Standing Committee

Standing Committee meeting in Toronto, September 2008

President Joao Soares presided over the Standing Committee meeting on 21 September. The Heads of Delegations were welcomed by Senator Consiglio Di Nino, Vice-Chair of the First Committee and Head of the Canadian Delegation.

In his report, the President highlighted the important contribution that the Assembly had made in holding a debate dedicated to the crisis in Georgia the previous day and noted that he intended to continue promoting focused topical debates during Assembly meetings.

Briefly outlining his work since being elected in July 2008, Mr. Soares noted that he had visited the Assembly headquarters in Copenhagen, where he met with the new Director of the OSCE/ODIHR, Janez Lenarcic, among others. He reported on his swift response following the resumption of hostilities in Georgia, including his appointment of President Emeritus as his Special Representative on Georgia. President Soares had also visited Moscow in early September, to meet with senior Russian parliamentarians and government officials.

OSCE PA Treasurer Hans Raidel presented a report, indicating that the Assembly remained in excellent financial condition. He reported that the finances were being well administered and were subject to diligent oversight by the PA’s external auditors, KPMG. Mr. Raidel also thanked Financial Assistant Per-Henrik Durr, who would soon be leaving the International Secretariat, for his hard work in keeping the Assembly’s finances in order, under the management of the Secretary General. The Treasurer took note of a request that the draft budget be distributed well in advance of Assembly meetings.

Secretary General Spencer Oliver reported on the work of the International Secretariat in supporting the Assembly’s Members, and thanked the Canadian Parliament in hosting the Toronto Fall Meetings. Mr. Oliver highlighted the weekly bulletin News from Copenhagen as the Secretariat’s primary tool for publicizing Assembly work and also discussed the Research Fellowship programme, which brings young graduate students to the Secretariat for six months at a time, noting that it provides invaluable research capacity to the Assembly in a cost-effective way. In response to a question, the Secretary General noted that the Secretariat staff was already taking action to provide more interactive content on the Assembly’s website.

The Special Representative in Vienna, Ambassador Andreas Nothelle, briefed Members on recent developments on the OSCE governmental side.

On the issue of election observation, Deputy Secretary General Tina Schøn informed Members about the ongoing observation mission to the parliamentary elections in Belarus, to be held 28 September. She also provided information regarding the Assembly’s observation mission to the elections on 4 November in the United States.

A number of Special Representatives also reported on their work. The Head of the Italian Delegation, Riccardo Migliori delivered a report on behalf of the Special Representative against Transnational Crime, Senator Carlo Vizzini, and invited the Assembly to hold a future meeting in Italy.

Vice-President Kimmo Kiljunen outlined his intentions to improve engagement with Central Asian countries, with particular emphasis on encouraging greater intra-regional co-operation. He also noted that he was working to organize a seminar on migration issues.

The Special Representative on Gender Issues, Vice-President Tone Tingsgaard, discussed her intention to propose a change to the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure to improve gender equality in national delegations. It was also suggested that there could be a change to the Rules of Procedure to increase involvement by Mediterranean Partner States.

Ambassador Aleksi Harkonen, Head of the Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force, gave a brief overview of recent work by the Chairmanship, noting in particular how the crisis in Georgia had impacted their work. The Ambassador also outlined efforts related to mediation in Moldova and regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The OSCE remained actively engaged through its field mission in Kosovo, he noted. Mr. Harkonen also expressed the Chairmanship’s hopes for a concise political declaration during the Ministerial Council meeting to be held in Helsinki in December 2008.

The Secretary General of the OSCE, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, briefed Members on the draft 2009 OSCE budget. He described the challenges posed by a policy of zero nominal growth, and noted that the Secretariat in Vienna had gradually increased its portion of the budget as it increased thematic functions. The Secretary General discussed gender balance in the OSCE and noted difficulties in staffing, including a lack of secondment proposals by participating States. Following the Secretary General’s presentation, Members encouraged greater participation by Heads of Field Missions in OSCE PA work and requested further information on auditing within the OSCE.

Prior to finishing, Members were informed about preparations for upcoming meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly.