Statement by the CBSS Commissioner on Democratic
Development, Ms Helle Degn.
Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues!
It is a pleasure for me to be in Warsaw and to be able to meet the OSCE Community and address this Implementation Meeting. As CBSS Commissioner I welcome that the OSCE is arranging such a meeting. It gives an opportunity to take a good look at the OSCE commitments and implementation thereof. The exact format and modalities of the meeting will probably always be a subject for discussion, but the concept of taking time to look at the commitments and their implementation should be maintained. I welcome the idea of arranging special supplementary meetings. The proposed subjects for these meetings seem to be very pertinent, especially the proposed meeting on violence against women.
The CBSS Ministerial in Bergen in June this year vested me with a new mandate as Commissioner on Democratic Development of the Council of the eleven Baltic Sea States. I took up my new function on 1 October.
As you may know my mandate is different from that of the former CBSS Commissioner on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. The wheel of history has turned us into the new millenium. The new mandate is therefore different and broader, reflecting the development in the Baltic Sea area over the past 6 years. The new mandate has been made available to you through the documents distribution.
Mr Chairman,
Notwithstanding the progress that has been made in the development of democratic societies based on market economy, the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights, much still needs to be done. This implementation meeting has given clear evidence of this fact.
We all have to realise that democracy is not a state obtained once and for all. We are, whether we like it or not, facing different levels of imperfect democracy. We have to follow the situation constantly. Many developments pose a threat to democracy. Let me just mention a few: The global transactions in money, media and markets, organised crime, trafficking in human beings, social exclusion, discrimination against minorities, lack of equal opportunities for women and men. We therefore have to take action in a number of ways to speed up our developments in strengthening and protecting democracy.
This is what I see as my main task as Commissioner on Democratic Development. The CBSS Commissioner is not the only player in this respect. National partners are parliaments, governments, international institutions and organisations, their parliamentary assemblies and NGOs are also actively engaged in the work for development and maintenance of democracy.
In this work co-operation with other players is crucial. I will endeavour to avoid duplication and overlap and ensure that the efforts of the Commissioner and other actors are mutually reinforcing. The final outcome is the most important - not the label on the activity itself.
The main objective is to create sustainable, well functioning and reliable democracies. The modern nation state is not a clan for persons belonging to a specific group or a playground for individual persons or interests. History has proven this often enough.
Yesterday, I had a thorough discussion with Ambassador Stoudman and members of his staff on possible areas of co-operation with the ODIHR. Also in my new capacity, I hope to be able to continue the same good relations with all institutions of the OSCE family, including the present and incoming CiO with whom I have already the best experience.
The relationship between the CBSS Commissioner and the CBSS member states should be marked by trust. I see the Commissioner not as a police(wo)man pointing fingers but as an inspiring and constructive partner who is ready to assist the states in the difficult task of developing, strengthening and protecting democracy.
Let me finally, Mr Chairman, conclude by thanking you and the representatives of the OSCE Community for a very good co-operation during my tenure as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. I hope to meet you in the field where the principles of democracy are to be proven. I look forward to an equally fruitful co-operation with you in my new capacity as CBSS Commissioner on Democratic Development.
Thank you Mr Chairman.