International Organizations in Practice: Uniqueness,...

Report on the Study Trip by the Postgraduate Master of Peace and Security Studies

Coordination: Ms. Teodora Vrancean

Academic Guidance: Prof. Dr. Götz Neuneck

Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy University of Hamburg

www.ifsh.de

Postgraduate Master of Peace and Securi ty Studies

International Organizations in Practice: Uniqueness, Cooperation or Overlapping?

April 18-23, 2010 in Vienna.

Study Trip | International Organizations in Practice: Uniqueness, Cooperation or Overlapping | April 18-23, 2010 | Vienna Postgraduate Master of Peace and Security Studies | Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy | University of Hamburg

2 | 28

Table of Contents

Introduction | Welcome to Vienna 4

Day 1 | Monday | April 19, 2010 | Austria in International Politics 5

1. Austrian National Defense Academy | Brig. Dr. Walter Feichtinger, Dr. Gerald Hainzl: Possibilities and Challenges of the International Crisis Management in Somalia 5

2. Austrian Institute for International Politics | Prof. Dr. Heinz Gärtner: Current Security Policy Problems | Univ. Doz. Dr. Paul Luif: Austria in International Politics 6

3. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) | Ms. Siham Alawami (PR and Information Officer) 7

Day 2 | Tuesday | April 20, 2010 | The United Nations Agencies in Vienna 8

4. Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations | Mr. Rüdiger Lüdeking (Ambassador) | Mr. Thomas Mützelburg (Representative to the UN) 8

5. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) | Mr. Bernardo Ribeiro (External Relations Officer) 9

6. Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty-Organization (CTBTO) | Ms. Kirsten Haupt (Public Information Officer) 10

7. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) | Mr. Sayaphol Sackda (Information Officer) 11

8. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) | Ms. Dolgor Solongo (Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer) 12

Day 3 | Wednesday | April 21, 2010 | About Oil, Space and Human Rights 13

9. OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) | Ms. Reem (PR Officer) 13

10. European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) | Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schrogl (Director): Introduction & Closing | Ms. Matxalen Sanchez Aranzamenti (Fellow): Space Regulations in Europe | Ms. Jana Robinson (Fellow): Security Dimension of Space Activities in Europe 14

11. European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) | Mr. Andreas Accardo (Strategy & Governance Coordinator, PR) 15


3 | 28

Day 4 | Thursday | April 22, 2010 | At the Organization for Security and Co-

operation in Europe (OSCE) 17

12. OSCE | Mr. Heiner Horsten (Ambassador): An Overview and a German Perspective 17

13. OSCE | Mr. Gottfried Hanne (Deputy Director Operations Services): The Conflict Prevention Center (CPC) and Field Operations 18

14. OSCE | Observing Permanent Council Proceedings 19

15. OSCE | Mr. Andrew Hyde (Deputy Political Counselor): The U.S. Perspective 20

16. OSCE | Mr. Valeriy Maslov (Senior Counselor): The Russian Perspective 21

17. OSCE | Mr. Roel Janssens (Economic and Environmental Advisor): Economic and Environmental Aspects of Security 22

18. OSCE | Mr. Thorsten Stodiek (Police Affairs Officer): OSCE’s Police-Related Activities 23

Day 5 | Friday | April 23, 2010 | Human Trafficking, Border Management and a

Visit to the Embassy of Spain 24

19. International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) | Ms. Slávka Zborovianová: Introduction to ICMPD | Ms. Jenny Andersson: ICMPD Trafficking in Human Beings Activities | Mr. Borut Eržen: Border Management 24

20. Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE in Vienna | Ms. Marta Betanzos Roig (Ambassador), Mr. Agustin Núnez (Deputy Head of Mission): The EU-Coordination Mechanisms within the OSCE 26

Abbreviations 28


4 | 28

Introduction | Welcome to Vienna

Eyjafjallajökull, the erupting volcano on Iceland, and its massive, invisible ash clouds shaped the beginning of our study trip to Vienna. Most of us were supposed to fly from Hamburg to Vienna on Saturday or Sunday. With the German airspace closed completely for days, nobody of us was able to do the distance within a convenient 1½ hours flight, but had to take alternate travel arrangements. Most of us went by train which was more costly, but also more eco-friendly.

On Tuesday morning all of us were able to attend the lecture and discussion with the German Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in Vienna, Mr. Lüdeking. Tuesday as such was devoted to the various UN agencies. With a very tight program including lec-tures and discussions at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Commis-sion for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty-Organization, etc. we were able to gain some solid and real insights into the so often glamorous appearing UN-world.

The Wednesday program was diversified with organizations ranging from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) to the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). In the evening, some of us took the chance to enjoy an evening at a Heuriger, an Austrian style wine tavern. Heurigers were cheap gastronomic institutions some decades ago where guests could bring their own food and just ordered the Heuriger (the youngest wine from the last har-vest). Nowadays, unfortunately these places adjusted their price policies to the wealthier folks’ wallets.

On Thursday we had substantial lectures and discussions at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The wide range of topics, from more tech-nical lectures on the Conflict Prevention Centre, Field Operations, Police work to more political meetings such as the attendance at the Permanent Council and meetings with the Russian and U.S. Counselor, offered some high value insights.

The Friday program began with a visit to the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), an inter-governmental agency. The last but not least item on the agenda was a high-rank discussion with the Spanish Mission to the OSCE, attended by the Ambassador and the Deputy Head of Mission. The final official part of the study trip was a test on all the lectures and discussions we had the previous days. Concluding, the organization of the study trip by Ms. Teodora Vrancean was remarkable and we would like to thank her for her dedication. We also would like to thank Prof. Dr. Götz Neuneck for his attendance and his insightful remarks. Last but not least we appreci-ated so much the time and the considerable preparation from all the Lecturers who gave us a glimpse into the work of international organizations and their own contribution to the bigger picture.

By Carlo Koos


5 | 28

Day 1 | Monday | April 19, 2010 | Austria in International Politics

1. Austrian National Defense Academy |

Brig. Dr. Walter Feichtinger, Dr. Gerald Hainzl: Possibilities and Challenges of

the International Crisis Management in Somalia

Veribus unitis … With united forces – that’s the motto of the National Defense Academy, which was the first destination of our visit to Vienna.

At first, the participants were given a brief introduction by Brigadier Dr. Walter Feichtinger, the director of the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK). The IFK is a research institute of the Academy which covers three main tasks: pol-icy advising, research and teaching and public relations. The National Defense Academy is the highest military training and research institution of the Austrian Armed Forces. It focuses on the training of higher officers as well as on the provision of information and training for civilian leaders and personalities. In this context, Dr. Feichtinger highlighted the “Strategic Leadership Course”, which caters to civilians from the middle management. Its main goal is to provide a deeper understanding of current security policy issues and to set up a security policy community.

