General Assembly Session 53 meeting 80

The President

This morning, the General Assembly will first take up the third report of the General Committee concerning the allocation of agenda item 167 and a request by the Dominican Republic for the inclusion in the agenda of an additional item.

Paragraph 1 of the report in document A/53/250/Add.2, indicates the General Committee's decision to recommend to the General Assembly that agenda item 167, entitled "Armed aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo", be considered directly in plenary meeting.

May I take it that the General Assembly decides to consider this item directly in plenary meeting?

The President

Paragraph 2 of the report indicates the General Committee's decision to recommend to the General Assembly that the item entitled "Observer status for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in the General Assembly" be included in the provisional agenda of the fifty-fourth session.

May I take it that the General Assembly decides to include in the provisional agenda of the fifty-fourth session this additional item?

The President

In his note contained in document A/53/235, the Secretary-General informs members that he has received notification of the resignation of Mr. Tadanori Inomata (Japan) from the membership of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee, effective on 1 January 1999. Accordingly, the General Assembly will be required at its current session to appoint a person to fill the remainder of the term of office of Mr. Inomata, which expires on 31 December 2000.

In order to enable the General Assembly to take the required action, it will be necessary to request the inclusion of an additional sub-item, entitled "Appointment of a member of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee" under agenda item 17, "Appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments".

Unless there is any objection, may I take it that the General Assembly agrees that the provision of rule 40 of the rules of procedure, which would require a meeting of the General Committee on the question of the inclusion of this sub-item on the agenda, can be waived?

The President

May I take it that the General Assembly, on the proposal of the Secretary-General, wishes to include an additional sub-item in the agenda of the current session entitled "Appointment of a member of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee"?

The President

Given the nature of the sub-item, may I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to allocate the additional sub-item to the Fifth Committee?

The President

The Chairman of the Fifth Committee will be informed of the decision just taken.

The President

The draft resolution recommended by the Credentials Committee in paragraph 7 of its report reads as follows:

"The General Assembly,

"Having considered the special report of the Credentials Committee and the recommendation contained therein,

"Approves the special report of the Credentials Committee."

As there are no speakers on this item, we shall proceed to consider the draft resolution recommended by the Credentials Committee in paragraph 7 of the special report.

We shall now take action on the recommendation of the Credentials Committee set forth in paragraph 7 of the special report.

The Credentials Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

We have thus concluded this stage of our consideration of agenda item 3.

The President

I call on the representative of Poland to introduce draft resolution A/53/L.60.

Mr. Wyzner (Poland)

In my capacity as representative of Minister Bronislaw Geremek, the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), I have the honour to introduce draft resolution A/53/L.60, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe", on behalf of the 44 sponsors listed in the document and Tajikistan, which has joined the original list.

Before proceeding to discuss the substance of the draft resolution, I wish at the outset to associate the delegation of Poland with the statement which will be made later in the course of our debate by the representative of Austria on behalf of the European Union. Allow me also to take this opportunity to welcome Ambassador Giancarlo Aragona, Secretary-General of the OSCE, whose presence in this Hall today is a token of the ever closer contacts and cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE.

The risks and challenges to security in today's world are so complex and multifaceted that no organization is capable of dealing with them on its own. Hence, the close cooperation between different actors on the international scene that we are witnessing today is not only a positive development, but also a prerequisite for an effective response by the international community to contemporary crises and conflicts. The examples of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and, most recently, Kosovo, as well as of conflicts in other regions of the world, fully confirm that statement.

It is only through cooperation that appropriate conditions can be created for the optimum use of the comparative advantages of all the organizations involved in a given crisis or conflict. In this respect, among the guiding principles being implemented by the Polish chairmanship-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as by our predecessors, have been complementarity of actions and the best possible use of the unique potential of each and every organization and institution to tackle security problems in the OSCE area and the avoidance of sterile competition. We have been promoting the view that all partners should preserve their respective identities while cooperating in a non-hierarchical manner.

As an inclusive and open framework for interaction, the OSCE has been focusing particular attention on the question of promoting a synergy of efforts in the field of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. It has been striving to work towards an efficient and flexible system of cooperative security, based on comparative advantages of different organizations, enabling them to combine their resources and capabilities to respond effectively to threats and challenges in the OSCE area.

Fostering the ties of cooperation between the OSCE and the United Nations has been one of the important items on the agenda of the Polish Chairman-in-Office, who has consistently encouraged the forging of very close contacts between the OSCE and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, in both New York and Vienna, as well as in field missions and operations. Such encouragement has in particular been given to the heads of the OSCE missions. In all those endeavours, we have enjoyed the full understanding, cooperation and support of the remaining members of the OSCE "troika", namely, Denmark and Norway, and those of the whole membership of the OSCE. To all of them I should like to express our deep gratitude.

From that perspective, the excellent report of the United Nations Secretary-General on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is a source of particular satisfaction for the OSCE and its Chairman-in-Office. Having registered the numerous examples which illustrate the close working relationship between the two Organizations, the Secretary-General concludes that during the past year cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE has significantly increased and improved, both at the headquarters level and in terms of concrete collaboration in the field. The foundation for future cooperation has been strengthened.

Draft resolution A/53/L.60 acknowledges the increasing contribution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security within its own geographical area through specific activities in all dimensions of security, whether political, military, human or economic. It also notes with appreciation the further improvement of cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and the OSCE. While referring to specific conflicts and areas of tension in the OSCE region where practical cooperation between the two Organizations has been continuing, it also highlights new developments, such as the establishment by the OSCE -- following the adoption of Security Council resolution 1203 (1998) -- of the Kosovo Verification Mission, the contribution of the OSCE to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1160 (1998) relating to the Kosovo crisis, new elements of the OSCE mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fields of reform of the police, the judiciary and human rights, the OSCE's furnishing of the overall framework for the Group of Friends of Albania, or the assumption by OSCE civilian police monitors of the responsibilities of the United Nations Police Support Group in the Danubian region of Croatia.

In the field of promoting human rights and building democracy, the draft resolution captures the dynamism of the relationship between the two organizations by noting with appreciation the agreements concluded between the main partners from both organizations: on the United Nations side, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and on the OSCE side, the secretariat of that organization and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

Let me here invoke the message of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, to the Seventh Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, held in Oslo last week, in which he said that, in the case of the OSCE, the promise contained in his programme for United Nations reform,

"that regional organizations would increasingly become partners of the United Nations in all activities related to the maintenance of international peace and security, including conflict prevention', ... is well on the way to fulfilment". (Press release SG/SM/6816)

The notable success of the Oslo meeting of the Ministerial Council, at which a ministerial declaration and a number of important decisions were adopted, has indeed fulfilled those expectations.

Finally, allow me to express my sincere hope that the draft resolution before us, which is sponsored by an overwhelming majority of the States members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, will attract the broadest possible support and will be adopted by consensus.

The President

I call on the representative of Azerbaijan to introduce the amendment to draft resolution A/53/L.60 contained in document A/53/L.61.

Mr. Kouliev (Azerbaijan)

I should like to introduce an amendment by the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan (A/53/L.61) to draft resolution A/53/L.60, on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The reasons for proposing this amendment are valid and are based on principle. Operative paragraph 12 of draft resolution A/53/L.60 does not address the core of the problem to which it refers and departs from language adopted by the General Assembly at previous sessions. This matter directly involves the highest interests of my country, its sovereignty and its territorial integrity. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan have been repeatedly reaffirmed by the international community, in particular by the Security Council in its resolutions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in and around the Nagorny Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Security Council resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993).

The Secretary-General, in previous and current reports on the agenda item under consideration (A/50/564, A/52/450 and A/53/672), has unequivocally defined this matter, ascertaining that Nagorny Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan.

The text of the amendment we are proposing is not new and is well known to all of us. Three times before, at its forty-ninth, fifty-first and fifty-second sessions, the General Assembly adopted draft resolutions that included such a paragraph. Its substance relies fully on the relevant provision of resolution 49/13, which was adopted without vote, by a consensus that included Armenia; it repeats the relevant paragraph of resolution 51/57 and of last year's resolution 52/22. Regrettably, the drafters of document A/53/L.60 failed to reflect that paragraph in the draft resolution.

Emphasizing the exceptional importance of this matter to our country, the delegation of Azerbaijan calls on Member States to do as they did in the last two years: to reaffirm their principled support for Azerbaijan and to adopt our amendment, contained in document A/53/L.61.

Mr. Sucharipa (Austria)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. In addition, the Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union -- Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia -- and the associated country Cyprus align themselves with this statement.

The European Union welcomes the fact that during the last year the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have further intensified their cooperation and the coordination of their activities, as reflected in the report of the Secretary-General (A/53/672) on the subject.

The OSCE, as a pan-European and transatlantic security organization, has become a key forum for the management of the dramatic changes that have occurred in Europe in recent years. The European Union, as a central pillar of integration, stability and prosperity in Europe, has contributed to the strengthening of the OSCE and will continue to do so. We remain committed to the enhanced political effectiveness of the OSCE and to the strengthening of its operational capability. We support the role of the OSCE as a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in the OSCE region.

