ADDRESS BY HER EXCELLENCY
MRS. HELLE DEGN
PRESIDENT OF THE
OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

OSCE Istanbul Summit Meeting, 18 November 1999

Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Secretary - General of the United Nations, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Mr. Chairman,

May I begin by expressing on behalf of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly our gratitude to the Turkish authorities for having provided us with excellent conditions for our work and for their warm hospitality. The Parliamentary Assembly appreciates its co-operation with Turkey. We are looking forward to coming back in a few months’ time for a seminar to be held in co-operation with our Turkish colleagues on one of the most important subjects on the agenda of the OSCE, national minorities.

I would like also to congratulate the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister Knut Vollebaek for his valuable contribution to the work of the organization and for his excellent chairmanship. We very much value the way in which he has promoted co-operation between the Chairmanship and the Parliamentary Assembly. The OSCE can look back on a number of very solid achievements. Following my visit to Latvia last month I want to highlight the efforts made by the OSCE, Latvia and Russia in the context of the dismantling of the Skrunda Radar Station. This constitutes one of the real success stories of our organisation.

Mr. Chairman,

At the end of a century and on the threshold of a new millennium, we have to look back at the progress achieved in building a peaceful and prosperous Europe and at the great challenges and outstanding problems confronting us. The conflicts in Kosovo, Chechnya and Nagorno-Karabakh, among others, have proved once again how fragile peace is on the European Continent and how much has still to be done to restore peace and order, and to develop genuine respect for democratic institutions and human rights. Terrorism, corruption and organized crime are among the most serious challenges facing us today. Only together, only by our joint effort can we counter and fight these perils confronting democratic societies.

At the same time the OSCE must continue to strive for the full implementation by the participating States of all their OSCE commitments, notably those relating to human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

My visits to all OSCE Institutions, twelve OSCE field missions and sixteen OSCE participating States so far convinced me that the work which is being done by the OSCE, is extremely useful. Let me turn back to the very concrete example. The OSCE's role concerning the Skrunda Radar in Latvia. The credit for the successful agreement goes, of course, to the Governments of Latvia and the Russian Federation. But I was very pleased to see that the OSCE had made an important contribution in helping the parties to reach a solution. The success in this matter also proves that the OSCE can bring the Mission entrusted to it, to a successful end. Faced with new challenges, the OSCE must continue to be future-oriented, constantly developing its strategies and improving its capacity for action. The OSCE, as a constantly evolving organization, needs to refine and streamline its institutions and mechanisms.

Mr. Chairman,

In those respects the other structures and institutions of the OSCE family will continue to find the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly a reliable action orientated partner. In this context let me recall that I address the Summit Meeting on behalf of more than 300 Parliamentarians from 54 OSCE participating States, which compose the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. From the first days of the creation of the Assembly its Members have been working hard to assist in implementation of OSCE objectives, develop and promote mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of conflicts and support the strengthening and consolidation of democratic institutions. However, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly still lacks formal status in the decision-making process. Many important decisions in the OSCE, such as the approval of the budget or appointment of Senior Officials, are taken without any involvement or consultation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. There is, my friends, an obvious democratic deficit in the OSCE.

Democratic control and accountability are essential elements of regional institutions like the OSCE need transparency, credibility and efficiency. On the basis of the experience and work of parliamentary institutions, such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, which both play important roles in decision-making in their respective governmental branches the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly earlier this year adopted a special resolution on correcting the democratic deficit of the OSCE. Democratically elected Parliamentarians have to stand up for the development of democracy in their own international organizations. Parliaments and Parliamentarians should play a crucial role as guardians of democracy, transparency, accountability, the rule of law and the respect for human rights at both the national, regional and international level.

Mr. Chairman,

The OSCE has now developed into a full-fledged organization and it is adding a welcomed fundamental component of the new European security architecture. Its participating States have bestowed upon it considerable responsibilities, demonstrating their conviction that the organization has a crucial role to play. This is precisely why the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in order to respond adequately to the threats and challenges of the new millennium. The OSCE should seriously consider its decision-making process, as advocated by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly since 1993. It is hardly democratic when a single country can block the common will of fifty-four others and can prevent essential and timely action, when it is needed. We have consistently advocated a modest change in the decision-making process, that is 90 % of membership and financial control, which would mean that there would be no single country vetoes.

Mr. Chairman,

It goes without saying that nobody is better equipped to develop modern political institutions than politicians from democratic countries. I would like to stress the invaluable role I see of Parliamentarians in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict rehabilitation. Small groups of elected representatives can be deployed on the ground as "Democracy Teams" to help build democracy, promote national reconciliation and support democratic institutions in transition countries. At the Annual Session in Saint-Petersburg in July 1999, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have expressed its wish to contribute to the reconstruction of Kosovo. I have appointed a Parliamentary ”Democracy Team”, which will periodically visit Kosovo to meet with community leaders, political parties and authorities, as well as representatives of relevant international organizations, in order to promote the re-creation of the civil society, protection of human rights, development of democracy, and the rule of law. I have appointed a similar team to follow the work of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. Another team has already been successfully working on creating truly democratic institutions in Belarus, through a dialogue hopefully leading to agreement on internationally acceptable elections next year. Finally, a Democracy Team has been appointed to seek to assist the parties to the Transnistrian conflict in Moldova to solve their differences.

Mr. Chairman,

I cannot avoid mentioning the gender issue. Look around! How many women Presidents, Prime Ministers or Foreign Ministers are around this table? Well actually I am not feeling so much alone as I have done at many other meetings.­ But for women in general it can be difficult to find a female role model in a male dominated world and we should try to avoid women in having problems identifying themselves with our OSCE family and its institutions.

The current gender imbalance in the political concept and among the staff of the OSCE must not be allowed to continue. However, we should not limit our focus to internal matters of our Organization. We must strive to promote equality for the women of all our countries and, in particular, those struck by instability.

Mr. Chairman,

On the eve of a new century, the current political and security environment offers a unique historical opportunity for building a new Europe - democratic, peaceful and free of divisions. New and complex risks and challenges to security require a co-operative and comprehensive approach. Security across the entire OSCE area can be strengthened only through genuine partnership based on the sovereign equality and solidarity of States, and with full respect for the principles of the OSCE and the interests of all OSCE States irrespective of whether they belong to security structures or not. Obviously, this partnership must be built on our common commitment to democracy based on the will of our peoples and exercised with the advice and consent of their elected representatives. In this context, I would like to welcome the historic effort by the OSCE participating States to adopt a Charter for European Security. I am confident that through this effort we can translate into reality our vision of a co-operative future and create a common security space free of dividing lines in which all States are equal partners and from which all States will mutually benefit.

Thank You, Mr. Chairman

REMARKS BY  PRESIDENT CLINTON AT OPENING OF OSCE SUMMIT

 
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, President Demirel, Chairman Vollebaek, Mr. Secretary General, Miss Degn, distinguished leaders. It's a great honor for me to be able to say a few words on behalf of the United States.
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REMARKS BY PRIME MINISTER POUL NYRUP RASMUSSEN
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The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and its Democracy Teams can contribute usefully in this field. Let me add that the Danish Government very much appreciates recent efforts of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to play an active and supportive role in the day-to-day work of our Organization.
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