Supporting the work of the OSCE
Statement by Ambassador Jonathan Allen at the Security Council briefing on the OSCE
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Supporting the work of the OSCE – UK statement at the Security Council
· UK calls on participating states to continue to support OSCE efforts, and urges equal and meaningful participation of women in conflict resolution
· UK urges Russia to adhere to its OSCE commitments and end its unlawful control of Crimea
Statement by Ambassador Jonathan Allen at the Security Council briefing on the OSCE, 10 March 2021
Thank you very much, Madam President. Let me also thank Foreign Minister Linde for her briefing. I’m not sure if she can hear us, but I hope she can anyway because I wanted to say that the United Kingdom is a firm supporter of the OSCE and we’re looking very much forward to working with Foreign Minister Linde as Chairperson in Office over the next year. We share her view that the OSCE is an important pillar of the international system with principles and commitments that provide a roadmap for enhancing the security of all participating states.
Madam President, protracted conflicts in the OSCE region continue to undermine regional security and blight the lives of affected civilians. We call on all participating states to support OSCE efforts. I want to welcome the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan last November to end fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. And we support the efforts of the Minsk Group co-chairs to secure a lasting peace. We also highly value the OSCE’s conflict mediation efforts in Georgia and in Moldova.
In all conflict resolution, Madam President, the full, equal and meaningful participation of women brings more informed decision-making and more sustainable results on the ground. And I want to commend Foreign Minister Linde’s focus on the Women Peace and Security agenda. The United Kingdom shares this priority and also supports the importance of women’s economic empowerment as an essential aspect to achieving this.
The United Kingdom will support Chairperson of Office Linde’s chairing this year through our role chairing the Security Committee of the OSCE. We are focussed on addressing transnational organised crime as well as counterterrorism, countering violent extremism and cyber security.
The OSCE plays a vital role in enhancing Euro-Atlantic security, and the UK remains committed to OSCE’s conventional arms control and confidence and security building instruments. We call on Russia to engage constructively at the OSCE to increase military transparency and reduce military risk, including through modernisation of the Vienna document.
Madam President, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine since 2014 remains one of the most serious security threats in the OSCE region. And I want to urge Russia to match Ukraine’s political will and meet its commitments so that progress can be made.
In that regard, I want to echo Foreign Minister Linde’s call for the opening of the two crossing points in the Luhansk Oblast. We discussed this issue before in this Council and I understand that the Government of Ukraine has opened the crossings on their side. So I would ask our Russian friends to use their influence over their proxies, in the interests of the people of the region to improve lives on a daily basis.
Madam President, let me conclude by saying on the seventh anniversary of the illegal annexation, the United Kingdom also calls on Russia to end its unlawful control of Crimea. Russia has deployed military troops to the peninsula in blatant violation of its OSCE principles and commitments. The ongoing human rights violations in Crimea are unacceptable, and we condemn Russia’s attempts to destabilise security in the region.
Thank you, Madam President.