The second speaker was Dr. Gerhard Hainzl, one of the colleagues of the IFK, who gave a presentation on “Pirates and Islamists – Who cares about Somalia? A review of the current crisis and conflict management”. He started off by giving us some basic data on Somalia, a short overview of the historical background and recent developments in the country as well as of the past international missions (UNOSOM I, UNITAF and UNO-SOM II). Somalia is a highly fragmented country with a long history of conflict and large numbers of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). One of the main political actors is the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which is recognized by the UN as the legitimate government of Somalia. Its actual influence is, however, limited to parts of Mogadishu and challenged by other powerful groups such as Al-Shabab and Hizb Al-Islam. In addition to these ongoing inner conflicts, the coasts of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden recently became the worldwide hotspots of piracy. As the main reasons for this phe-nomenon, Dr. Hainzl specified Somalia’s geographic position close to important trade routes and the disastrous consequences of illegal fishing and the illegal dumping of haz-ardous waste by foreign actors. In order to tackle the problems in- and outside Somalia, there are currently taking place two main missions: the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) which was established 2007 and the EUNAFOR Atalanta, which was estab-lished 2008 and is the first maritime mission of the EU. Alongside these missions there are also other international actors involved in the area.

In his outlook, Dr. Hainzl emphasized that in order to promote the peace process in Somalia, all relevant actors need to be included and local as well as regional economic and peace activities must be brought forward. In order to fight piracy, the local security sector should be strengthened. Also the issue of illegal fishery and the dumping of haz-ardous waste must be addressed. Last but not least, a better coordination between all in-ternational actors involved is crucial.

In the following discussion alternative solutions to combat piracy were discussed. Regarding the inner conflicts of Somalia, it was also raised the question, if, instead of pre-


6 | 28

serving the territorial integrity of the country as a whole, the autonomy of Puntland and Somaliland could be considered as a possible option. Since the situation in Somalia is highly complex and it’s not always easy to obtain reliable data from inside the country, there are many differing opinions on this issue in the scientific discourse.

Minutes taken by Solvejg Wiedecke

2. Austrian Institute for International Politics |

Prof. Dr. Heinz Gärtner: Current Security Policy Problems |

Univ. Doz. Dr. Paul Luif: Austria in International Politics

The Austrian Foreign Security Policy refers to the post World War II period. Four occu-pying powers decided for Austrian neutrality, which has been subsequently brought into the parliament in 1955 and passed in a favorable voting. In this context neutrality means (1) not entering any military alliances (2) no foreign troops on Austrian soil and (3) no engagement in other countries’ wars. The neutrality refers only to military issues, as Aus-tria has early stated its commitment to western values. It is tightly linked to Austria's’ membership in the United Nations (UN) and is being usually called “active neutrality”. The term means that Austria can engage in military operations under a UN Security Council (SC) mandate (Afghanistan, Congo, Chad).

Nowadays Austria seems to have a twofold approach to foreign affairs. It takes a neutral position in international affairs within the EU, where the view is being held, that the EU has the mandate for foreign affairs, which Austria will support. Within the Lisbon Treaty Austria has been guaranteed neutrality under the “Irish Clause” - neutral states are not obliged to security commitments. Nevertheless Austria is still willing to have an im-pact on international affairs, within the Petersburg Tasks mentioned in the Lisbon Treaty, where Austria decided to focus on human security missions and has a strong voice in the climate and development policy debate. However, it is worth mentioning that Austria did not achieve the ODA quota of 0.7% GDP and sticks to approximately 0.3% GDP.

In the 1970s and 1980s Austria was playing an important mediator role within the CSCE between the “East” and “West” Cold War block, but this role disappeared after the establishment of OSCE.

There is big support for Austria's neutrality among the society (approximately 75% of population in favor), which increases spontaneously in situations like the outbreak of war in Iraq. However, the Security Doctrine of 2001 started a national debate on a possi-ble NATO membership and Austria's contribution to foreign affairs. NATO membership would mean a significant increase in national military budget and loosing its tight to UN mandates. This move would make Austria loose its credibility in international operations (mostly within Arab countries) and will create an image of Austria as an instrument of big countries.

Minutes taken by Katarzyna Kubiak


7 | 28

3. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) |

Ms. Siham Alawami (PR and Information Officer)

Ms. Siham Alawami welcomed the participants of the meeting in the new premises of the organization in Vienna, where the organization moved to in November 2009. OPEC head-quarters have been located in Vienna for over 40 years, having been relocated from Ge-neva, Switzerland in 1965.

Presenting the organization Ms. Alawami tackled the most critical stages of OPEC from its commencement 50 years ago till present days. OPEC mission and adherence to it of member countries were put in the forefront of the whole presentation and a discussion round. Under the OPEC mission, member states coordinate and unify their domestic pe-troleum policies for stability of the oil markets in order to secure an efficient and regular supply of petroleum to consumers. Also they cooperate to ensure a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.

The first suggestion reflecting the growing need to harmonize the oil markets and set up regulating mechanisms for the unified oil market came from Venezuela in 1959. In a year afterwards the proposal came into being. The five OPEC founding countries - Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela agreed to establish OPEC at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960. Bringing together the major oil producing coun-tries became possible only after the UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Coun-tries and Peoples was adopted on December 14, 1960. Under the Declaration developing countries were permitted to exercise permanent sover-eignty over their natural resources and were able to take control of their domestic petro-leum industries.

OPEC was registered with the United Nations Secretariat on 6 November 1962. Later on some other oil producers joined the organization. The number of OPEC member states has been not the same since its establishment a half a century ago. Besides OPEC founder states, the organization has seven full member states presently. They are: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, SP Libyan AJ, Nigeria, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. Delivering her speech, Ms. Alawami mentioned how the OPEC membership ranged in different times. Noteworthy is that the membership of Ecuador was suspended within December 1992 - December 2007. Gabon, which enjoyed a full membership since 1975, terminated its membership in January 1995. Indonesia, which became a full member in 1962, sus-pended its membership in December 2008.

OPEC made an essential progress since its establishment. The speaker specified the most essential achievements of the organization in stabilizing the oil market. In par-ticular, throughout 1980s OPEC introduced a group oil production ceiling divided among member countries and a reference basket for pricing to stabilize the unified oil market. The same decade OPEC reached a significant progress in a dialogue with non-OPEC countries what is central for market stability and reasonable prices. OPEC proved it effec-tiveness many times reducing the impact of adjacent factors on the oil market, particularly during the Iraq-Iran war and later Middle East hostilities in 1990–91.

Responses to challenges posed by the global financial and economic crisis, which began to take hold in late 2008 are of a special attention of OPEC and were discussed also


8 | 28

at the last OPEC Conference meeting held on March 17, 2010. The Conference, the su-preme authority of the organization, reviewed recent supply/demand projections, as well as the oil outlook for 2010 as it is usually does on the semiannual basis. One of the most touching aspects of the presentation for participants was the information about the Re-search Division of OPEC. That’s is because the responsibilities of this division, which is one of the units of the Secretariat of OPEC, are close to what IFSH students deal with. In particular, the department for Energy Studies and Multilateral Relations of the Research Division backs reviews of the Conferences with its profound assessments. In particular, the department is in charge of evaluating of political developments and other related fac-tors which may affect the global energy market and in particular may lead to divergences between the oil demand and supply.

Minutes taken by Julia Borshchevska; Photos by Götz Neuneck

Day 2 | Tuesday | April 20, 2010 | The United Nations Agencies in Vienna

4. Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations |

Mr. Rüdiger Lüdeking (Ambassador) |

Mr. Thomas Mützelburg (Representative to the UN)

At the beginning of our second day, Ambassador Rüdiger Lüdeking gave us a general introduction to the tasks of the German Mission to the United Na-tions in Vienna. The office in Vienna is the smallest of three German permanent Missions to the UN; the other two are located in New York and Geneva. The most important institutions for Germany in Vienna are the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), CTBTO (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization), UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime), UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organization), UNCITRAL (Commission of the United Nations on International Trade Law), OOSA (Office for Outer Space Af-fairs), Wassenaar Arrangement and OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Coun-tries). According to Ambassador Lüdeking, his task is to work with these international or-ganizations and to represent the interests of Germany and the EU.

