Didier Burkhalter advocates a stronger role for the OSCE in the management of crises
Bern, 05.05.2015 - The lessons learnt from the Ukraine crisis for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the resources needed to strengthen the OSCE missions to peace operations, and the economic dimension of the current tensions in Europe were the main points of a speech given by Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter on Tuesday in Geneva to the panel on European security. This independent panel of 15 experts, set up by the OSCE Troika at the Ministerial Conference in Basel last year, held its second meeting in Geneva.
While the UN prepares to review its peace operations and the work it does in this area in collaboration with regional organisations, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs considers that "the OSCE should also reflect on its role in this kind of mission, especially in light of the experiences in Ukraine of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). Although these missions are essentially civilian, if more robustly equipped, with body protection, armoured vehicles, drones, etc., they would be able to protect themselves and enter contemporary combat zones".
"Since the founding of the OSCE, conflicts have become more complex, often have regional dimensions, and have high potential for violence against civilians," Mr Burkhalter pointed out before going on to emphasise that "the OSCE needed to adapt to the needs of modern crisis management". This is an important step in strengthening the OSCE's capacity to act, he concluded.
The head of the FDFA also addressed the economic dimension of conflicts, pointing out that the process of economic integration could undermine European security if the economic factors at stake were to be seen from a geopolitical perspective. The Ukraine crisis has also shown how armed conflicts can lead to the economic fragmentation of a country, which itself becomes a further destabilising factor.
Here too, Didier Burkhalter pointed out that the OSCE has a role to play in strengthening regional economic links through measures to rebuild confidence and reduce internal divisions. Mr Burkhalter thereby clearly demonstrated his determination to strengthen the second dimension of the OSCE, i.e. economic and environmental cooperation among the organisation's 57 member states.
By creating this panel on European security, presided over by Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, and which includes the former Swiss national councillor Barbara Haering, the OSCE aims to stimulate reflection on the future of European security. The experts have been instructed to make recommendations in two reports due in the middle and at the end of 2015 which are expected to pursue the line of strengthening European security as a joint project.
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