Further strengthening of the OSCE will enable it to better assume its responsibilities as a regional organization as defined in Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. The emerging division of labour between the United Nations and regional organizations is visible in a series of operations and endeavours that the United Nations and the OSCE have undertaken jointly or consecutively.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Union is pleased with the by and large orderly and peaceful course of the elections held under the supervision of the OSCE and considers them to be an important step in the continued peace process. We note in particular the increased Bosnian involvement in the election process.

It is now of the utmost importance that the elected institutions start to work effectively. Attention must be paid to the full implementation of the Peace Agreement, in particular to making significant progress in the return of refugees and displaced persons, especially in minority areas. Equally pressing is the need for reform of the judiciary and the media and the passing of a permanent election law. The OSCE is cooperating closely with the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other important actors to attain these goals. We also deem crucial the establishment of an ombudsperson for human rights in the Republika Srpska. The role of the OSCE special representatives in arms control and stabilization measures remains one of particular impact and importance.

The OSCE has taken over the civilian police monitoring functions in Croatia from the United Nations this year. This shift in responsibilities makes continuous coordination and cooperation between these organizations indispensable. A coordinated effort by the international community, including the OSCE mission, is crucial. The European Union has made additional police officers available to enable OSCE police monitoring to fulfil its new tasks.

Indeed, this year the OSCE has experienced another quantum leap in its activities. The OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission is undoubtedly the greatest challenge the OSCE has yet undertaken. The Mission, with a projected strength of about 2,000 verifiers, not only is unprecedented in size, but also represents a new quality of activities. This new operation underlines the growing importance of the organization in the field of active conflict management.

The main purpose of the Kosovo Verification Mission in its first phase is to verify compliance with Security Council resolutions 1160 (1998) and 1199 (1998). Although tens of thousands of displaced persons have still not been able to return to their homes, the Verification Mission has contributed to facilitating conditions on the ground so that all but a very few displaced persons who had been living in the open until recently have now been able to find shelter.

A key task of the Mission in its initial phase is to verify the maintenance of a ceasefire by all elements, which must be scrupulously adhered to by all parties to the conflict. The operation is not without risk, and we highly value the importance the Mission attaches to the security of all its members.

The sheer presence of the Mission is also contributing to the endeavour to find a political solution to the conflict. Once an agreement is reached between the parties to the conflict, the Kosovo Verification Mission will play an active role in its implementation -- in election supervision, assistance in the establishment of Kosovo institutions, police force development, et cetera.

The role of the OSCE in Albania is of equally great importance to the development of that country. We fully support the Head of Presence in Tirana who, in the context of the Group of Friends of Albania, is charged with channelling the attention of the international community and expressing its concerns to the Albanian authorities.

The European Union also remains deeply concerned with all the regional issues in the Transcaucasus and will work towards a resolution of conflicts in the region on the basis of OSCE decisions.

In Nagorny Karabakh, the European Union hopes that substantial progress can be made in finding a basis for a negotiated settlement to the conflict that will be acceptable to all parties.

In Moldova, the European Union regrets that we have seen no major improvements in the situation in the Transdniester in 1998. The Union welcomes the decision reached on the Transdniester region of Moldova through the facilitation of the OSCE mission to Moldova and the Russian and Ukrainian mediators. The European Union also urges all sides to work flexibly on the question of a special status for this region within Moldova and urges early Russian withdrawal of its troops, weapons and ammunition from the region. A first step may be to withdraw unstable and dangerous ammunition.

In Georgia, continuing violent incidents in Abkhazia are deeply worrying. The Union fully supports the efforts undertaken by the United Nations within the framework of the Geneva peace process to engage the parties in a direct dialogue. The role of the OSCE is one of providing reinforcement for the efforts of the United Nations.

The European Union attaches special importance to the cooperation between the OSCE and the Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation. We welcome the admission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the group of Partners for Cooperation, and we look forward to its contribution to the work of the OSCE. Furthermore, the European Union appreciates the consistent and constructive role Japan and the Republic of Korea are playing in the OSCE as Partners for Cooperation.

The European Union recognizes the importance of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Representative on Freedom of the Media. The orientation of the democratization activities of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has fully borne fruit. A new approach towards election monitoring has proved beneficial in the concrete instances mentioned previously.

It is this dynamic development of the OSCE'S role on the ground that calls for the establishment of a solid conceptual bedrock in the form of a politically binding charter on European security, reflecting, in particular, the invigorated role of the OSCE and the vital importance of inter-institutional cooperation on the basis of a platform for cooperative security. Equally, it will be important that the final product of this work can be perceived by each and every participating State as real added value for addressing its respective security concerns. The European Union believes that such an objective is attainable. The guidelines we adopted at the Copenhagen meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council set the right framework. They should therefore remain the touchstone for the work on the security charter. The European Union welcomes the conclusions of the ministerial meeting held in Oslo last week, which provided a new momentum for the ongoing discussion in this respect.

In concluding, allow me, in the name of the members of the European Union, to pay special tribute to the effectiveness of the Polish Chairmanship, without which the OSCE could not have met the great challenges of this year's activities. I would also like to express our appreciation to the delegation of the Polish Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE for its excellent work. We look forward to working closely with the Norwegian delegation, the incoming holder of the chairmanship-in-office.

Last but not least, let me also express our deep appreciation for the untiring work and continuous efforts displayed with great diplomatic skill by the Secretary-General of the OSCE, Ambassador Aragona.

Mr. Varso (Slovakia)

At the outset, let me thank the Permanent Representative of Poland, in his capacity as representative of the chairmanship-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), for introducing draft resolution A/53/L.60. Slovakia has the honour to be a sponsor of the draft resolution, and we wish it to be adopted today by consensus.

I would also like to welcome Ambassador Giancarlo Aragona, Secretary-General of the OSCE, whose presence at this General Assembly plenary meeting underscores the importance of the cooperation between the two organizations.

Slovakia fully supports and has aligned itself with the statement just made by the Permanent Representative of Austria on behalf of the European Union. Allow me now to make a few additional comments on behalf of my delegation.

In this new era of opportunity, regional organizations can significantly contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security if their activities are undertaken in a manner consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and if their relationship with the United Nations is based on effective coordination and complementarity. Under the Charter, the Security Council has, and will continue to have, primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. However, regional action can not only lighten the burden of the Council but can also contribute to a deeper sense of participation and democratization in international affairs.

The European continent, as a primary battlefield of the cold-war era, has witnessed many changes and extremely different political and social conditions in its various subregions. While the western part has enjoyed democracy and prosperity for decades and consequently played a leading role in the integration of Europe, the rest of the continent has been facing the harsh consequences of the authoritarian regimes which were in power in a vast portion of this region in the past. Furthermore, human rights violations, ethnic tensions, deep-rooted hatred, mistrust and numerous refugees and displaced persons are symptomatic of most of today's conflicts, which the OSCE region has been facing since the collapse of the bipolar world.

Creating a new comprehensive security model for Europe is the common responsibility of every actor involved, and OSCE has proved to be an important element in this regard. Coincidentally, the seventh session of the OSCE Ministerial Council was held in Oslo a few days ago. Slovakia welcomes its conclusions, which we believe will provide further impetus to efforts to find the right place for OSCE in the developing security architecture of Europe.

Slovakia supports the enhancement of the role of OSCE as a primary instrument of preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in the OSCE region. OSCE has gained valuable experience and expertise in those areas. It currently has 10 missions in the field as well as the Assistance Group to Chechnya, the Presence in Albania and the Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus. The human dimension has been a priority focus for OSCE action from the very beginning, and we believe that OSCE should keep it this way. Respect for and the promotion of human rights, the elimination of all forms of discrimination, and free and independent media are basic prerequisites for a viable democracy.

My delegation welcomes the latest report of the Secretary-General on cooperation between the United Nations and OSCE, which proves how extensive and fruitful cooperation can be between the United Nations and a regional organization. This cooperation allows each organization to utilize its comparative advantages and, in many cases, enables the United Nations to receive intelligence and information analysis beyond its own capacity. Moreover, as the OSCE monitoring mission in the Danube region of Croatia proves, regional organizations can be a valuable part of the United Nations exit strategy from a country in conflict by playing a leading role in the successor arrangements which are established after the United Nations peacekeeping operation is withdrawn from the country.

The monitoring and enforcement of an arms embargo imposed by the Security Council in order to prevent the illegal flow of arms and related matériel to a country of conflict can be another area of fruitful cooperation between the two organizations. We encourage the Secretary-General to further work on modalities of the establishment of a comprehensive regime to monitor the implementation of the prohibitions imposed by Security Council resolution 1160 (1998), which was recently initiated during consultations among the United Nations Secretariat, OSCE and other European regional and subregional arrangements.