The IAEA is especially important for Germany, because of Iran’s nuclear program. This explains why Germany exempts the IAEA from its general austerity policy with re-gard to budgeting international organizations.

Furthermore, we received a detailed insight of the German position towards Iran: Germany attaches great importance to the compliance with the NPT safeguard agree-ments, the integrity of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the prohibition of military nuclear programs. In addition, the stability of the region is of particular concern for Ger-many. Finally, the Ambassador pointed out that Germany will react to the Iran issue in the framework of multilateralism.


9 | 28

He then told us about the reaction of the international community towards Iran. Up to now, three multilateral diplomatic actions have been taken: First, the IAEA intervened,

second the “E3+3 Process” was launched and as a last resort the issue was handed over to the UN Security Council. This shows that the international community tried to resolve the Iran case in a diplomatic way: Even though the IAEA noted non-compliance with the NPT safeguard agreements, the Iran case was not brought to the Security Council. But since Iran has shown no cooperation at all and has started its enrich-ment program, the issue was finally given to the UN

Security Council. Confidence building measures have failed so far, but there might be a window of hope as Iran will very soon need nuclear fuel elements.

At the end of our meeting we discussed with Mr. Thomas Mützelburg whether sanctions towards Iran make sense. The German representative said that as Iran creates “fait accomplices”, the international community has no other option than sanctioning. On the other hand, sanctions are not effective. According to Mr. Mützelburg, the problem is that there are no other alternatives up to now. Mr. Mützelburg ended the discussion by showing us the severity of the issue: Since Iran shows no cooperation, there is the danger of an escalation and of a chapter VII UN Charter resolution. This would have huge im-pacts for the whole region. Therefore, Germany is trying its best to find a peaceful and diplomatic solution.

Minutes taken by Florence Metz; Photos by Götz Neuneck

5. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) |

Mr. Bernardo Ribeiro (External Relations Officer)

The IAEA was established as an autonomous UN or-ganization in 1957. The agency promotes the peaceful and secure use of nuclear energy and seeks to inhibit the military use of nuclear power. The headquarters of the IAEA is in Vienna and is led by the Director General of the agency, Yukiya Amano. The programs and budgets are set by the 35 members of the Board of Governors and the General Conference of all 151 member states. The IAEA secretariat employs about 2200 experts from more than 90 states. It is organized in six departments that focus on topics like technical cooperation, nuclear energy, safety and security, science, verification (safeguards) and management.

During our visit Bernardo Ribeiro from the Office of External Relations and Policy Coordination gave us a review on the work of the agency in these different fields. He ex-plained the diverse peaceful uses of nuclear energy for example for medical or biological purposes.

But he mainly focused on the verification mechanisms of the IAEA especially the safeguards agreements, which 172 states made with the organization. These agreements allow the agency to verify the declarations of the states about their nuclear activities and


10 | 28

material. The agency shall verify the correctness and completeness of the declarations made by the states, but the effectiveness of these checks depends on the given authority of the agency. To increase this authority 96 member states signed additional protocols with

the agency since May 1997. These protocols provide the organization better tools for verification and broader checks.

After the presentation of the agency Mr. Ribeiro answered questions of the students inter alia concerning the integrated safeguards approach that the IAEA uses in Canada and Japan.

He also explained the limited possibilities of the agency to impose pressure on member states in cases non-cooperation. The IAEA has no enforcement

mechanisms and can just report problems to the Broad of Governors, which can inform the UN Security Council about these problems.

Minutes taken by Annegret Kunde; Photos by Götz Neuneck

6. Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty-

Organization (CTBTO) |

Ms. Kirsten Haupt (Public Information Officer)

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) aims to ban all kind of nuclear testing - surface, atmosphere, underwater and underground (computer simulated nuclear test not included). The idea was stated the first time by the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954, but did not found acceptance due to lack of governmental willing and lack of reasonable technological opportunities to verify such a ban. The treaty has been negotiated between 1994 and 1996, when it was brought under signing.

As for April 2010 there are 182 signatory states, from which 151 ratified the treaty. Annex II of the treaty lists 44 countries with nuclear capabilities (as for 1996) which have to ratify CTBT in order for it to enter into force. Currently still 9 hold out states did not sign/ratify the treaty giving different explanations. China waits for U.S. ratification; North Korea prepares for next nuclear test probably within 2010 thus it has no interest in ban-ning nuclear testing; Egypt makes its ratification depended on Israel joining the NPT re-gime and creating the Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone; India depends on Paki-stan and China and undergoes a debate on the necessity to repeat the nuclear tests from 1998; Indonesia feels that nuclear weapon states have to ratify the treaty first; Iran could ratify the CTBT as evidence of the peaceful character of its nuclear program - is however unwilling due to the regional security constellation; Israel relies its signing and ratification on Egypt and Iran; Pakistan depends on India; and U.S. lacks the needed 2/3 votes in the Congress to ratify due to Republican senators not being fully convinced of the treaties verification mechanism. The verification regime consists of the International Monitoring


11 | 28

System (seismic, hydro acoustic, infrasound and radionuclide measurement stations around the world) of 337 facilities and the International Data Centre located in Vienna. The CTBTO Preparatory Commission, which takes charge over the data does not assess gathered information and sends it to states, which than can decide on their own over the relevancy and importance of the data. Another instrument to be introduced after entering into force are on-site inspections. Although the treaty is not in force, its impressive tech-nology is already being used within civil and scientific applications covering tsunami warning data sharing, volcanic eruptions warning system, climate research or non intru-sive biological research. And although there probably still is quite a long way before the treaty enters into force, the improved international nuclear policy climate gives a little hope for progress to come.

Minutes taken by Kasia Kubiak; Photos by Götz Neuneck

7. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) |

Mr. Sayaphol Sackda (Information Officer)

After introducing himself as a citizen of Laos, Mr. Sayaphol Sackda, who is the Information Officer of the Public Advocacy and Communication Unit, gave us a brief presentation on UNIDO, about its history, thematic priorities, governing bodies, staff members and examples of its programs. He stated that UNIDO was established in 1966 and recognized as a special-ized body of the UN in 1985. He disclosed that since December 2008, 173 States have become members of the organization. He emphasized the importance of UNIDO in the UN system and stated that it is the only UN organization given the mandate to promote sustainable industrial de-velopment.

He said that UNIDO’s thematic priorities are Trade Capacity-Building through technical assistance; Environment and Energy by promoting sustainable patterns of indus-trial consumption; and Production and Poverty Reduction through productive activities. He estimated the regular operations budget at 381.6 Million Euros for 2008-2009, apart from voluntary contributions.

Your browser may not support display of this image. The main governing bodies of the organization are the General Conference (GC), the Industrial Development Board (IDB) and the Pro-gram and Budget Committee (PBC).The GC meets once every two years and is responsible for electing representatives to the IDB and PBC. He informed us that the last GC just took place recently.

