Slovakia takes over the chairmanship of the OSCE for 2019

Slovakia has taken over the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)for 2019. Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajcak has assumed the role of Chairman-in-Office of the organisation.

The Slovak Chairmanship will focus on three areas for action in 2019: preventing, mediating and mitigating conflict while focusing on the people it affects; providing for a safer future; and promoting effective multilateralism. Lajcak will present Slovakia's priorities to the OSCE Permanent Council on 10 January in Vienna.

The last decade has been a difficult one for the OSCE, with some even questioning the very existence of the organisation. It got a new lease of life after it played a role in stabilising the situation in Eastern Ukraine when fighting flared up there in 2014. It currently deploys a large and expensive monitoring mission in Eastern Ukraine.

During its one year term at the head of the OSCE Slovakia will prioritise efforts to prevent new conflicts from breaking out, while mitigating the humanitarian consequences of existing ones.

"Overall, Slovakia will dedicate its Chairmanship to bringing the OSCE closer to the people it is working for. We are determined to promote gender mainstreaming throughout the OSCE's work. And we aim to improve people's safety and security" Lajcak said in a message issued at the start of the chairmanship.  "The Slovak 2019 OSCE Chairmanship aims to be ambitious in promoting dialogue, trust and stability in the OSCE area, and in supporting the good functioning of the organization. But we also have to be realistic: challenges and complexities are rife. Any further deterioration in the safety and lives of people in our societies is unjustifiable", the Slovak Minister said.

source: commonspace.eu with osce.org

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.