My delegation fully concurs with the Secretary-General that during the past year, multifaceted cooperation between the United Nations and OSCE has significantly increased and improved, both at the headquarters level and in the field, thus laying a very solid foundation for cooperation in the future. Nevertheless, in our view, there is room for further improvement and enhancement of the interaction between the two organizations. We believe that the establishment of a United Nations liaison office to OSCE in Vienna could be a useful step in this regard, as could the convening of a workshop which would further elaborate the comparative advantages of the two organizations. The aim would be to ensure results-oriented planning and collaboration and to make better use of the resources of the international community in the interests of the countries being assisted.

Slovakia supports all measures aimed at strengthening the stability of Europe. It has been actively participating in a number of OSCE missions in the field as well as in United Nations peacekeeping operations in the region, such as the OSCE Verification Mission in Kosovo and the United Nations mission in the Danube region of Croatia, to mention a few. In our view, a new comprehensive security model for Europe should be based on the principles of cooperation, coordination and the mutual reinforcement of existing relevant international institutions. It should also include all the dimensions of the Helsinki process: security, political, human rights, economic and environmental. My country stands ready to lend its full support to efforts towards this end.

Miss Miller (Malta)

The changing dynamic of global politics during recent years has necessitated complex responses to complex problems, particularly in the field of international peace and security. As is well known, the present decade has been characterized by vicious ethnic and regional conflicts, the disintegration of States and the creation of new ones -- events that have produced upheavals of a magnitude not seen for decades.

Rather than shirking its responsibilities, the United Nations has responded by broadening its peacekeeping mandates and expanding its activities in the important fields of human rights and humanitarian assistance.

Given the already stretched resources of the United Nations, we have realized that it is unrealistic to expect this Organization to shoulder all the burdens. My country has constantly maintained that cooperation with regional organizations in peacekeeping and other areas of international security is a practical and necessary way to move forward in the effort to cope with the international community's present and future challenges.

This was precisely why, in Helsinki in 1992, Malta proposed that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) declare itself a regional organization under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. The arrangements that have since emerged have led to qualitative change in the OSCE, giving it a peacekeeping role in Europe and linking its activities in a complementary fashion to those of the United Nations.

We therefore commend the Secretary General's continued efforts to consolidate links with the OSCE and welcome his expressed intention to create a real partnership between regional organizations and the United Nations based on a more structured, rational and cost-effective division of labour. We consider that apart from institutional benefits reaped through regular contact between the United Nations and the OSCE, what is more relevant is the increased cooperation in the field in the different parts of the OSCE area. The Secretary-General's report on cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE is a clear indication of the serious efforts that are being made towards that end.

An assessment of the role played by the OSCE points to the significant benefits that can be derived from collaboration between the various United Nations and OSCE missions. It is evident from the Secretary-General's report that the OSCE is playing an increasingly important and active role in the European region. From Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania to Georgia, Tajikistan and Nagorny Karabakh in Azerbaijan, the OSCE is making an important and positive contribution to regional peace and security, and therefore, by extension, to international peace and security as well.

The recent experience in Kosovo, for example, has demonstrated very clearly the advantage of utilizing regional organizations in the field. In Oslo last week, OSCE Foreign Ministers also endorsed the rapid establishment and operation of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission. The responsibility of the OSCE with respect to the Kosovo Verification Mission -- to monitor compliance with relevant Security Council resolutions -- proves concretely that the United Nations can operate effectively and efficiently by resorting to the comparative advantages of regional organizations in order to implement agreements concerning dispute resolution, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.

At Oslo last week, Malta's Deputy Prime Minster and Minister for Foreign Affairs also reiterated that the OSCE had made its mark among international organizations in the field of conflict prevention and the enforcement of human rights. This is seen in the various OSCE instruments and structures that are in place in trouble spots across Europe. The OSCE's undertaking with respect to post-conflict rehabilitation in Bosnia not only is of an unprecedented scale; recently it has also successfully assisted the Albanian Government in conducting a referendum on the Constitution of Albania.

Regional organizations are also well positioned to play an important role in early warning mechanisms, confidence- and security-building measures and preventive diplomacy. Preventive action is indeed an area where the United Nations is rightly placing increasing emphasis. The Secretary-General spoke of the need for a "culture of prevention" when he addressed the third high-level meeting between the United Nations and regional organizations last July. We concur with this assertion and regard as very opportune the focus during that meeting on the potential for greater interaction and cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the field of conflict prevention.

We are also of the firm view that, besides their importance in conflict prevention and resolution, regional organizations have a complementary role to play in the broader aspects of security, namely, the economic, social and human dimensions. Malta has consistently advocated the importance of economic and social justice grounded in the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Activities undertaken with regard to the human dimension by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) remain central to the consolidation of peace, democratic governance and institution-building in the OSCE's region of operation. In this context, Malta continues to support the holding of informal high-level tripartite consultations between the United Nations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

We welcome in particular the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the ODIHR. We view this as an important contribution in terms not only of strengthening institutional links but also of the more practical and concrete outcome that such collaboration will have.

We also commend the further enhancement of interaction between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the OSCE, as well as the joint projects between the United Nations Development Programme and the OSCE, in the advancement of democratic institution-building and good governance and the promotion of human and minority rights. In the same vein, we feel that the cooperation between the OSCE and the Economic Commission for Europe is a valuable component of the structural links between the United Nations and the OSCE whereby importance is given to the economic dimension of security.

Since the beginning of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe process in the 1970s, Malta has consistently promoted the idea that security and stability in Europe is inextricably linked to security and stability in the Mediterranean region. This is a fundamental precept that is now generally accepted. Malta has actively contributed to the evolution of the OSCE process and has also promoted the Mediterranean dimension of this process. The strengthening of security and cooperation in the Mediterranean is an important element for stability in the OSCE region. Consistent engagement by successive Malta Governments has contributed to the greater involvement of the Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation in the work of the OSCE. Malta will continue to work to further this relationship.

May I here refer to the annual OSCE Mediterranean seminar, which was held in Malta this past October. The theme of the seminar was "The human dimension of security, promoting democracy and the rule of law". It involved the broad participation of the OSCE community and a number of international organizations. Of particular significance was the presence of representatives of United Nations bodies, particularly UNHCR, and the interest of other bodies, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Such increasing mutual involvement between the United Nations and the activities taking place within the realm of regional organizations can only assist in bringing about greater proximity among structures and consequently enhancing cooperation.

May I also add that that seminar was described by all participants as having provided the ground for a richer discussion than is normally found at other, similar events. My country hopes that this spirit of open and frank interaction between participants will continue to prevail at forthcoming gatherings of the OSCE. Malta looks forward to renewing this experience in February 1999, when it hosts another OSCE seminar, which will deal with the economic and environmental aspects of security in the OSCE area.

It is now five years since the United Nations and the OSCE formally accepted the arrangements described in the framework for cooperation and coordination between the two organizations. During this short period of time, it has become increasingly evident that the establishment of such cooperative ties with the OSCE at the institutional and field levels was timely.

As diverse threats to the security of States continue to develop, it is through collaboration and cooperation that stability within and among States can be guaranteed. This underscores the necessity to actively pursue our efforts to further strengthen and consolidate the links between these two organizations.

Mr. Yel'chenko (Ukraine)

The report that the Secretary-General has presented in document A/53/672 strengthens our firm belief that there is a wide range of activities in which the two authoritative organizations -- the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- can and should continue to develop effective cooperation and interaction.

We note with satisfaction that during the past few years cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE, demonstrated at different levels, has undoubtedly become an important factor of global and regional security.

Of special importance is the development of close coordination and interaction between the two organizations in such important fields as early warning and preventive diplomacy, crisis management, arms control and disarmament and post-crisis stabilization and rehabilitation efforts. We have been able to see this in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially during the implementation of the Dayton Accords.

Recently, this became even more obvious when it came to the launching of a peaceful settlement process in Kosovo. We are very hopeful that the activities of the OSCE Verification Mission in Kosovo will prove the powerful potential of this regional organization.

Current developments in other areas of the OSCE region also deserve the attention of the OSCE membership, in particular, the unresolved conflicts in Nagorny Karabakh of Azerbaijan, in Abkhazia and South Ossetia of Georgia and in the Transdniester region of the Republic of Moldova.

As the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Mr. Borys Tarasyuk, underlined in his statement at the meeting of the OSCE Council of Ministers in Oslo on 2 December of this year,

"the Kosovo lesson should be a warning for all of us that similar frozen' conflicts may erupt at any time, turning into a source of new dangers".

It is evident now that such "frozen" conflicts not only undermine the stability of newly independent States, but also make them potentially weak partners in building the new architecture of regional security. The absence of essential progress in resolving them can also undermine the prestige of both the United Nations and the OSCE.

Against this background, Ukraine strongly advocates the need to give a boost to the processes of the settling of those conflicts on the basis of securing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova, in accordance with fundamental norms and principles of international law.

Strengthening the role of the OSCE will enable it to better assume the responsibilities of a regional organization, in particular in the drafting of a model of an all-embracing security for Europe in the twenty-first century. Ukraine attaches top priority to elaborating the future charter on European security as the platform of cooperative security, the core of which would be cooperation on the basis of equal partnership between the leading security organizations of the European continent, with the active involvement of the United Nations. We believe that it will be a mutually beneficial cooperation.

