/10), at the request of the Afghans, ODIHR has dispatched Election Support Teams (EST) to assist with the presidential and parliamentary elections in the country, which on each occasion prepared extensive and detailed recommendations in key areas for electoral reform in the country. The OSCE urges Afghanistan to implement in earnest ODIHR recommendations. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I would also like to express the OSCE’s deep appreciation for ISAF’s willingness to provide security during the deployment of the OSCE ESTs to Afghanistan. 

Thirdly, following the 2007 Madrid decision, the Secretariat and OSCE field operations in Central Asia have developed and implemented a package of concrete assistance projects aimed at strengthening the capacity of Afghan border, customs and law enforcement officers and helping secure the northern border of Afghanistan. Through a set of training activities, conducted chiefly in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan as well as in Russian and Turkey, 400 Afghan border, customs and law enforcement officers have been trained to date in order to strengthen the capacity of Afghan border, customs and counter-narcotics agencies. Afghan students study at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek.

Mr. Chairman,

OSCE has aimed at not duplicating efforts of other organisations. OSCE’s engagement with Afghanistan has aimed to provide added value and ensure complementarity.  The 2007 decision stressed the need for coordination with UN and other organizations. 

Consequently, the development and implementation of all OSCE projects has been carried forward in close consultation and coordination with the UN, NATO/ISAF, EU/EUPOL and other international entities.

The OSCE projects have contributed to building better communication, trust and confidence between Afghan officers and their counterparts in Central Asian countries, and thus to facilitating cross-border co-operation in the region. In particular, the large OSCE missions in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are more and more focusing their activities to address the threats emanating from Afghanistan. We would like to especially thank Japan, US Norway, Belgium, France, Kazakhstan and a number of other countries, which contributed to the implementation of these projects.

There are many initiatives, aimed at enhancing cooperation among Afghanistan and the neighboring countries and we see a need for increasing efforts to promote regional and cross-border co-operation between Afghanistan and OSCE participating States in Central Asia. In this context we welcome the New Silk Road initiative, launched in September in New York and we are confident that the OSCE could provide valuable contribution to its implementation.
 

As for the way forward we see a particular the need for:

- increasing efforts to promote regional co-operation between Afghanistan and OSCE participating States in Central Asia;
- expanding OSCE’s co-operation with Afghanistan to also encompass projects and activities in the economic and environmental and human dimensions, including by building upon past EST recommendations;
- Integrating better the OSCE’s engagement with Afghanistan into the overall international assistance effort.

Let me briefly outline the way forward, Mr.Chairman,

The upcoming Regional Conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul in November, and the Regional International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn in December will provide timely occasions to mobilize the international community in support of Afghanistan’s future. The OSCE will be an active participant in both events.

The initial package of 16 OSCE projects with Afghanistan launched in 2008 has been implemented, but for 2 projects. Therefore, the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship has initiated a discussion among the pS on lessons-learned concerning the initial package of projects and plans to endorse a second package of the OSCE projects with Afghanistan in order to continue the momentum of political will reflected in Madrid MC Decision.

So far the reactions to these proposals have been rather positive, some delegations stressing the timeliness and importance of continuous OSCE engagement with Afghanistan. The Secretary General of the OSCE, tentatively planning his visit to Kabul early next year, fully supports the Lithuanian Chairmanship.

We see a need for expanding OSCE’s co-operation with Afghanistan to encompass projects and activities in the economic and environmental and human dimensions, including by building upon past EST recommendations. We see a need to come up with a wider strategy that would place the OSCE in the context of international efforts. The Chairmanship has tasked the OSCE executive structures to elaborate concrete proposals for follow-up activities.

Building on the momentum of the Istanbul and Bonn conferences, the Lithuanian Chairmanship believes that the Vilnius Ministerial Council can adopt a decision on further OSCE engagement with Afghanistan.

The OSCE will continue its engagement with Afghanistan. It will form an important part of the international efforts to create security and stability in the country and the region.

We will be relying upon those participating States who will be driving the discussions in Istanbul and Bonn, and who are also represented here today, to help identify a particular role for the OSCE, taking account of the wider efforts of the international community.