Concerning UNIDO’s employment, Mr. Sackda revealed that the organization employs over 600 staff members and additional international and

national experts are employed intermittently for various projects. He said fifty percent of the international and national experts are from developing countries because South-South cooperation between developing countries and economies in transition is an important fea-


12 | 28

ture of UNIDO. He particularly commended the works of the Director-General of UNIDO, who is presently Kandeh K. Yumkella of Sierra Leone.

Before giving us the opportunity to ask some questions, Mr. Sackda showed us samples of documents he had prepared so that we could take home. When asked on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), for instance, he said that the MDGs are very important, and that the organization supports developing countries in achieving the MDGs. However, he mentioned that the organization only concentrates on four of the eight MDGs. That is: the Eradication of Poverty and Hunger, Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women, Ensuring Environmental Sustainability and Developing a Global Partnership for Development. He said that if the MDGs are not achieved, it could probably be as a result of lack of focus because they sometimes look very general but mostly because of lack of enough funds. He therefore encouraged us as future leaders of tomorrow to start thinking about how we could make the world better.

Minutes taken by Patricia Bashiru-Kargbo; Photos by Götz Neuneck

8. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |

Ms. Dolgor Solongo (Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer)

On Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Solongo invited us kindly to follow her presentation on the UNODC, which has been established in 1997. This department achieves its strategy of pursuing multilateral partnerships to fight “problems without borders” by helping to tackle the growing challenges of drugs, crime and terrorism. Its global network consists of many international, re-gional and local organizations.

The UNODC assists member states in fighting organized crime, drugs and terrorism through three different areas (research and analytical work; normative work and field-based technical research projects). Its extensive range of publications, such as the World Drug Report (2009), contributes to this work. The office focuses on giving support to diverse govern-ment bodies. This is done by advising the particular departments on all kind of questions concerning drugs and crimes as well as by giving effective technical assistance in the field of counterterrorism. The given presentation was particularly focused on the Terrorism Prevention Branch

(TPB) that holds a specific mandate. The TPB is a provider of special services to strengthen legal re-gimes against terrorism as well as to assist with legal services and building of criminal justice capacity. Ac-cording to Ms. Solongo, so far the branch has achieved successful activities in roughly 158 countries and to 114 countries direct assistance was given. The TPB has several technical assistance tools at its dis-

posal. Among others those are: - Legal database www.unodc.org/tldb/


13 | 28

- Digest of Terrorist Cases (at the 12th Crime Congress in Brazil 2010 with 7000 global experts)

- Model law on extradition Before closing her presentation, the speaker elaborated on the applicable global legal framework, within which the UN resolutions 1267(1999) and 1373 (2001) and another 16 international conventions against terrorism seem to be the most important ones.

During the final discussion, an apprehension was raised regarding the influence of the UNODC if countries “over-cooperate”? “Over-cooperation” concerns governments which may use the tools of UNODC to label opposition groups as terrorists. According to Ms. Solongo, it is very difficult to oversee the correct implementation of the standards. However UNODC uses communication to convince all involved actors of the value of human right standards. The request for a clear definition of terrorism to avoid “over-cooperation” was denied by Ms. Solongo, “as there are enough inter-national tools to deal with this issue”.

Minutes taken by Daniel Holler; Photos by Götz Neuneck

Day 3 | Wednesday | April 21, 2010 | About Oil, Space and Human Rights

9. OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) |

Ms. Reem (PR Officer)

The participants were given a presentation about the vision and key activities of the OFID. OFID has been created in the follow-up of the first summit of OPEC heads of states that took place in Algeria 1975, but OPEC Fund has become a permanent international development agency later in 1980. Since its creation the Fund has been operating as a multi-national fi-nancial facility to provide development aid to non-OPEC development states.

As the representative of the Fund has empha-sized the OPEC Fund for International Development is not operating with any particular ideology, but with the primary purpose to “help poor people worldwide,” alleviate pov-erty, encourage growth, promote sustainable development and build human capacity. With these primary missions OFID has been operating in 125 countries worldwide having par-ticular emphases on Africa and Latin America. Operational performances generally are not limited to certain fields: the implemented projects have been including energy compo-nent, building healthcare facilities, and other social and economic projects. In addition to giving loans to developing states from the donations of member countries OPEC Fund has been providing scholarships for students from developing countries who have been eager to study development studies in the world’s distinguished universities.


14 | 28

The questions have been posed concerning the OFID annual funding and its trans-parent spending for particular projects in the developing countries, as most of them are still supposed to be having high levels of corruption and less transparent institutions. As participants were informed since its foundation in 1976 (originally as a temporary facility) OPEC Fund has been given initial endowment of $ 800 million, the rest OFID’s resources

consist of voluntary contributions by member states. The projects that are being implemented by OFID are generally funded from accumulated resources and reserves. As for transparency, students were in-formed that the Fund basically tries not to get in partnership on the ground without cooperation with some non-governmental organizations.

At the end students were taken to the tour around the historical building were

currently OFID headquarters are placed. The OFID Headquarters building located in Vienna 1st district was the residential palace of Austrian Archduke Wilhelm Franz Karl. The five-story Italian renaissance-style palace (often referred as Palais Deutschmeister) has been declared as national monument for its decorative sculptural works and distinctive architecture.

Minutes taken by Nino Khelaia; Photos by Götz Neuneck

10. European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) |

Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schrogl (Director): Introduction & Closing |

Ms. Matxalen Sanchez Aranzamenti (Fellow): Space Regulations in Europe |

Ms. Jana Robinson (Fellow): Security Dimension of Space Activities in Europe

Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schrogl warmly welcomed us at the ESPI, the European Space Policy Institute. The mission of this think tank on space-related matters is to provide decision-makers with an independent view and analysis on mid-to long term issues relevant to the use of space. To fulfill this objective, the ESPI in-house analysts cooperate with a network of experts and centers of excellence supported by the institute itself. In addition to the introduction to ESPI’s activities by Prof. Dr. Schrogl, we had the privilege to hear two presentations on specific research projects of ESPI.

The first presentation on space regulations in Europe was held by Ms. Matxalen Sanchez Aranzamenti, a resident fellow at the institute. Ms. Sanchez argued that, as the highly risky activities by governments as well as private actors in space grow rapidly, there is an increasing need for international regulations on the subject. The UN Outer Space Treaties of 1966 fail to respond appropriately to the phenomenon, as they do not include regulations on space activities on a private basis. This leads to the unsatisfying situation, in which governments are responsible for the potentially high costs created by companies of the respective country. Furthermore, the differences amongst state regula-


15 | 28

tions create market polarizations with the companies being based in the countries where they face the least risks. Ms. Sanchez Aranzamenti expressed some hope for enhanced regulation within the European Union, as the Lisbon treaty includes some basic provisions on space activities. In her opinion, an EU-wide legislation would, in addition to better sharing the burden of possible costs, bring balance into the

markets, ensure independent access, support competitiveness, and foster the development of space-related markets.

In the second presentation, Jana Robinson, also a resident fellow at the ESPI, elaborated on the security dimension of space activities in Europe. According to Ms. Rob-inson, the relation between security and space is twofold. First, space can contribute to enhancing security, for example by facilitating border control or the analysis of environ-mental disasters through satellite images. Furthermore, there is a potential to install weap-ons in space, a field in which Ms. Robinson wishes the EU to lead the international efforts in order to outlaw these potentially disastrous scenarios. A second dimension would be the security in space, meaning the capabilities to protect one’s own assets in space. As for now, the United States are the only country being able to handle this challenge properly, rendering the EU dependent on U.S. capabilities in the field. Here, according to Ms. Rob-inson, an effort is needed by the European Union to develop its own capabilities in this rapidly growing field.