Ukraine also favours the strengthening of cooperation between the two organizations in the humanitarian areas, especially in the settlement of issues related to forced migration, refugees and displaced persons. Hence, it would be necessary to enhance the interaction between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the High Commissioner on National Minorities. In this context, we highly appreciate the joint efforts undertaken by UNHCR and ODIHR to help Ukraine in solving the citizenship issues of the formerly deported people returning to their original homeland in the Crimea.

Our delegation also believes that the economic and ecological dimensions need to be further explored as important areas for cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE. In particular, we feel it necessary to intensify the cooperation between the OSCE and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, notably in providing assistance to the countries with economies in transition.

In conclusion, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Poland, a friendly neighbour of Ukraine, for the remarkable and efficient manner in which that country has executed its responsibilities as the OSCE Chairman-in-Office during 1998. Let me also offer our best wishes to Norway, which is about to take over this important mission for the next year.

Mrs. Fritsche (Liechtenstein)

Among the many anniversaries which the General Assembly is commemorating this year, there is one that attracts relatively little attention but is certainly worthy of our interest and appreciation. It was five years ago that the General Assembly decided in its resolution 48/5 to invite the then Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe to participate as an observer in the sessions and the work of the United Nations. Both organizations have undergone very important changes and developments in the meantime, and the cooperation and coordination between the two has been steadily enhanced and improved.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional arrangement under the terms of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, and the proliferation of challenges in the field of peacekeeping and post-conflict peace-building in the recent past has created the general necessity of a deeper and more operational involvement of such regional arrangements in these activities. This has been stated many times, most prominently by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the context of his reform programme. We are gratified to see that the OSCE, like other regional arrangements, has developed its capacities to take on such responsibilities.

The report contained in document A/53/672 shows a wide range of activities where cooperation between the two organizations has proved to be extremely fruitful, and we would like to highlight only a few of them, which seem to be of particular interest for our Organization.

The enhanced cooperation of the OSCE with United Nations agencies which are active in the field is, in our opinion, a very positive development. Operational coordination with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has taken place in various countries, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on 15 October 1998 is the expression of this close cooperation. Given the difficult challenges which UNHCR faces in many situations, we find it very useful that it has also maintained close contact with individual OSCE institutions, most notably the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the High Commissioner on National Minorities. We are fully convinced that UNHCR can greatly benefit from the expertise and experience of its OSCE partners. Of comparable importance is the cooperation between the United Nations Development Programme and OSCE institutions, which also concentrates on field operations. The activities carried out jointly in the area of electoral assistance seem to us particularly meaningful.

Avoiding duplication of activities is certainly a key element of the cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE, especially in the area of peacekeeping and conflict prevention. Effective coordination is required in order to ensure avoidance of such duplication, and it seems to us that the division of labour between the organizations is based on the recognition of this necessity. The OSCE has in some instances taken political responsibility in situations of which the United Nations has never been actively seized, such as the conflict in Chechnya, where OSCE mediation proved extremely useful in bringing the armed conflict to an end. Other situations have involved both organizations. The long-standing and important engagement of the OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina is well known, and after the expiration of the mandate of the United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium earlier this year, the OSCE took over the responsibility for monitoring compliance with the Basic Agreement of 1995. The outstanding interaction between the two organizations has ensured a smooth transition and steady progress towards bringing lasting peace to that area.

The most prominent example of OSCE involvement in issues on the agenda of the United Nations over the past year is certainly the situation in Kosovo, which has deteriorated dramatically since April. The cooperation on this issue of utmost sensitivity, which is of particular importance to us, can be regarded as a model for other situations in the future. Security Council resolution 1203 (1998) endorsed the agreement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the OSCE, which has thus assumed the main responsibility for dealing with the Kosovo crisis.

The Kosovo Verification Mission is certainly the greatest challenge undertaken so far by the OSCE. Further cooperation and coordination will be needed, in particular with regard to the activities on the ground both of the OSCE and of United Nations agencies. We understand that pertinent efforts are being carried out to ensure optimal interaction in this respect. All these efforts can be successful, however, only if they lead to and are complemented by a lasting political solution to the Kosovo crisis. Such a solution has to be based on an enhanced status for Kosovo, a substantially greater degree of autonomy, and meaningful self-administration for the people of Kosovo in accordance with the rights guaranteed them under international law. Liechtenstein highly appreciates the efforts made to find a solution to this crisis and has contributed to the activities of the OSCE, as well as to those of humanitarian agencies which are active on the ground.

The General Assembly acknowledged in its resolution 52/22 the increasing contribution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and we are grateful to note a continuation of this trend over the past year, as reflected in the draft resolution before us, which our delegation has again co-sponsored. While we highly appreciate the operational activities of the OSCE in this regard, we do attach equal importance to the conceptual work being carried out within the OSCE. There is an enhanced political will within the OSCE, as well as within the United Nations, to place stronger emphasis on the necessity of preventive action, especially through the prevention of conflicts.

The efforts to draft a charter on European security are a worthwhile and very important undertaking, which deserves our full support as a means of ensuring peace and stability in our region. We appreciate the exchange of views between OSCE and United Nations representatives on this project. Liechtenstein takes a keen interest in this process and expresses its hope that the charter will also contain elements which enable the OSCE to help prevent conflicts between communities and central Governments as well as among such communities, based on the principle of the self-determination of all peoples. It seems to us indispensable that a forward-looking charter that focuses on the prevention of conflicts in the region would provide a framework for preventing such tensions, which very often constitute the root causes for armed and other conflicts in Europe and, indeed, worldwide. We look forward to the timely adoption of a charter that will make a substantive contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security.

In conclusion, we would like to express our appreciation to Poland for its outstanding work as Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE. We look forward to continuing our work within the OSCE under the chairmanship of Norway in 1999.

Mr. Jusys (Lithuania)

We have associated ourselves with the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Austria on behalf of the European Union. I will now add the Lithuanian view on the agenda item, which concerns both the general issue of model cooperation between the United Nations and a regional arrangement, and the particular issue for us as a European State.

First, however, I would like to highly commend the contribution of Poland as the outgoing Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The upcoming chairmanship of Norway means another promising year for that unique regional organization, standing as firm and confident as ever on the threshold of the new millennium. We also welcome the presence here today of Mr. Giancarlo Aragona, the Secretary-General of the OSCE. We thank him for the efficient management of his well-performing secretariat.

Regional bodies are often better equipped to address regional issues than are global organizations. The advantages of "intimacy" with a region must always be heeded when selecting an instrument from among international institutions, without, of course, prejudice to relevant legal norms, such as the mandate of the United Nations Security Council. In his statement this year before the General Assembly, Mr. Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania, emphasized that the United Nations

"should interact with greater vigour in its endeavours with regional organizations that, in many cases, succeed in the areas where global forums fail. Europe has already provided us with an example of such productive interaction through concrete cooperation of the United Nations with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)." (A/53/PV.10, p. 4)

Europe is endowed with abundant regional and subregional establishments of various types, mandates, expertise and membership. Reliance on them in promoting universal values on the continent has proven useful in most cases. The OSCE has been one of the best examples. One can hardly think of any recent initiative aimed at restoring peace in areas of conflict around Europe that could have been undertaken by a single international organization. The advantages of each international institution involved have been utilized in achieving complex solutions in each case. Be it in Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo or the Caucasus, everywhere we see a host of international actors doing great work in their respectively prescribed fields. The Lithuanian representatives who participated in many multilateral projects around Europe are witness to successful inter-institutional cooperation. The report of the United Nations Secretary-General demonstrates that the spirit of Chapter VIII is understood and being implemented wisely and efficiently.

The United Nations and the OSCE, the security dimensions of which are largely based on such confidence-building policies as conventional arms control, transparency in armaments and information sharing, can complement one another's efforts by acting together in response to security challenges. The degree of cooperation within the OSCE in the sphere of arms and weapons transparency can be exemplary to the United Nations and, through the United Nations, to other regions of the world. Committed to the principles of openness, predictability and confidence-building, Lithuania has expressed its readiness in particular cases to share more reciprocally relevant information with any OSCE member State than is required by the Vienna Document of 1994.

The pertinence of the OSCE to the goals of the United Nations is especially prominent in pan-European efforts to find systematic common grounds for European security. Europe has engaged in drafting a Document-Charter on European Security. The United Nations is contributing to this process, the fruits of which we hope may later repay our efforts as models for other regions and continents.

The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights promotes the human dimension of the OSCE. Through many documents signed at the highest level, beginning with the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the Europeans are bound by advanced and still developing standards of democracy, rule of law and human rights. Stricter standards, new norms and stronger enforcement mechanisms are being contemplated and devised. The achievements of the present and the future will be of universal value and applicability, and thus uphold the new meaning of the Universal Declaration, both regionally and worldwide.

We salute the cooperation in the human dimension between a number of international organizations in Europe and beyond, such as the regular exchange of information and joint actions between the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and NATO. Events that deserve special recognition are the informal high-level tripartite consultations and target-oriented meetings between the United Nations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe held last January and April. Increasing cooperation between multilateral institutions beyond their deliberative chambers and their ability to demonstrate complementarity in the field is especially meaningful. We strongly encourage this development.

