THE OSCE CHALLENGED - NHC/IHF

PART I: OPENING
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mr. daan everts (personal representative of the osce chairman-in-office):
“I hope this NGO meeting will be the start of a tradition”

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Mr. Everts, as the representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, points out that it is the first time that the OSCE Ministerial Council is accompanied by an NGO meeting. Furthermore, he hopes that it will not be the last time as, according to him, the OSCE understands the crucial roles that NGOs play in stimulating democratic governance. He names three: serving as an early-warning system drawing attention to human rights violations and potential conflicts, helping governments to build democracy, and keeping the OSCE on its toes.
Mr. Everts expresses his hope that the NGO delegates will be able to interact with the official delegates sufficiently, despite the rigorous security arrangements surrounding the Ministerial Council.
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“It gives me great pleasure to be here today on behalf of the Chairman-in-Office to address this special meeting of non-governmental organizations. Just a few minutes ago, the 11^th OSCE Ministerial Council was officially opened. This is in fact the first time that an NGO Meeting has been held at the same time as a Ministerial Council, and in such close proximity. I would therefore like to start by thanking the International Helsinki Federation and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee for organising this meeting, and BBO Services for providing administrative and logistic support. They all did an outstanding job in putting this conference together. With no precedents and no scenarios to work from, it was no easy task!

Working for peace and stability in the OSCE region—from Vancouver to Vladivostok as the slogan goes—means working with and for people. Down the years, the OSCE, and in particular its successive Chairmen-in-Office, have come to understand that a vibrant civil society, with effective non-governmental organizations, is crucial to democracy. It provides opportunities for people to express their views and concerns. As benchmarks, developments in civil society are as essential as political participation in ensuring democratic governance.

The OSCE understands this, and so does the Netherlands as the outgoing Chairmanship. We greatly appreciate the valuable work national and international non-governmental organizations have been doing all these years. I have already mentioned the International Helsinki Federation, the natural partner of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, so to speak. But I would also like to mention the national Helsinki Committees in the OSCE-participating states, and organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Minority Rights Group, Pax Christi, the World Council of Churches, as well as countless other organizations, both international and national. We greatly appreciate your willingness to come and join us here.

Though I don’t intend to go over the history of the OSCE, we have to recognise that a lot has changed since the Final Act of Helsinki was signed some 28 years ago. In the years since, courageous people have raised their voices, often against heavy odds, to hold their governments accountable for the commitments they undertook. And NGOs have become members of the OSCE family, in particular in the domain of the human dimension. They still have a role to play in drawing the attention of governments to deficiencies.

All this became even more important for the Netherlands when we assumed the Chairmanship. In fact, from the very moment the preparations for this Chairmanship started, we paid a great deal of attention to the NGO community, realising that unless we worked together, the Chairmanship would lose out on many opportunities. NGOs have many roles to play within the OSCE, so we maintain contact with them in many areas. An OSCE Chairman-in-Office is well advised to make full use of them by sharing information and concerns on matters of peace and stability in the OSCE region.

NGOs have always been an important partner in designing what we refer to as a new European security architecture, following the rapid developments of the last decade, in particular the democratisation process in Central and Eastern Europe. Like the OSCE itself, the international NGO community is now confronted with a wide variety of potential and actual tasks, like conflict prevention, post-conflict rehabilitation and institution-building, peaceful conflict resolution and the fight against terrorism. Where, in our view, do NGOs have a role to play?

Let me identify a few areas. Firstly, NGOs keep close track of what is happening within the OSCE region. They act as an early-warning system, since, at an early stage, they draw our attention to rising tensions wherever they occur in the OSCE region. We all benefit from the useful information these organizations give us from time to time on trends in society that may lead to conflicts breaking out. NGOs also draw the attention of the world at large to the implementation—or lack of it—of OSCE commitments and in particular human rights violations. This may include criticism of what the OSCE, and the Chairman-in-Office, are doing. But the OSCE should be ready for open dialogue.

Secondly, an active and healthy civil society is indispensable if democracy is to take root and flourish. Everyone will agree that building democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law is not only a matter of changing governments or adopting new laws. But nobody will expect it to happen by itself. Work has to be done here—and NGOs can and do play a role.

Thirdly, NGOs keep us alert. This is always the case, but it is felt more strongly by the Chairman-in-Office. Rightly or wrongly, NGOs tend to ascribe more influence to the OSCE than it actually has. However, by keeping close track of what the OSCE and its Chairman-in-Office are doing, by pointing to deficiencies in the field of the human dimension, by coming up with new and often creative ideas, NGOs can make the Chairman-in-Office realise that his actions are more than just an exercise in diplomacy.

You have a challenging agenda before you today and tomorrow, including discussions on Religious Freedom and the Fight against Terrorism, Trafficking in Human Beings and Impunity in the OSCE area. Some of these items will also be discussed at the Ministerial Meeting. I very much hope that, in spite of all the security arrangements, NGO delegates will be able to interact with the official delegations from the participating states, the international organizations present here and the OSCE Secretariat.

Let me conclude by wishing you all productive discussions and by expressing the hope that from now on this kind of meeting will become a tradition at future Ministerial Council meetings.”

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