These two detailed insights in the work of ESPI gave us an impression of the much specialized and complex work the institute does. The speculations on the possibilities of the use of space for the good or the worse have created some interesting discussions amongst the group when leaving for lunch after the visit. In so far, even if most of us had to recognize that this is too much of a technical issue to become an expert after two hours of presentations, the visit had the effect of sparking our interest in questions of the use of space.

Minutes taken by Andreas Graf; Photos by Götz Neuneck

11. European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) |

Mr. Andreas Accardo (Strategy & Governance Coordinator, PR)

FRA was founded in 2007 and is one of 28 special-ized agencies. FRA provides expertise about transna-tional issues related to the European Union.

According to Mr. Accardo, Strategy & Gov-ernance Coordinator, External Relations & Network-ing Department, FRA’s role is to make fundamental rights a reality to everyone in the EU, by providing comparative data, through awareness-raising and evi-dence-based experience. FRA advises EU institu-tions, conducts research in the field of human rights, and cooperates with civil society in order to achieve its goals. As for the current situation, Mr. Accardo said the Lisbon Treaty strengthened fundamental rights in the EU, improving the consistency in the policies of


16 | 28

the EU, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as man-dating that the EU accede to the European Convention of Human Rights.

Mr. Accardo presented one of FRA’s most important projects, the European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS), the first EU-wide survey of its kind, in which more than 23,000 interviews with minorities were conducted at their homes. The survey revealed a troubling scenario: every second Roma and every third Muslim reported being discriminated against in the last 12 months. “The reported levels of discrimination were shocking,” Mr. Accardo said. In addition, only one-fifth of those interviewed knew of the existence of reporting mechanisms such as the Equality Bodies. “Most people don’t report discrimination experiences to anyone, because they don’t think it could change any-thing,” Mr. Accardo explained. He added that official reports of discrimination were just “the tip of the iceberg”, because the police itself may be involved in discrimination against minorities.

Mr. Accardo also highlighted other FRA projects, such as the LGBT discrimina-tion report; defending the freedom of movement of the Roma, Europe’s largest minority; a

report on trafficked children, and guaranteeing access to justice for asylum-seekers. During the discussion, Mr. Accardo was asked whether the results of the discrimination survey could be trusted. He replied that, while such a question always emerges with regard to minority surveys, majority surveys such as the Eurobarometer were widely accepted and even used for policy-making. Mr. Accardo alleged such surveys were

much more reliable than official data, because in countries such as Italy and Spain, there was not a single recorded racist crime.

A question was also raised in regard to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and whether it is necessary to make it legally binding for EU Member States. Accord replied that, as the EU was built on common values and adheres to the highest standards in terms of human rights, it should lead by example and champion human rights within the EU. He added that EU legislation was given more weight than measures of the Council of Europe, for instance.

In addition, Mr. Accardo mentioned that there is little overlap in the work of FRA and the European Court of Human Rights, as the latter hears mostly cases involving Tur-key and Russia, while FRA focuses inside the EU. In Mr. Accardo’s opinion FRA exer-cises an important internal function: “The EU must scrutinize itself.” Nevertheless he in-dicated that there should be more information exchange and cooperation in between the different European bodies for Fundamental Rights.

Minutes taken by Joice Biazoto & Nicola Nymalm; Photos by Götz Neuneck


17 | 28

Day 4 | Thursday | April 22, 2010 |

At the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

12. OSCE | Mr. Heiner Horsten (Ambassador): An Overview and a German

Perspective

On Thursday morning we were warmly welcomed by Ambassador Heiner Horsten in the Permanent Mis-sion of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE, in the historic Hofburg Imperial Palace. He first informed us about the history of the OSCE, which goes back to the early 1970s when the Confer-ence of Security and Cooperation in Europe served as platform for dialogue and negotiations between Cold War rivals. Thirty five states signed the Helsinki Final Act in 1975 in an attempt to im-prove relations between the East and the West. With the end of The Cold War, the CSCE needed to reinvent itself. Therefore, a summit was held in 1990 in Paris which started the institutionalization process. Consequentially, the CSCE was renamed OSCE and became a fully-fledged international organization. Today, the OSCE has 56 member states from Europe, North America and Central Asia. It is structured in the following three dimen-sions: politico-military, economic and environmental, and human.

In the second part of his presentation, the German Ambassador spoke about the priorities and challenges of the current OSCE Chairmanship held by Kazakhstan. For the

first time, a Central-Asian state of the former Soviet Union is chairing the OSCE. The Ambassador speci-fied in finer detail, the continuation of the Corfu-Process, and the support of dialogue on the future of European Security, as one important priority.

After his speech, the Ambassador took time for further discussion. Debated for instance, was the on-going political crisis in Kyrgyzstan and how to stabi-lize the situation to bring forward democratic devel-

opment. MPS students also questioned the activities and the role of the OSCE with the Partner Country, Afghanistan. Before the Ambassador had to leave for a weekly meeting with the Permanent Council, we learned that the OSCE was, and is, involved in such things as border control, police training, and the assessment and analysis of elections in Afghanistan.

Minutes taken by Nadine Petri; Photos by Götz Neuneck


18 | 28

13. OSCE | Mr. Gottfried Hanne (Deputy Director Operations Services):

The Conflict Prevention Center (CPC) and Field Operations

Mr. Hanne began the meeting by giving an overview of the role of CPC in the OSCE. With conflict prevention being at the core of the OSCE since the early 1990s, the CPC was established to provide a vital link between the Chairman-in-Office, Participating States and Secretary General with the field missions on early warning, conflict prevention and conflict management. The CPC also coordinates the approach of field missions to op-erational matters and provides a policy support service to the participating states, Secre-tary General and Chairman-in-Office, by transforming policy into specific activities. Field operations are based in Southern-Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

In terms of issues dealt with by the CPC, Mr. Hanne explained that these can broadly be divided into generations. The first generation of issues dealt with monitoring for early warning and conflict prevention such as the spill-over mission in Skopje and fa-cilitation of negotiations to resolve conflicts such as the mission in Moldova. In the mid 90s, missions were established with much broader mandates, incorporating all three of the dimensions on which the OSCE is based, such as the missions in Azerbaijan and Central Asia, with all missions having mandates to deal with early warning and conflict preven-tion and some with post-conflict rehabilitation. Particular missions also deal with crisis management, such as Moldova, the previous mission in Georgia and the Kyrgyz mission, as demonstrated by recent events in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Whilst, Mr. Hanne claimed that the OSCE is the most developed regional organi-zation in terms of its post-conflict rehabilitation abilities, particularly due to its experience in the Balkans, he also felt that crisis management is the weakest area for the OSCE in the conflict cycle. Although the CPC has a relatively extensive network of field operations

and NGOs to deal with early warning, problems are also presented by moving from early warning to early action. Because of the policy of making decisions by consensus, it can be difficult to activate the tools nec-essary for early action quickly, particularly in situa-tions which are much politicized. A number of ques-tions were raised about the consensus principle and Mr. Hanne went on to explain that during the Corfu process, some calls have been raised to adopt new

mechanisms which would enable quick response to crises whilst maintaining an element of the consensus principle. He also explained that the question of consensus is very diffi-cult both politically and operationally. As a fundamental basis of the OSCE it is a source of legitimacy and, due to the politically rather than legally binding nature of OSCE deci-sions, allows participating states to make compromises that they may not be prepared to make under a legally-binding system.