The institutionalized cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE internal structures and agencies -- in particular between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Organization for Migration, on the one hand, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the High Commissioner on National Minorities, on the other -- is commendable. The memorandums of understanding concluded between the United Nations and the OSCE and their bodies, and the parallel sharing of work and responsibility in the field, especially in the countries of the Caucasus and the former Yugoslavia, demonstrate that cooperation is orderly and full-fledged, rather than being mere paperwork or random movements in hot spots.

The past year has not been good for the economies of many nations. The economic torrents that engulfed several Eastern European countries, including Russia, are generating regional and global repercussions. Under these circumstances, recourse to all available economic instruments has been timely. Neither the United Nations nor the OSCE has stood apart. They joined their efforts, primarily through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the economic dimension of the OSCE, in the search for solutions, especially in such crucial areas as energy development in the OSCE area.

Lithuania has, to the best of its ability, made contributions aimed at relieving regional economic difficulties. Acting upon the fundamental principle of OSCE -- good-neighbourly relations -- and out of humanitarian concern, the Lithuanian Government has allotted $1.25 million for food and medical assistance to hospitals and other institutions in the Kaliningrad district of the Russian Federation that have suffered from the financial crisis.

Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter has special meaning for my country both this year and next year. We are currently presiding over the 10-member Council of the Baltic States. The mandate of the Council is directly complementary to the mandates of the United Nations and the OSCE. Fighting illegal migration and organized crime in the region, as well as strengthening the freedom of the press and the rights of national minorities, are among our priorities in steering the Council of the Baltic States. Special attention is also devoted to environmental issues and practical aspects of subregional economic cooperation.

Each unique in its own way, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe together constitute a mutually complementary part of multilateral instruments for contacts among the peoples of Europe and around the world. We ought to make the best use of these potent tools. The draft resolution introduced by Poland invites us to do precisely that and deserves consensus adoption.

Mr. Kolby (Norway)

I am honoured to address the General Assembly on the important agenda item on relations between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). First of all, I would like to commend Poland for its efficient chairmanship in 1998.

Norway is a sponsor of the draft resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE. As incoming Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE in 1999, we feel a special responsibility to draw the General Assembly's attention to the draft resolution and the importance of adopting it, if possible, by consensus.

The extensive cooperation over the past year between the United Nations and the OSCE has been thoroughly documented by the Secretary-General in his report, on which I congratulate him. The report shows that the cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE is becoming deeper and broader. This is not so much a reflection of the internal dynamism of interorganizational relations, but more a response to the real demands placed upon us as a result of the increasing multidimensionality of security, which requires increased coordination of organizations with varying mandates involving different aspects of security. The OSCE, as a regional organization under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, has developed into a major partner for the United Nations. Cooperation between our two organizations is vital if we are to effectively promote peace and stability in the OSCE region.

As the Secretary-General's report shows, one can begin to see the outline of an informal pattern of a division of labour between the OSCE and the United Nations, each alternately taking the lead or supporting the other in different areas within the OSCE region. The recently established OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, mandated by the Security Council and led by the OSCE, is very much a case in point and is the largest endeavour the OSCE has ever undertaken. Norway has taken on the task of establishing the Kosovo Verification Mission headquarters, a task which we are in the process of completing and to which we will have contributed $21 million by June of next year. The establishment of the Kosovo Verification Mission will undoubtedly be one of the greatest challenges for the Norwegian OSCE chairmanship next year, and we will strive, in cooperation with, inter alia, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other United Nations agencies, to ensure that it is able to fulfil its mandate.

While the focus is at present very much on the situation in Kosovo, we must not forget the important cooperation going on between the United Nations and the OSCE, inter alia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Croatia, in Albania, in Tajikistan, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Georgia, areas that need our continued attention in the time ahead if further progress is to be achieved.

This extensive contact in the field has been bolstered by increased coordination between the United Nations and the OSCE at all levels, as described in detail in the Secretary-General's report. Norway welcomes this proliferation of contacts, which we regard as the result of the OSCE's evolution over the past decade into an organization capable of working together with and supplementing the United Nations in the areas of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation within the OSCE region.

At the recent OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Oslo, on 2 and 3 December, a decision was adopted regarding the Document-Charter on European Security. This involves, among other things, the so-called Platform for Cooperative Security -- the development of non-hierarchical cooperation between those organizations and institutions concerned with the promotion of comprehensive security within the OSCE area. The United Nations and its agencies have been invited to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on this cooperation. This dialogue will continue in 1999.

As Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE in 1999, Norway will place great emphasis on maintaining and further developing ties between the OSCE and the United Nations. This entails taking steps to further practical cooperation in the field, as well as increasing coordination between the OSCE and the United Nations and its agencies, which constitute its main cooperation partners.

Mr. Lavrov (Russia)

This past year has been noteworthy for the further substantial progress in the development of practical cooperation between the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations. Without exaggeration, one can say that cooperation carried out under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter has entered a qualitatively new stage, encompassing both increased coordination of efforts in resolving operational matters and the consolidation of institutional links between the two organizations on the basis of the framework agreement of 1993. This cooperation should also be focused on key issues for the international community, chief among which are the prevention and settlement of conflicts, peacekeeping and addressing the humanitarian aspects of security and development, including the monitoring of human rights and the rights of national minorities and displaced persons.

It is important that this cooperation be flexible, based on the principles of synergy, complementarity and maximum use of the comparative advantages of each organization -- where necessary by bringing about a rational division of labour between them.

Effective development of the ties between the United Nations and the OSCE will promote the latter's establishment as a full-fledged regional organization in the terms of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, and will strengthen its central coordinating and organizing role on the European continent in the area of security.

One of the priority areas for cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE remains the growing overall European potential in peacekeeping, including the strengthening of its normative base in the context of the immutable Charter functions and prerogatives of the Security Council. We feel that there would be a positive significance to closer practical cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE in the drafting of common principles and approaches to peacekeeping operations, in particular in the highly relevant area of civilian police operations in peacekeeping.

The consistent strengthening of the involvement of the OSCE in the settlement of regional crises and conflicts is steadily leading to a situation where that organization may carry out its own peacekeeping operations, with the possible involvement of other multilateral mechanisms in the European and Atlantic region. The development of the OSCE's peacekeeping capacities should take place in close cooperation with the United Nations, relying on the Organization's experience and its Charter.

The cooperative experience that the United Nations and the OSCE have accumulated is a good basis from which to draw up a charter for European security. The expert contribution of the United Nations could be useful in the development of that charter, and in particular in the development of the Platform for Cooperative Security, which would determine the principles and parameters for cooperation among the various organizations in ensuring European security.

Elaborated at Russia's initiative, the charter is called upon, in the words of Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ivanov, "to lay a reliable foundation for the architecture of a peaceful, non-violent, safe and indivisible Europe of the twenty-first century". While we must consistently adhere to the agreement on a speedy completion of the charter, reached at the Oslo meeting of the OSCE Council of Ministers, joint efforts will be necessary to bring about the signature of that fundamental document at the next OSCE summit, in Istanbul.

Russia supports the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE in settling a number of regional conflicts in the area of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which should strengthen the established and proven negotiating formats. We welcome the growing support for the peace process in Tajikistan provided by the OSCE, in particular by promoting the establishment and implementation of an overall agreement on the restoration of peace and national harmony in that country. While we note the contribution of the OSCE to the efforts to settle the Nagorny Karabakh and Georgian Abkhaz conflicts, we feel that the OSCE would be well advised to work more in the areas best suited to it -- for example, human rights monitoring, promoting the establishment of democratic institutions and observation of elections. In this connection, we welcome the development of cooperation between the OSCE and the Offices of the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees and for Human Rights.

A serious impetus to the strengthening of the status of the OSCE as a central multilateral institution in the European and Atlantic region could be given by the growth of its leading role in practical international efforts to promote the settlement of the crisis in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On the basis of the agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the OSCE has decided to establish a Verification Mission in Kosovo, and this plan is supported by the Security Council. The Mission's role is to make an important contribution to a peaceful political settlement of the Kosovo crisis. While monitoring the implementation by the authorities of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and by the Kosovo Albanians of the relevant requirements of the Security Council, the OSCE observers will report regularly to the Security Council. It is precisely on the basis of that information that the Security Council will determine the degree of progress made in the implementation of its decisions.

The establishment of the OSCE Verification Mission in Kosovo represents a new stage of cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE in peacekeeping. For the first time, the United Nations has given the OSCE a mandate to carry out a large-scale peacekeeping operation. This decision, however, does not eliminate the need for harmonizing practical cooperation between the two organizations in Kosovo. Our assumption is that the collective efforts will succeed in finding an optimum format for this. It is important that the Mission be deployed as quickly as possible. Russia will take an active part in it and will promote its effective activities.

