The OSCE is not the main and important three
For the first time in the history of the left without leadership.
Today during an informal meeting in the Austrian Mauerbach foreign Ministers of member countries of the Organization for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will attempt to find a way out of the deepest crisis in the organization because of the conflict over the replacement of four vacancies in its leadership. Three top positions are not occupied since last year, and from July 1, the OSCE for the first time in the history was left without a Secretary General. To resolve the personnel crisis interfere in the dispute between Russia and the United States.
The Russian side at an informal meeting of the OSCE in Mauerbach will be represented by Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. As expected, of the 57 countries members of the organization at least 30 will be represented at the Ministerial level, also, the event will be attended by the foreign Minister of the EU Federica Mogherini. Convene a meeting of the Minister of foreign Affairs of the presidency of the OSCE, Austria’s Sebastian Kurz.
Prior to the meeting in Mauerbach, the OSCE was left without a Secretary General for the first time since 1993, when this position was established. Functions of General Secretary is temporarily performed by the head office (administrative-financial Affairs) and Director of the center for conflict prevention (field missions). Personnel paralysis greatly complicates the work of the OSCE, which, in particular, entrusted a very important mission to monitor the situation in the Donbass.
The powers of the former Secretary General of the OSCE Lamberto Zannier expired on 30 June. As already wrote “Kommersant”, the candidates for his post originally had five, but favorites have escaped the Deputy Director of the Swiss Agency for development and cooperation Thomas Greminger. His candidacy is ready to support the vast majority of the 57 members of the organization, including Russia.
In the OSCE vacant three top positions: the Director of the Office for democratic institutions and human rights (ODIHR), representative on freedom of the media and the high Commissioner on national minorities. For each of these positions has its challengers. So, for the position of head of the ODIHR (this structure is predominantly engaged in election monitoring) expect the Vice-President of the OSCE parliamentary Assembly Swede Kent Harstad, former Minister of foreign Affairs of Iceland Ingeborg Gisladottir and the Secretary General of the regional cooperation Council (RCC), the Serb Goran Svilanovic.
According to interlocutors “” close to the OSCE Secretariat, at the moment the best chance to take the post — Icelander. However, a complete consensus on this portfolio, nor on the other two no. While some countries (among them the USA) require to solve the question of “package”, others (in particular Russia) insist on a separate vote on each of the candidates.
Kommersant’s sources in the Russian foreign Ministry said that in terms of acute disagreements over personnel issues, it would make sense to first declare the election of a new Secretary General and then negotiate about the rest. While in Moscow I think it is important to at least one of the vacant positions went to “the representatives of the countries to the East of Vienna”.
In mid-April, the Russian foreign Ministry said that in the struggle for the post of Secretary General of the OSCE Moscow supports the candidacy of the Ambassador of Belarus to Austria Minister Elena Kupchina. Later, when it became clear that her chances to take this position is small (after the crackdown by the Belarusian police mass protests and arrests of protesters in February and March a number of Western countries gave to understand that it is not ready to “reward” Minsk), Moscow began to promote it on one of the three remaining posts.
In turn, the source””, close to the US state Department said that Washington consider it important to resolve the issue with the vacant posts of “batch” because “otherwise the debate will be conducted around each of them and run the risk of important positions remain vacant”. The interlocutor of Kommersant said that Washington believes it is extremely important who will take the post of head of the ODIHR and of the OSCE representative on freedom of the media. “There are fears that if we do not decide, the authoritarian country will block the process of recruitment to these posts in order to achieve the purpose of the convenient of candidates,” — he said “Kommersant”.
One of the interlocutors “Kommersant” in the Russian foreign Ministry, however, assured that it’s not “convenience”.
It seems to us abnormal situation that all vacant posts are invited to give the representatives of the Western countries. This is another sign of the geographical imbalance of the OSCE.
Earlier, Moscow has repeatedly criticized the OSCE for the fact that the organization too much attention is paid to monitoring elections in former Soviet States, not paying enough attention to violations in the United States and EU countries.
According to “Kommersant”, the issue of election of the Secretary General were discussed on the sidelines of the OSCE until last night, however, settled before the meeting of the Ministers failed.
Elena Chernenko, Kirill Krivosheev