During the session Mr. Hanne also underlined the need to find a common cause to reunite the participating states in this new era of the OSCE. In this sense, because of the differing views held by the U.S., Russian Federation and EU the principle of consensus is in danger of becoming a weakness rather than a strength of the OSCE. An example of this would be the closure of the mission in Georgia which happened, not as a result of a con-


19 | 28

scious decision that the mission should close, but rather as a result of the inability to come to an agreement about the status of the mission.

As the regional organization with the most elaborate ‘tool box’ of conflict preven-tion instruments in the world, the OSCE needs to find a way to enable quick action – not by getting around the principle of consensus but by finding a common aim to reunite par-ticipating states.

Minutes taken by Claire Preece; Photos by Götz Neuneck

14. OSCE | Observing Permanent Council Proceedings

This agenda item was definitely a highlight of our visit to the OSCE. The Permanent Council is “the main regular decision-making body of the Organiza-tion“1. The national delegations meet here on a weekly basis (on Thursdays) and discuss current is-sues affecting the OSCE region. It gives the opportu-nity to the Secretary General (SG) to report on his activities and other events within the Organization (the SG for instance mentioned a workshop on the 2005 Universal Legal Instruments against Terrorism and the Implementation of their Pro-visions in National Legislation that will take place in Vienna from April 29 to 30 2010). On his part, the Chairman of the Permanent Council informs on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office. The Chairmanship of the Permanent Council is held by the ambas-sador to the OSCE of the country that has the Chairmanship of the OSCE. Therefore, the Chairperson to the Permanent Council rotates on an annual basis and is now provided by Kazakhstan.

We had the opportunity to witness the 806th meeting of the Permanent Council and luckily it was a very interesting one. In fact, the meeting hall was full as the addressed issues were of quite some relevance. Prior to the reports on the ac-tivities of the Chairperson-in-Office, the Secretary General and on other points of concern (such as the up-coming presidential election in Poland) following topics were discussed: (1) the situation in Kyrgyzstan, (2) the death penalty in the U.S., (3) Corruption in the OSCE region, (4) the imprisonment of the journalist

Ernest Vardanyan in the Transdniestrian region of the Republic of Moldova and finally (5) the emergency humanitarian situation in Tajikistan.

What does such a meeting formally look like? The interventions can take place in one of the six official languages of the OSCE (French, German, English, Italian, Russian or Spanish) and are then translated simultaneously for the entire assembly. The delega-tions gather in a circle and the Chairperson of the Permanent Council presides the session. The Secretary General is seated next to him. The agenda is drafted in the previous days and the opportunity is given to every delegation to address an issue. In the specific case of

1 Website of the OSCE: http://www.osce.org/pc/13390.html, retrieved on 27/04/2010


20 | 28

the European Union the country, which holds the EU-presidency speaks in the name of the entire Union. Single EU-states do not address issues by themselves anymore. The dif-ferent agenda items are discussed one by one. Firstly, the country that addressed the topic holds its speech. Other countries that have requested a reaction to this intervention can then answer. Finally, the Chairperson also gives the opportunity to other delegations to add something spontaneously if it is needed. As an example, the U.S. addressed the im-prisonment of the journalist Ernest Vardanyan in Moldova, stressing the recurrent viola-tions of human rights in this country. After the U.S.-intervention, the Moldovan ambassa-dor to the OSCE gave a statement on the Moldovan government’s position on this issue.

To resume, we listened to a vivid multilateral political dialogue at a time when the OSCE region is facing particularly complex challenges such as the political crisis in Kyr-gyzstan. It was very interesting to observe how very controversial issues are yet discussed in a very formal way. All in all, a good exercise that trained us in reading between the lines of diplomatic rhetoric.

Minutes taken by Christine Blumauer; Photos by Götz Neuneck

15. OSCE | Mr. Andrew Hyde (Deputy Political Counselor): The U.S. Perspective

Right after attending the Permanent Council Session and our lunch break, we had the opportunity to listen to Andrew Hyde, deputy political counselor of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE.

After a short summary of the session and a brief summary of his biography in the state depart-ment, he expressed the importance of the organiza-tion to the U.S., due to security, political, economi-cal, cultural and social reasons and the big interest in European Affairs. In the eyes of the state department Europe is a success-story but Europe’s security is not fully settled. Na-gorno-Karabakh, Georgia and Moldova/Transdniestria are the current problems which need to be solved. He also elaborated on the special role of the U.S. and Russia within the OSCE and commented the current presidency by Kazakhstan. The OSCE, he expressed, is a very important security organization and special platform for dialogue, which allows dialogue between states that would not talk with each bilateral or other than in this special framework, e.g. Russia and Georgia after the 2008 Olympic War, which make the OSCE the number one CSBM-tool (Confidence and Security Building Measures).

Then he focused on the uniqueness of year 2010, which for him is a very special year. First, the OSCE is going to have a summit (last summit 1999), second, the presi-dency of Kazakhstan as the first non-European country, third, the Corfu-Process, which is a new chapter for the OSCE and at the same time back to the roots of fundamental secu-rity issues in the region between Vancouver and Vladivostok and fourthly, the ongoing challenge in Afghanistan where he mentioned economic support, election assistance and border control as measures for the OSCE to help the afghan people.

He was then asked if arms control can be a CSBM-tool and whether they might make a decisive input on frozen conflicts or not. Mr. Hyde replied that it is a certain factor but not decisive. The next question concerning the change of the administration in the U.S. and the differences concerning multi- or unilateralism brought a quite frankly re-


21 | 28

sponse by the American diplomat. There is a difference but it is not as big as perceived in the public and every president remains an American president. That is why the OSCE is of course “a tool for achieving U.S. interests”, e.g. by getting access to information and sources the U.S. would never or harder or less get access to other than by this platform, e.g. Kyrgyzstan. Then Mr. Hyde added that there is a certain tendency of unilateralism in the United States, but on the one hand this is some kind of a historical absolute term and proved to be successful and on the other hand other big powers like Russia or China do also have this tendency.

The last question, concerning the critical aspect of Russia and the U.S. playing sometimes their special bi-lateral game in the OSCE, he answered in a very diplomatic way. With reference to the great achievements of the Kazakh-Presidency, he mentioned the fact that it is an unspoken agreement that Russia and the U.S. would never take the presidency of the OSCE.

Minutes taken by Dan Krause; Photos by Götz Neuneck

16. OSCE | Mr. Valeriy Maslov (Senior Counselor): The Russian Perspective

Mr. Valeriy Maslov, the representative of the Perma-nent Mission of the Russian Federation to the OSCE, started his speech reminding the scope and scale of OSCE activities. He emphasized that all issues have to be addressed through consensus of participating states. Thus the confidence building among all 56 member states is of paramount importance for effec-tive consideration of OSCE agenda and reaching of sound decisions.