A new testimony to productive cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE in implementing the Peace Agreement in Bosnia was the cooperation in the preparation and holding of all Bosnian elections, which took place in September under the observation of the OSCE. The OSCE mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina should also remain in close contact with the structures of the United Nations and its specialized agencies in resolving such crucial problems as promoting guarantees of the rights of national minorities, resolving the problems of refugees and bringing about a normal functioning of the federal and municipal organs of power.

Effective coordination of effort between the two organizations has been ensured by a smooth passing of the baton from the United Nations to the OSCE in monitoring the activities of the local police in Croatia. Now the OSCE mission in Croatia has to carry out responsible additional work in the context of promoting adequate guarantees of human rights and the rights of national minorities, bearing in mind the continuing, well-known problems in this area.

We welcome the OSCE's initiative in implementing a coordinating role in international efforts to promote the stabilization, restoration and rehabilitation of Albania. That is a tangible contribution to strengthening security and stability in the entire Balkan region.

We note with satisfaction the intensification of contacts between the OSCE and the United Nations in the economic and environmental spheres, in particular with the United Nations Development Programme and the Economic Commission for Europe.

Russia will continue to energetically and consistently promote the enhancement of the practical results of cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE in the interests of strengthening global and regional security and cooperation.

Ms. Grcic´ Polic´ (Croatia)

Croatia regards cooperation between the United Nations and regional security organizations as an essential part of the ongoing process of stimulating and consolidating peacekeeping and the peace-building initiatives through assistance in conflict management and the building of post-conflict societies, as well as through initiatives to build democratic processes and sustainable development. In this context, Croatia welcomes the ongoing effort by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to promote conflict prevention, strengthen democratic institutions and monitor respect for human and minority rights, in line with the conclusions contained in the Lisbon Summit Declaration. Croatia also appreciates the direct efforts of the OSCE for peace-building in such countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Tajikistan and, most recently, in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

As an active member of the OSCE, Croatia has contributed and will continue to contribute to these efforts. Croatia participated in the OSCE missions to monitor elections in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, the Slovak Republic, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Montenegro and Ukraine. My country has closely cooperated with and supported OSCE activities in a variety of fields in Croatia, from the monitoring of human rights to cooperation in implementing domestic legislation on national minorities. Croatia welcomes the readiness of the OSCE in taking over the responsibilities of the United Nations Police Support Group in the Eastern Slavonia region and pledges that it will make its best efforts to continue the close cooperation that it enjoys with the Support Group so as to facilitate and promote confidence-building and reconstruction efforts in that and other areas of Croatia.

Croatia appreciates the role played by the OSCE in organizing and monitoring elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina and monitoring compliance with media standards, as mandated by the Dayton peace accords. My delegation also welcomes the efforts of the OSCE, in coordination with the United Nations, to help facilitate police and judicial reform.

Croatia welcomes the decision by the OSCE Permanent Council to establish the Kosovo Verification Mission, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1203 (1998). As a neighbour of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia is vitally interested in the stability of its neighbours and, therefore, in a speedy resolution of the crisis in Kosovo. Croatia believes that all political issues, including the future status of Kosovo, must be resolved between the Belgrade authorities and the Kosovar Albanians through a genuinely democratic political process. Croatia would like to join others in condemning human rights violations and other violations perpetrated against the civilian population in Kosovo and reiterates that individuals responsible for crimes committed in Kosovo must be held to account.

Croatia welcomes the readiness of the international community to help facilitate this process through, among other things, the Verification Mission, and will support all efforts undertaken in this regard. My delegation wishes to see the Verification Mission fully operational as soon as possible. The continued involvement of the international community is indispensable for the maintenance of conditions conducive to the achievement of a political resolution of the crisis. The mandate of the Verification Mission will guarantee the active involvement of the international community in the Kosovo crisis until its final settlement, and it is in this context that Croatia will support any request by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to extend the mandate.

I should like to take this opportunity to once again reiterate the position of my Government with regard to the participation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the work of both the OSCE and the United Nations. The participation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as one of the five successor States of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in the OSCE and the United Nations, as well as in other international organizations and institutions, is conditional upon its submitting an application for membership and fulfilling the criteria for acceptance in these organizations, as is the case with any other new applicant. The cooperation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with the OSCE or the United Nations cannot be linked to the question of its membership in these organizations. In this regard, I should like to remind representatives of the joint letter signed by the Foreign Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia contained in the annex to document A/53/190 of 24 July 1998, which spells out the joint position of those four successor States on this matter.

Croatia remains committed to the norms and principles of the OSCE in all their aspects, including their human, security and economic dimensions. Even though we are witness to the changing nature of needs and priorities both in the OSCE and in its region, it is comforting to note that the basic tenets adopted by the then Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe almost 25 years ago in Helsinki are still valid and still bearing fruit. Mechanisms that were so aptly developed and refined within or under the auspices of the OSCE, such as the Vienna Document or the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), have shown their longevity and efficiency to the present day. Croatia is convinced that the ongoing adaptation and refinement of these mechanisms to fit today's needs will strengthen them further and that the real challenges of the future role of the OSCE, as exemplified by the current crisis in Kosovo, will come not from the security dimension but from the human and economic dimensions.

Mr. Botnaru (Moldova)

First of all, I would like to welcome Mr. Giancarlo Aragona, Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose presence here underscores the importance of the cooperation between the two organizations.

The delegation of the Republic of Moldova fully associates itself with the statement made by the representative of Austria on behalf of the European Union. At the same time, I would like to take this opportunity to express in more detail some aspects of the position of the Republic of Moldova on this important issue.

Since 1975, the OSCE has been an instrument for preventing conflict, a champion of human rights and the rule of law. After the end of the cold war a new area of activity became necessary for the OSCE, especially in early warning and preventive diplomacy, arms control and disarmament and crisis management and post-crisis stabilization, including rehabilitation measures.

The report contained in document A/53/672 testifies to the increased cooperation between the two organizations in various specific areas. We note with satisfaction the conclusion of the Secretary-General that cooperation and coordination have improved during the last year. This is especially evident in the common work that has been done in the former Yugoslavia and Albania. An effective example of the productive cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE this year is the establishment and the beginning of the activity of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission. United Nations bodies must do everything possible to promote this new and important quality of OSCE activities.

My delegation also appreciates the fact that the report of the Secretary-General gives attention to the cooperation between the United Nations peacekeeping missions, programmes and agencies and OSCE missions in the countries which have emerged from the former Soviet Union. Despite the existence of an informal understanding that there is a division of labour between the two organizations, United Nations agencies and OSCE missions could discover new areas for collaboration and mutual support in order to facilitate the resolution of the urgent problems and obstacles inside the newly independent countries.

The office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative in Moldova, which started its operations in 1993, cooperates fruitfully with the OSCE mission in the process of promoting democratic institution-building. As a result, a centre for human rights is currently being established. A new project under UNDP auspices is under consideration, the realization of which will increase the understanding between the populations of the two banks of the Nistru river, separated by the 1992 conflict.

While we highly appreciate the consistent conflict-resolving efforts of the United Nations and the OSCE in this area, my delegation considers that much remains to be done. Unfortunately, common to all the conflict situations in that area, regardless of which international organization is involved, is the lack of substantial progress in resolving such conflicts over the last year despite the substantial threat they pose to the security, territorial integrity and State sovereignty of those countries.

My delegation considers that in such situations all the potential of the two organizations must be used more resolutely without worrying about undermining the existing understanding on the so-called division of labour.

The need to do so also stems from the very nature of the OSCE, which is suited to occupy the middle ground between diplomacy and force. The essentially positive results that the OSCE was able to achieve in the former Yugoslavia were also made possible by the backing of strong, forceful arguments and clear Security Council resolutions.

Taking into consideration the practical experience of the Secretary-General in peacekeeping issues, his personal involvement, through a visit to the newly independent States at a suitable time, would be highly appreciated.

The OSCE mission is taking an active part in the search for solutions to the consequences of the conflict in the eastern part of the Republic of Moldova. Nonetheless, we continue to face difficulties in the negotiating process taking place with the cooperation of the OSCE and representatives of Russia and Ukraine as mediators. Unfortunately, even after four years, there has been no progress in bringing into force and implementing the Moldovan-Russian agreement of 24 October 1994.

As the President of my country stated in the General Assembly, the early, orderly and complete withdrawal of Russian troops, vast quantities of weapons and ammunition from the territory of the Republic of Moldova would considerably strengthen stability in the region while facilitating the process of settling the crisis.

Recently, the OSCE Foreign Ministers called for reinvigorated talks seeking to consolidate the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova, while reaching an understanding on the status of the breakaway region. The OSCE also expressed concern at the lack of progress on the withdrawal of foreign troops from the region.

The Republic of Moldova welcomes the conclusions of the ministerial meeting in Oslo, which constitute a step forward in the direction of adapting the OSCE to new realities, in making the organization more effective by creating instruments to prevent crises and promote democracy, or by placing at its disposal the potential of other European and trans-Atlantic structures.

