OSCE Maastricht Ministerial - 12.02.03

Maastricht Web site
Vienna Conference Web page (NCSJ)
U.S. Mission to OSCE
ADL Statement
CSCE (Helsinki Commission) Digest

---

TO:	Interested Parties
FROM:	Robert J. Meth, M.D., Chairman Joel M. Schindler, Ph.D., President Mark B. Levin, Executive Director
SUBJECT:	Update on December 1-2 OSCE Ministerial

This week, in the Netherlands, the United States and the nations of Europe have reinforced their commitment to coordinated action against anti-Semitism – through a second international conference and through institutional mechanisms.  We wanted to update you on some of the key “deliverables” from this year’s Ministerial Council session.

The OSCE Ministerial Council met in Maastricht without releasing a formal Declaration.  The main results on anti-Semitism are a formal consensus for the April 2004 anti-Semitism conference in Berlin and a specific mandate within OSCE for coordinating action against anti-Semitism on an ongoing basis between conferences and other formal meetings.

As you recall, last June the OSCE held a high-profile two-day conference on anti-Semitism, in Vienna, an unprecedented gathering of official delegates from over 55 nations and representatives from scores of non-governmental organizations.  The American delegation, led by The Honorable Rudolph Giuliani, also included Members of Congress and American Jewish leadership.  The Vienna conference, historic in itself, has since led to the Maastricht commitments for a follow-up conference and an international mechanism for day-to-day coordination and reporting.

This year's Ministerial did not issue the usual Declaration, because there was no consensus on two main issues:  the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, and Russia's Istanbul commitments regarding Moldova and Georgia.  The foreign ministers did approve a series of decisions, including a decision on "Tolerance and Non-Discrimination."  These separate items carry the same authority as a Ministerial Declaration and reflect the consensus of all 55 member states. 

The "Tolerance and Non-Discrimination" decision includes the following points:  

Conferences

• The anti-Semitism conference in Berlin, April 28-29, 2004  
  
• A second xenophobia conference in Brussels for autumn 2004  
  
• A cyber-hate conference in Paris during 2004

Responsibilities

• The Permanent Council, in Vienna, is tasked with discussing additional avenues for OSCE to promote tolerance and non-discrimination  
  
• All OSCE member states are “encouraged” to track hate crimes, report on existing hate-crimes legislation to the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw, and seek ODIHR’s assistance with such legislation  
  
• ODIHR is tasked, in cooperation with other international bodies, with being a collection point for information and statistics, as well as promoting best practices

Instead of a formal Declaration, the Dutch Chairmanship issued a separate Chairman's report in the form of a closing statement, which cites the Ministers' support for continuing the OSCE’s action against anti-Semitism but without the detail of the "Tolerance and Non-Discrimination" decision.  This six-page report is not yet available online.  Bulgaria will assume the Chairmanship-in-Office for 2004.

Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered a statement at Maastricht, expressing support for the Berlin conference.  Ambassador Yoav Biran, Director-General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, also delivered a statement strongly supporting the OSCE focus on anti-Semitism; although Israel is not an official OSCE member, it is one of six Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation.  Other member states expressing support for the Berlin conference in their respective statements included Austria (Johannes Kyrle, Secretary General for Foreign Affairs), Romania (Mircea Geoana, Minister of Foreign Affairs), and Turkey (Nabi Sensoy, Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Much of the work leading up to Vienna and Maastricht this year, and on to Berlin next spring, is being accomplished through the evolving partnership among American Jewish organizations, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Government, Israel, and – increasingly – governments in Central and Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union.  The same partnership was in full force at last October’s annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw, where much of the lobbying for this Ministerial’s decision was effected.

We will continue to update you on this engaging and critical work, and look forward to your comments and suggestions as it proceeds.

   
return to top