Greater part of the speech of Mr. Maslov was devoted to security arrangements, and in particular to the Corfu Process and the Medvedev Proposal. Mr. Maslov articulated a concern of the Russian Mission which is a given priority to human rights issues instead

of concentration on security issues first within OSCE, as wished by the Russian side. According to him, among 3 dimensions OSCE deals with, namely the politico-military, the economic and environmental, and the human dimension, the latter gains the highest attention. In particular, the representative of the Per-manent Mission of the Russian Federation to the OSCE argues that there is such a position as the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and

there is no such position with relation to security issues, which in Russian view is a clear signal what is a real priority of OSCE.

Mr. Maslov dwelled on the Corfu Process, saying that OSCE can not be a forum in its present format to proceed with Corfu Process. The Russian Delegation insists on at least providing of a balance between consideration of human rights issues and security is-sues for OSCE to be an appropriate platform for negotiating of the future European secu-rity architecture. Another option Russian side would also welcome is to shift considera-tion of human rights issues to another institution, e.g. the Council of Europe and make


22 | 28

OSCE a regional organization with a strong focus on security – first of all military related matters.

One more argument of the Russia Federation of why OSCE is not appropriate as a forum for negotiation about the pan-European security arrangements is no OSCE Charter and no legal binding procedures to monitor commitments undertaken by member states. Commitments linked to the security issues can not be effectively fulfilled through the po-litically binding instrument solely, according to Mr. Maslov.

Additionally, he also mentioned the Medvedev Proposal, presented in December 2009. Recently the Russian side expects feedbacks from its partners in the EU with their comments and alternative propositions regarding the proposal of the President Medvedev to move forward in discussing the future arrangements of the European security.

Minutes taken by Julia Borshchevska; Photos by Götz Neuneck

17. OSCE | Mr. Roel Janssens (Economic and Environmental Advisor): Economic

and Environmental Aspects of Security

Mr. Roel Janssens presented to us the second dimen-sion of the OSCE, the economic and environmental dimension, which has been an integral part of OSCE activities from its foundation. The work is guided by the so-called Maastricht Strategy, adopted by the Ministerial Council in 2003 and committing the member states to cooperate in the fields of economy, environmental protection, sustainable development and good governance. The work is carried out by the staff in Vienna as well as in 18 field offices, and is coordinated at the delegate level by the Economic and Environmental Committee. The main task is to monitor, identify and coun-teract threats to security and stability arising in the field of economy and the environment. In the economic realm, prosperity is seen as a corner stone for stability and activities in-clude the promotion of good governance, combating money laundering and corruption or

assistance in migration management and transport is-sues. In the environmental arena, the main tasks are to raise awareness for environmental risks and their im-pact on security, promote sustainable resource use, especially energy security or water resource manage-ment, and the disposal of toxic waste. The cooperative approach of OSCE also in this dimension was empha-sized, for example the participation in the Environ-ment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) in cooperation

with other international organizations such as UNDP, UNEP and NATO. The OSCE with its field offices complements the work of the other organizations fruitfully and the OSCE has unique capacities in these areas.

As a concrete example Mr. Janssens described the facilitation of transport and bor-der crossing mechanisms for legitimate trade especially for the landlocked central Asian states. Activities include regional and national capacity building and awareness-raising as well as the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe (Tajikistan), border as-


23 | 28

sessment missions and a Handbook of Best Practices at Border Crossings. The 2010 Eco-nomic and Environmental Forum will also focus on this issue.

Among other questions the discussion centered on the question of how to fight cor-ruption most efficiently. Mr. Janssens emphasized the importance of tackling the issue also at higher governmental levels. Concrete measures especially in the field of customs and borders were described as too new to evaluate and tangible results as difficult to measure. Another interesting question was on the appreciation of the second dimension within the OSCE, looking at the relatively few people working there. This seemed to be a touchy issue. The advantage of the second dimension was described as its level of low politics, where cooperation might be easier than in other areas. However, while member states keep increasing the portfolio of issues the second dimension should deal with, the budget and staff are not increased accordingly. Mr. Janssens expressed the assessment that this would have to be dealt with at the delegate level at some point.

Minutes taken by Franziska Piontek; Photos by Götz Neuneck

18. OSCE | Mr. Thorsten Stodiek (Police Affairs Officer): OSCE’s Police-Related

Activities

Why does OSCE do policing? MPS students received an answer on present question after a comprehensive report of Mr. Thorsten Stodiek - the Adviser on Re-search and Analysis Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE.

There are no doubts that good policing is cen-tral in preventing conflicts, preserving social stability during crisis and supporting post-conflict rehabilita-tion. For to support policing in the OSCE area in December 2001 was created The Strate-gic Police Matters Unit (SPMU) at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, which goals are to provide democratic vision of policing for the entire OSCE region and helping participat-ing states create competence and capacity to tackle new threats of stability and security such as organized crime and terrorism.

Mr. Stodiek stressed, that for to achieve present strategic goal, exactly changing of culture in policing in direction of democratization, especially in countries in transition in such regions as South East Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, the SPMU is realizing its activity through support and expert assistance of the OSCE field operations in latter re-gions in such fields as police training, counteraction to organized crime, trafficking of il-licit drugs, trafficking in human beings. According to the OSCE data to 2010 the SPMU realized its projects and on-site assistance in 15 OSCE field missions in South Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

The normative base of the SPMU leans on such OSCE Documents as Istanbul Charter for European Security (November 1999), Ministerial Council decision on policing (2001), OSCE Action Plan to combat Trafficking in Human Beings (2002), Permanent Council Decision on Combating the Threat Illicit Drugs and Persecutors (2007).

The SPMU Missions Mandates varies from creation of multi-ethnic police in the Balkan states exactly in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, improving training capaci-ties and human resource management in South Caucasus to criminal investigations, crimi-


24 | 28

nal information analysis, drug interdiction, strengthening Police Academy, police emer-gency response in Central Asian States.

It should be noted, that SPMU activities not limited only by expert advices and on-site assistance, but also include in itself collecting and disseminating good policing prac-tices and guidelines such as: Guidebook on Democratic Policing, Good Practices in Basic Police Training- Curricula aspects, Police and Roma and Sinti: Good Practices in Building Trust and Understanding. No less important achievement of the SPMU the expert seen in creation and successful functioning of the Policing Online Information System (POLIS)–polis.osce.org, presenting by itself multi- lingual web-portal, creating “virtual commu-nity” of the policing experts within the OSCE area, which provides the possibility of an information exchange and free access to the data.

However, questions on how to tackle problems of corruption in transition countries remained open. Mr. Stodiek mentioned that present changes depend on a large number of factors such as the political will of the OSCE countries to support reforms in the field of policing, closer co-operation with civil society, and decentralization of the decision mak-ing bodies within police. Mr. Stodiek suggested that ongoing changes have to be regarded as one step in a long-term process. In this regard, SPMU projects in the OSCE field mis-sions can be considered to be moving in the right direction.

Minutes taken by Akbikesh Mukhtarova; Photos by Götz Neuneck

Day 5 | Friday | April 23, 2010 |

Human Trafficking, Border Management and a Visit to the Embassy of Spain

19. International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) |

Ms. Slávka Zborovianová: Introduction to ICMPD |

Ms. Jenny Andersson: ICMPD Trafficking in Human Beings Activities |

Mr. Borut Eržen: Border Management

Our last study trip day started with a lecture at the ICMPD. At the beginning of the lecture Ms. Slávka Zborovianová gave an introduction to ICMPD. As an initiative of Austria and Switzerland, ICMPD was founded in 1993. The ICMPD is an intergovernmental organization, which aims to provide expertise and ef-ficient services in the landscape of multilateral co-operation on migration and asylum as well as support-ing contact and dialogue among countries of origin, transit and destination. ICMPD has cooperation with national authorities, regional authorities as Europol, Frontex, OSCE or international as Interpol, UNDP and holds UN observer status. Promoting innovative, comprehensive and sustainable migration policies as well as to function as a service exchange mechanism for governments and organizations are the aims of ICMPD.