My delegation is fully aware that the complete implementation of the relevant decisions of the Budapest and Lisbon Summits will facilitate our positive attitude towards the process of adopting the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), the signature of which could be the main event of the next OSCE summit. It will also help the process of elaborating the charter on European security, as a result of which cooperation between the OSCE and the United Nations will achieve a new and widely recognized efficiency.

The economic dimension of cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE is extremely important now, when economies, particularly those in transition, face huge negative consequences of globalization. Moldova supports intensification of cooperation between the Economic Commission for Europe and the OSCE, especially with regard to the economic dimensions of security. We highly appreciate the fact that the last economic forum of the OSCE was devoted to such a crucial issue as the security aspects of energy development in the OSCE region.

In conclusion, I would like to express our conviction that our changing reality proves the need to enhance regular collaboration between the United Nations and the OSCE in many areas of security. We hope that the General Assembly draft resolution on this item, of which the Republic of Moldova is a sponsor, will give a new, important thrust to the implementation of practical measures generated by cooperation between two important pillars of international security.

Finally, on behalf of my Government, I would like to thank the Government of Poland for having done a very efficient job as Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE for 1998 and to express our appreciation to the Polish delegation and, personally, to its Ambassador. We look forward to close cooperation with the delegation of the next Chairman-in-Office, Norway.

Mr. Abelian (Armenia)

Allow me first of all to take this opportunity to welcome Mr. Giancarlo Aragona, Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The dramatic changes that the world has experienced during recent decades have created new opportunities for cooperation among nations while also posing new threats. This dichotomy makes cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations all the more the urgent, in order both to seize emerging opportunities and to meet the challenges facing the world community.

Ten years ago, when the communist system collapsed, many small and medium-sized countries, such as Armenia, could have been left in a political and security vacuum. The OSCE had the vision and the leadership to include those countries in its structure, and thus provide a small country like Armenia the opportunity to anchor itself in the community of European nations in accordance with long-established political and social values. While we hope this integration process will be an ongoing, comprehensive one, we consider that engagement represents both challenges and opportunities.

We support advancing the role of the OSCE as a major forum for addressing the challenges in the region through preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. Strengthening the role of the OSCE will enable it to better assume its responsibilities as a regional organization within the terms of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. The strength and attraction of the OSCE lies in the fact that it was formed as a community of shared values. It was this promise and our commitment to these values that brought us together in that organization. Indeed, our membership in the OSCE places responsibilities and obligations on us to meet certain demands and to reach standards which also correspond to our national interests.

Today, as some long-suppressed conflicts surface, we note with satisfaction that the OSCE is willing to rise to the challenge and to explore new territory. In its pursuit of finding solutions or managing crises, the OSCE, a complex multinational Organization, often needs to reconcile principles and norms that may not always appear, prima facie, to be compatible.

One of those conflicts is that of Nagorny Karabakh, which can undoubtedly be considered as one of the challenges facing the OSCE today. The ceasefire established in 1994 between the conflicting parties has put an end to the fighting. However, the issue of Nagorny Karabakh -- the first to emerge in Europe after the collapse of the Berlin Wall -- remains unresolved. We appreciate and highly commend the renewed efforts of the co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Conference to reach a peaceful resolution acceptable to all the parties to the conflict. It has always been Armenia's position that there can only be a political solution to this conflict and that the solution is to be based on a mutual compromise. On the basis of this belief and on the willingness to establish durable and lasting peace and stability in the region, Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh have agreed to the proposal of the co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Conference to start negotiations on the basis of the proposals of the co-Chairmen. However, Azerbaijan did not meet Armenia, Nagorny Karabakh and the co-Chairmen halfway. No durable and lasting solution can be found if one of the sides comes out a loser in this game. That is why we believe that each side has to give up something, in order to get everything, for everyone, forever.

The renewed hope that the revitalized efforts of the co-Chairmen could bring us one step closer to a final solution of the conflict unfortunately disappeared when Azerbaijan refused to accept the proposal of the co-Chairmen. It is our strong belief that such a major draft resolution on the issue of cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has to take account of the milestones that have been passed but must in no way do any harm.

In connection with the amendment proposed by Azerbaijan and contained in document A/53/L.61, I have to state that it is one-sided and biased and that it would impose a compulsory framework with which Armenia cannot agree. As an obvious attempt to predetermine the outcome of negotiations, this amendment in fact rejects the language proposed by the Chairman-in-Office. Because it would allow emotions to prevail and would thus create a more complicated situation, the proposed amendment makes us strongly doubt the seriousness of Azerbaijan's statements that it is interested in the resolution of the conflict.

To conclude, I express our support for the draft resolution introduced by the Chairman-in-Office and contained in document A/53/L.60. Allow me to express our appreciation to the Permanent Representative of Poland and his delegation for the excellent work done during Poland's term as Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE. We look forward to working closely with the delegation of Norway, the incoming Chairman-in-Office.

Ms. Arystanbekova (Kazakhstan)

The delegation of Kazakhstan would like to express its appreciation to the Secretary-General for preparing the report on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) (A/53/672). We note with satisfaction the increased cooperation between the two organizations, and we welcome the steps taken over the past year to improve the coordination of their activities.

We note with appreciation the active work of the delegation of Poland, the country holding the chairmanship-in-office of the OSCE, and of Ambassador Eugeniusz Wyzner. I should also like on behalf of the delegation of Kazakhstan to welcome the Secretary-General of the OSCE, Mr. Giancarlo Aragona.

Kazakhstan became a participant in the OSCE in January 1992, with a view to ensuring our country's security on the basis of the fundamental principles of the organization contained in the Helsinki Final Act and the other documents of the OSCE. An important trend which attracted Kazakhstan's attention is the construction of a new architecture for security in Europe. Kazakhstan welcomes the efforts of the OSCE in that direction.

Despite the existing differences as to approach, we are convinced that the Charter on European Security is a document which covers practically all the key aspects of security in Europe. On the whole, our response to the list of components of the Charter presented by the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Bronislaw Geremek, is positive.

In today's multipolar world, the growing cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE over the broad spectrum of the activities of the two organizations is becoming enormously significant. This is true above all in relation to activities on early warning and preventive diplomacy, crisis management, arms control and disarmament and post-conflict rehabilitation, and also in support of the processes of economic development and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. As the Secretary-General's report makes apparent, the partnership between the two organizations in all these aspects of international activity is facilitating increasingly well coordinated action by the United Nations and the OSCE and is broadening the arsenal of effective mechanisms available to them for solving specific problems. In this connection, we note with satisfaction the regular meetings held by the Secretary-General of the United Nations both with the Chairman-in-Office and with the Secretary-General of the OSCE, which facilitate the improved coordination of joint activities at the headquarters level and in the field.

Kazakhstan supports the further enhancement of cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE in peacekeeping, and greatly appreciates the role of the two organizations in settling conflicts in the countries that have formed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, in Albania and within the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Also important, in our view, is the increased cooperation between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the OSCE. In this context, we welcome the signing of the memorandum of understanding on enhancement of cooperation between UNHCR and the OSCE secretariat and the development of partnership framework agreements between UNHCR and individual OSCE institutions.

Further concrete aspects of cooperation are the joint projects and joint action by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the OSCE on advancing the building of democratic institutions and good governance, the promotion of human rights and the establishment of a framework for donor coordination. The steps taken to enhance cooperation between the Economic Commission for Europe and the OSCE also merit support.

At the same time, in Kazakhstan's view, the growing cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE should not neglect so important a sphere of activity as the protection of the environment, which is one of the most vital aspects of regional and international security. We have persistently urged, and continue to urge, a strengthening of this aspect of OSCE activities, and we welcome in this connection the decision to establish in 1998 an office of OSCE coordinator for economic and environmental activities. Kazakhstan, which attaches great importance to the problems of overcoming the consequences of the environmental disasters in the Central Asia region, is prepared to continue to take an active part in the various forms of economic and environmental action undertaken by the OSCE.

The world today is becoming an integrated and interdependent system. No international organization is capable of countering alone the multifaceted threats to stability. Accordingly, Kazakhstan believes that there is a need to develop a security platform that will take account of the Eurasian factor and of the capabilities of the Central Asian countries in strengthening security in the context of cooperation with the OSCE. Mutual understanding between East and West offers excellent prospects, of which advantage should be taken for the benefit of our countries and our peoples.

A concrete contribution by Kazakhstan to the strengthening of regional stability was the discharge by our country, together with Ukraine and Belarus, of the obligation to remove all nuclear warheads from our territories. The declaration adopted at the Lisbon summit of the OSCE noted that this was a historic contribution to reducing the nuclear threat and to the creation of a common security space in Europe.

Kazakhstan is consistently working to strengthen security and stability at the regional level. We note with satisfaction in this connection that the initiative by the President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nursultan Nazarbaev, for the convening of a Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia, which he first put forward at the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly, is acquiring practical outlines and is becoming a real factor in international life. This initiative is supported by the OSCE, whose representatives invariably participate as observers in the meetings of the States participating in the Conference, which are held in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the United Nations-OSCE projects aimed at promoting the establishment of democratic institutions and good governance and at monitoring elections. Seven years ago, we made the choice in favour of democracy and an open society, and we are now taking concrete steps to intensify democratic reforms.

