ENGLISH
Original: RUSSIAN

STATEMENT
BY THE DELEGATIONS OF AZERBAI JAN, GEORGIA, MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE
AT THE REINFORCED MEETING OF THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OSCE

On behalf of the Delegations of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine I should like to express our satisfaction that the work on the OSCE Document-Charter on European Security has now entered the practical stage. The work is not easy, but we hope that the efforts of our community to create a security model will be ultimately successful. We are grateful to the Polish Chairmanship for creating favorable conditions for work on the Document-Charter.

In the opinion of our countries, the future Document must be based on the following major elements:

- a political, standard-setting model basis, founded on the principles, obligations and norms of behavior of the OSCE participating States, as laid down in the Helsinki Final Act and in other OSCE documents;

- the central role of the OSCE and the strengthening of its operational capabilities;

- co-operation between the OSCE and international organizations concerned with problems of security;

- the humanitarian dimension;

- economic and environmental aspects of security;

- arms control.

The political section of the Document must reaffirm the need to respect the fundamental principles of the OSCE and to meet commitments pertaining to the maintenance of peace and stability under present-day conditions. This same section must also include concepts such as the indivisibility of security in the OSCE region and the mutual and reciprocal responsibility of States for carrying out their responsibilities. It would likewise be useful to include in this section a provision to the effect that no State, organization or grouping can have any superior responsibility for maintaining peace and stability in the OSCE region, or regard any part of the OSCE region as its sphere of influence. And finally, it is important that this section should contain a provision to the effect that the presence of foreign troops on the territory of a participating State must be in conformity with international law, the freely expressed consent of the host State, or a relevant decision of the United Nations Security Council.

We should also like to stress the importance of the further elaboration of the concept of solidarity and its subsequent enshrinement in the Document. Now that the Cold War and the bloc-to-bloc confrontation has ended, and with a view to strengthening the cohesion of the OSCE community on the basis of shared values, solidarity should be incorporated as a principle into the practice of international relations throughout the OSCE region and should act as a major incentive to co-operation between participating States in ensuring security Given the OSCE's key role in maintaining security, our countries propose that the work on the further enhancement of the Organization's operational capabilities be continued. To this end, there is a need to strengthen substantially the mechanisms for monitoring compliance with the principles and implementation of the decisions and obligations of the OSCE, in particular as regards the prevention and settlement of conflicts in the OSCE region. In addition, the OSCE's peacekeeping capabilities should be further improved and a set of principles devised for the conduct of post-conflict activities.

For the principles of the OSCE to be put into practice, the Document must, first of all, clearly set forth the mechanisms for early warning and the timely examination of the failure by participating States to observe principles and commitments. It must also provide mechanisms for rendering assistance to participating States that may be encountering difficulties in observing principles and carrying out commitments. There is also a need for the elaboration of a system of joint measures to assist participating States in the event of internal crises threatening the existence of their democratic structures and the maintenance of law and order. In this context we regard it as important that clearly defined criteria should be worked out with specific regard to the use of OSCE missions of long duration.

Second, the Document must provide a mechanism of joint action to prevent or put an end to manifest, flagrant and continuing violations of principles and obligations, and also the threat or use of force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of participating States. These actions must also include assistance to participating States so affected. We consider it necessary to stress that joint action in cases of this kind must also provide for the timely adoption of the appropriate and effective decisions, Once all peaceful means have been exhausted, the OSCE must have the possibility, as envisaged in Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, to submit the matter at issue to the Security Council for its consideration. In exceptional cases of this kind, the OSCE must be prepared to take the necessary coercive action under the leadership of the Security Council or with its authorization, as provided for in Article 53 of the Charter.

One other way of enhancing the OSCE's operational capabilities is to strengthen its peacekeeping potential, specifically in the area of peacekeeping operations. The criteria and mechanisms for conducting peacekeeping operations, devised on the basis of the relevant OSCE documents, must be clearly defined. The Document-Charter must lay down that all peacekeeping operations in the OSCE region may be carried out only under the auspices of the United Nations or the OSCE. In preparing and conducting such operations, the OSCE may call upon NATO, the Western European Union and the European Union, since it is these security structures that have the necessary experience, resources and know-how. In situations of this kind, peacekeeping operations must without exception be multinational in character.

With regard to co-operation between the OSCE and international organizations, our countries believe that close co-operation and interaction on the basis of parity between mutually complementary European and transatlantic international organizations region, provided that the terms of this co-operation are determined by the actual member States of these organizations and that they are transparent. We believe that, once it has been duly amended, the Platform for Co-operative Security could become one of the important sections of the Document-Charter.

The humanitarian dimension, which is the subject of considerable attention in the Final Act, requires further work to take into account the new realities, and must be given its proper place in the Document. 1n this connection, particular attention should be given to assisting participating States in the further development and consolidation of the rule of law and of their democratic institutions, and also in solving difficult questions having to do with migration, refugees and displaced persons.

In this section of the Document it will also be important to stress the resolve of the participating States to counter such threats to common security as violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and manifestations of intolerance, aggressive nationalism, racism, chauvinism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Particular emphasis should also be placed on the threat to security posed by acts of terrorism perpetrated, inter alia, on territories not under the control of central government.

This section of the Document should without fail contain a reference to the threat to stability and security emanating from manifestations of militant separatism. Aware as we are that separatist movements everywhere employ the slogan of "self-determination", we consider it necessary to state that this right can be exercised only if the territorial integrity of participating States is preserved.

In the section of the Document dealing with economic and environment aspects of security, attention should be directed specifically to the question of expanded cooperation between participating States with a view to ensuring sustainable economic development in the OSCE region on the basis of a market economy. Reference should also be made to the need to expand co-operation between participating States in matters pertaining to the protection of the environment and in concerted action to prevent or eliminate the consequences of natural disasters and man-made catastrophes.

The section of the Document that deals with arms control must reflect the link between arms control and the current adaptation of the CFE Treaty and the Vienna Document. Given the principle of the indivisibility of security, due account must be taken of the well-known problems facing our States that have a general impact on security within the QSCE region.

We deem it important that the views of our countries, as set forth above, should be reflected in the future Document-Charter.