25 | 28

After this short introduction, Ms. Jenny Andersson gave us an example of the ICMPD ac-tivities, in particular about the work of ICMPD under the topic “ICMPD trafficking in human beings activities (THB)”. In this field ICMPD is supporting national administra-tions in designing, reviewing and evaluating national actions plans; collecting and analyz-ing relevant trafficking human being data; trainings for judges and prosecutors; trainings for police, labor inspectors, creating platforms for transnational cooperation and exchange of information (TRM); fostering inter-governmental dialogue and exchange of good prac-tices, experiences and information and research.

Subsequently the floor was open for questions about the THB and TRM. Questions about child smuggling rings as well as beggar rings and how much money the mafia boss gets by constraining the children or handicapped human beings begging in the streets – had been raised. The mafia boss of trafficking gets about 800 Euro per day for constrain-ing children and handicapped persons to begging. Another question had been concerning prostitution and if this is legal as work in Austria with regards to trafficking. In Austria this is legal, and they have to be registered. But a lot of aren’t registered because they have been illegally trafficked into Austria. The third topic of presentation was by Mr. Eržen who is an expert on Border Man-agement. First he described ICMPD´s activities in the field of Border Management. ICMPD elaborates on guidelines e.g. the EC Guidelines for Integrated Border Manage-ment (IBM) in the Western Balkans, develops IBM Training Manual and national IBM strategies/ action plans and runs projects in different countries/regions (Western Balkans, South Caucasus, Central Asia, and North Africa). These projects’ target audiences are dif-ferent border agencies and veterinary and phytosanitary services. The support framework includes reviewing and reforming of the legal framework; training of trainers; adaptation of border management procedures; and development of bilateral and regional information exchange systems.

Mr. Eržen then talked about the EU Concept of IBM, the hurdles and its latest de-velopments. He mentioned that neither Border Security nor Trade Facilitation can be en-sured by one border agency alone and that in the past bringing in customs and border po-

lice to work together had been extremely difficult as there have also been problems with role clarification, e.g. who should deal with drug/ weapon/ human traf-ficking. He emphasized on cooperation & coordina-tion on three interrelated levels: Intra-Service, Inter-Agency and International, the main challenge being a missing horizontal cooperation, esp. in the Inter-Agency level, i.e. border guards, police and custom. Mr. Eržen described IBM as a comprehensive ap-proach with which it would be possible to improve trade, make fight against crime more effective, use re-sources more optimally and have clear distribution of

tasks and responsibilities. He mentioned success stories in different borders where a “one-stop/one-window procedure” has made border transactions and traffic more efficient.

Finally, Mr. Eržen gave a quick overview of EU Border Management Program for Central Asia (BOMCA) training activities in Central Asia. He mentioned why EU has an interest in this, in that the EU, although not concerned about human trafficking, has strong interest in curbing smuggling of nuclear arms and weapons and narcotics. Finally he


26 | 28

showed the different troubled border areas in Central Asia and visually rep-resented infra-structural problems that need attention in various border establishments. Due to time constraint, no floor questions could be raised for Mr. Eržen, except for clari-fying questions during the presentation itself.

Minutes and photos by Mubashir Mir & Esen Üsük

20. Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE in Vienna |

Ms. Marta Betanzos Roig (Ambassador), Mr. Agustin Núnez (Deputy Head of

Mission): The EU-Coordination Mechanisms within the OSCE

For the last presentation of our trip to Vienna, we were welcomed by the Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE. The discussions we re led by five different persons: The Ambassador Ms. Marta Betanzos Roig, the Deputy Head of Mission Agustin Nunez, as well as three different experts, each one in charge of one of the three pillars of the OSCE: the Political and Mili-tary aspects, the Economic and Environmental ones and the Human dimension.

We were first welcomed by the Ambassador Ms. Betanzos Roig, who introduced us to the work of the Mission by presenting the context in which it is working and its pri-orities. In the current context, she especially underlined the necessity to improve dialogue between all Member States in order to increase the efficiency of the OSCE’s work in every field. After this, Mr. Núnez enhanced the Ambassador’s presentation by giving us an overview of the motivations and the objectives of the European Union within the OSCE. He stated the necessity for the Member States to have the possibility to promote policies and objectives more clearly, underlining the fact that some countries have the im-pression that they are sending money without having the possibility to be more concretely involved in the organization’s work, a situation perceived by some of them as particularly frustrating.

Then we attended to the presentations led by the three experts, who gave us a com-prehensive overview of the work related to their respective pillars.

The expert on Security Issues defined for us the priorities of the EU in this field, stressing the importance of terrorism, since the topic has been coming back regularly at the top of the agenda in the last years. He also stressed the commit-ment of the EU to solidarity and flexibility, as well as the necessity for all the Member States to speak with one voice within the OSCE Permanent Council, which was too rarely the case until now. After this, the expert on Human Dimension confirmed that the EU consid-ers questions of Human Rights and Human Security as

central within the OSCE’s work and necessary for the promotion of security, a view which is not necessarily shared by all the OSCE’s members. He also mentioned the im-portance of two coming events, the Astana Conference on Non-Discrimination which will


27 | 28

be held in June 2010, and the Corfu process; according to him, both events will be deci-sive to confirm the central place of human issues within the OSCE policies.

Lastly, we assisted to the intervention of the expert on Economical and Environ-mental issues, who underlined from the very beginning the fact that these topics are tradi-tionally considered as less important than the other two pillars within the OSCE. In such a context, he mentioned the necessity to work further on the definition of clear objectives and priorities in this field, in order to increase the importance of these topics in the future policies of the organization.

This intervention complemented in an interesting manner our visit of OSCE Head-quarters the previous day. It enabled us to have a more concrete idea of the work led by national missions within the organization and raised very interesting questions about the cooperation between EU Member States in the context of an international organization.

Minutes taken by Alexandre Maouche; Photos by Götz Neuneck


28 | 28

Abbreviations

CPC Conflict Prevention Centre CSCE Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe CTBT Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty CTBTO Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization ESPI European Space Policy Institute EU European Union FRA European Agency for Fundamental Rights GDP Gross Domestic Product HCNM High Commissioner on National Minorities IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICMPD International Centre for Migration Policy Development IDP Internally Displaced Person IFK Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management IFSH Institute of Peace Research and Security Policy MDG Millennium Development Goals MPS Master of Peace and Security Studies NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NPT Non-Proliferation Treaty OFID OPEC Fund for International Development OOSA Office for Outer Space Affairs OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PR Public Relations SG Secretary General SPMU Strategic Police Matters Unit TFG Transitional Federal Government TPB Terrorism Prevention Branch U.S. United States of America UN United Nations UN SC United Nations Security Council UNCITRAL Commission of the United Nations on International Trade Law UNIDO UN Industrial Development Organization UNODC UN Office on Drugs and Crime

International Organizations in Practice: Uniqueness,...

Documents

Transcript of International Organizations in Practice: Uniqueness,...