On 30 September this year, the President of Kazakhstan, in his message to the people of the country, set out the main directions for the democratization of society at the threshold of the twenty-first century. This programme covers such important areas as elections, political parties, parliament, civil society, the judicial system and the mass media. The raising of democracy to the level of State policy, something unprecedented in the history of Kazakhstan, is a breakthrough in the establishment of a civil society.

The Government of Kazakhstan is actively promoting the development of a Central Asian component in the work of the OSCE. The frequent visits to Kazakhstan by the leadership of the OSCE, the conferences and seminars held jointly with various institutions of the organization and the provision of technical and expert assistance in a wide range of activities facilitated the signing in Oslo, Norway, on 3 December this year, of a memorandum of understanding between the Government of Kazakhstan and the OSCE on the opening of an OSCE centre in Almaty. We are grateful for this decision on the opening of the OSCE centre, which is to take place early in 1999.

Another important bilateral instrument that was signed last week, in the course of the meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Oslo, is the memorandum of understanding between the Government of Kazakhstan and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

We note with satisfaction the growing interest of the OSCE in the Central Asia region, and we welcome the further development of cooperation between the countries of the region and the organization.

Kazakhstan greatly appreciates the role and contribution of the United Nations and the OSCE in solving urgent regional and international problems. We express the hope that the strengthening of cooperation between the two organizations will promote the cause of the maintenance of international peace and security and make provision for the humanitarian aspects of security and development, including respect for human rights and the development of democratic institutions.

Kazakhstan, as a sponsor, fully supports the draft resolution that has been submitted in document A/53/L.60.

The President

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 48/5 of 13 October 1993, I now call on the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Mr. Giancarlo Aragona.

Mr. Aragona (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)

It gives me great pleasure to address the General Assembly and to brief members on the highlights of the cooperation between the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations in 1998. Let me state at the outset that considerable progress has been made in this field, as the report of Secretary-General Kofi Annan illustrates (A/53/672).

Mr. Aragona (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)

Since I attended the meeting of regional organizations that the Secretary-General called in New York in July, both our activities and our cooperation with the United Nations have developed in significant ways, reflecting concrete needs on the ground.

In his message to the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting, which was held in Oslo on 2 and 3 December, Secretary-General Kofi Annan indeed described the OSCE as the United Nations major regional partner in the wider Europe. During the Oslo Council meeting, the Foreign Ministers discussed the OSCE's contribution to European security and the role of the organization in the emerging non-hierarchical, complementary and mutually beneficial partnership among different organizations and institutions.

Before I move on to discuss our cooperation in the field, and in particular our cooperation in Kosovo, let me describe an important development that reflected the deepening of relations between our two organizations, namely, the conclusion of memorandums of understanding and exchanges of letters between the OSCE and United Nations agencies. Two areas have provided the focal points of cooperation between the OSCE and the United Nations. The first is the nexus between security, migration and displacement. The second is human rights. As Mr. Petrovsky, Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, underlined in his much appreciated recent address to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna,

"further elaboration of modalities to enhance cooperation between the world's sole global Organization and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ... is essential -- not only to alleviate human suffering in areas of crisis but to promote our shared commitment to democracy and social and economic progress".

In recognition of the significance of the security/refugees nexus, I concluded in October a memorandum of understanding with High Commissioner Ogata on the enhancement of cooperation between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the OSCE secretariat. This agreement was inspired by the excellent interaction in the field and by the concrete mechanisms already in use -- for instance, better exchange of information, designation of liaison officers, cross-representation at relevant meetings, joint assessment of situations of common concern, coherence of approach in the field and the possibility of holding target-oriented meetings. The increasingly close cooperation between the High Commissioner for Refugees and the OSCE is a recognition of the critical linkage between migration, displacement and security issues.

The OSCE and the United Nations undertook further steps to cooperate closely in the field of promotion and protection of human rights. In June 1998, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). In it, the two institutions have committed themselves to strengthening cooperation in supporting national human rights institutions, human rights education and the human rights of women. Regular contacts exist also between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the High Commissioner on National Minorities, as well as the OSCE missions.

Significantly, international organizations and institutions were drawn into the work undertaken in the context of the security model. At my recommendation, at a special informal meeting of the OSCE Security Model Committee in October, representatives of United Nations agencies participated actively, presenting their views on the Platform for Cooperative Security. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNHCR, the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization put forward constructive and pragmatic visions and ideas on further cooperation with our organization, for which we are grateful and which we will be using in the context of our deliberation of the Document-Charter on European Security, as well as in our current efforts to strengthen cooperation.

Let me turn to the Kosovo Verification Mission. As the Ministers declared at Oslo, it is the largest and most difficult operation ever put into the field by the OSCE and marks the international community's recognition of the Organization's developing expertise and potential to contribute to security. In his statement to the Oslo Ministerial meeting, the United Nations Secretary-General applauded "the enthusiasm and courage with which [the OSCE] is braving new challenges".

In Oslo, the Foreign Ministers agreed that the establishment of the Kosovo Verification Mission opened a new stage in the development of the Organization's operational mechanisms for conflict-prevention and conflict-management activities. They stated that the Mission's success will require effective cooperation with other intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organizations. Indeed, the need to cooperate with other international institutions to find a solution to the Kosovo crisis has been recognized since the beginning and was incorporated in the planning of the Mission from the start.

The interplay between the United Nations and OSCE, as well as among other international organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in the period leading up to the agreement on the establishment of the Kosovo Verification Mission is an example of the coordination of efforts on the part of the international community.

Significantly, the Mission was authorized by the Security Council and will be verifying compliance by all parties in Kosovo with Security Council resolution 1199 (1998). It will be reporting instances of progress or non-compliance, among others, to the Security Council. As Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended to the Security Council, "clear channels of communication between us" should be developed, thus avoiding the need for "a parallel United Nations political presence" in Kosovo. It is a good approach. The OSCE is determined to play fully its role as a regional arrangement in the sense of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Kosovo Verification Mission will also assist the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations in facilitating the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes, and the provision to them of facilitative humanitarian assistance by Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbian and Kosovo authorities, as well as humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations. Thanks to the more secure environment provided by the deployment of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission and the first elements of the Kosovo Verification Mission, Kosovo Albanians have started to go back to their homes, and humanitarian agencies have been able to resume their activities. Our first objective -- preventing a humanitarian catastrophe during the winter -- should therefore be accomplished.

Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNDP, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia participated in the target-oriented meeting on the human dimension aspect of OSCE's activities in Kosovo, held in Warsaw on 5 November. During that meeting, it was emphasized that coordination mechanisms and a coordination centre within the Kosovo Verification Mission should ensure good cooperation and complementarity between all international organizations involved.

The deployment of the Mission is going according to plan and is compatible with the absorption capacity of a region where the logistical constraints are obvious. Together with the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission members, who will be progressively merged into the Verification Mission, the Mission's strength is currently about 700 people. The first of the five regional centres is fully staffed. By the end of January, all centres will be operational and the full strength of the Mission reached.

Training of the first verifiers started two weeks ago. I wish here to thank all the United Nations agencies which participated in the preparation of the background documentation for the training, in particular in the field of human rights, and have provided personnel to participate in the briefings. This is a concrete application of the strategy for training developed this year by the OSCE secretariat, which seeks to benefit from the experience of other international organizations and to conduct joint actions with them.

To succeed, the Kosovo Verification Mission expects the contribution of other organizations. I am confident that we can count on the full support of the United Nations.

After Kosovo, the OSCE will never be the same. The operations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia have put us on the map; the Kosovo Mission takes us to another dimension. Our operation in Kosovo and the shape that cooperation with other international organizations takes in the field will redefine the organization and will decisively influence the practical functioning of the European security architecture.

But Kosovo is not the only place where significant changes in cooperation and coordination of activities with other international organizations are taking place at an ever-increasing pace. In Croatia, the OSCE Mission has over the past year assumed vital tasks from the United Nations following the expiration on 15 January 1998 of the mandate of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium. The OSCE also took on the unprecedented role of deploying civilian police monitors in the Croatian Danube region following the expiration of the mandate of the United Nations Police Support Group. The transition has been smooth -- "seamless", as the Secretary-General's Representative qualified it -- and interaction between the two organizations was excellent. I wish here to thank the United Nations, which has contributed significantly to this result.

It was agreed at Oslo that "the participating States will enhance the capacity of the OSCE with regard to police operations" and that to this end, close cooperation with the United Nations would be established.

The OSCE presence in Albania continues to be an excellent example of OSCE's ability to cooperate with international organizations. OSCE continues, for the second year now, to offer a flexible coordination framework for the other organizations present in that country.

Recently the OSCE has been able to go a step further. We initiated, and co-chaired, the Group of Friends of Albania, which held its inaugural meeting in Brussels on 30 September 1998. The OSCE will provide the overall framework for the Group and will chair, together with the European Union, the plenary sessions. The Group i