Kazakhstan OSCE Chairmanship’s perception paper Outcome of the Almaty Informal Ministerial Meeting16-17 July 2010

The Kazakhstan OSCE Chairmanship extends its gratitude to the participating States, Partners for Cooperation, OSCE executive structures, Parliamentary Assembly, regional and international organizations for their active participation in discussions during the OSCE Informal Ministerial meeting, which have been fruitful and open. Despite its informal character, issues raised at the meeting have serious significance for the security of the OSCE area and beyond.

We assess positively the readiness of participating States to strengthen joint efforts in tackling existing security problems in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian region.

We note common understanding that the ability of the Organization to address effectively and to tackle the entire range of existing and new challenges, including the need to stabilize the situation in Kyrgyzstan, will be seen as a test of OSCE viability. In this context, we welcome and support the restoration of the rule of law, public order and democracy in Kyrgyzstan.

We believe that international support to Kyrgyzstan is absolutely vital and the OSCE, which brings together 56 states from Vancouver to Vladivostok, has a key role to play in providing assistance to this country. This assistance should include the strengthening of the field mission of the OSCE in Kyrgyzstan, as well as the proposed Police Advisory Group, which received support from the participating States. We expect the ODIHR, in particular, to render serious assistance in supporting the preparation and conduct of the upcoming parliamentary election.

Relying on positions expressed by heads of delegation we note that we have reached consensus on holding an OSCE summit by the end of 2010 in Astana. This highest level meeting will mobilize the political will of participating States that is essential for taking specific steps to establish a security community where the use of force or threat to use it is unthinkable.

In our further actions, we propose to be guided by the main principles and provisions of the Athens Declaration.

Undoubtedly, the Corfu Process laid a foundation for the summit’s substance. The Chairmanship on its Corfu Interim Report put forward ideas to move ahead the Corfu Process in several areas.

The Kazakhstan OSCE Chairmanship is grateful to the OSCE participating States, Partners for Cooperation, executive structures, Parliamentary Assembly for their contributions to the summit’s substance. Emphasizing the importance of respect for and consideration of all views, as well as our readiness to continue consultations, we propose to use the following topics, which have been raised, as a basis for discussions at the highest level:

• Development of a single and indivisible area of security, free of dividing lines and zones with different security levels – a Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian Security Community.\
• Reaffirmation by participating States of their full adherence to all OSCE norms, principles and commitments in politico-military, economic and environmental, and human dimensions. Strengthening their implementation and follow-up (including updating them as necessary).
• Strengthening the institutional basis of the OSCE and transforming it into fully-fledged international organization.
•  Strengthening the conventional arms control regimes and CSBMs (such as an updated Vienna Document 1999). Ensuring progress on restoring the viability of the CFE Treaty regime, which requires urgent concerted actions by its States parties.
• Strengthening OSCE capabilities and its toolbox in all three dimensions with regard to early warning, conflict prevention and resolution, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. Joint work on ways to set the protracted conflicts in the OSCE area on the path towards peaceful settlement.
•  Ensuring increased attention to transnational threats in all three dimensions – from illicit trafficking in drugs, organized crime, cyber security and trafficking in human beings to international terrorism and others. Enhancing OSCE involvement, within its mandate, into international efforts on stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
•  Countering post‐crisis economic challenges, which entail adapting the OSCE Maastricht Strategy to current conditions, with the possible elaboration of a Maastricht plus document, and ensuring effective Eurasian economic integration.
• Strengthening the overall capacity of OSCE participating States to tackle existing challenges in the human dimension, ensuring tolerance and non-discrimination, freedom of the media, freedom of movement and others. Enhancing the ability of the OSCE Institutions to follow up on the implementation of recommendations made under their mandates.

On this basis, we task the Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council to convert today’s agreement into decisions on the dates, venue, agenda, and other modalities of the Summit and Review Conference. The OSCE Permanent Council should adopt these decisions before the summer recess, and start elaboration of a Summit’s final document (Political Declaration, Action Plan).

We believe this fully reflects the results as well as the essence of the two days of discussion that we have held in Almaty.