Domestic

Domestic

Outgoing OSCE Minorities Commissioner: Integration key to conflict prevention

28 June 2007 15:15 (UTC +04:00)

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Rolf Ekeus, emphasized today the importance of operational conflict prevention in his final speech to the OSCE’s Permanent Council, saying the key was promoting integration while respecting diversity.
"I remain convinced about the continuous relevance and the need for this unique institution," Ambassador Ekeus said.
High Commissioner Ekeus was appointed by the Eighth OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna in November 2000, and his term was extended for another three years in 2004. He steps down on 30 June. His successor is expected to be announced shortly.
"My belief is that the basic principle of integration with respect for diversity is relevant for all OSCE countries, as our societies face challenges in dealing with the increasing diversity within our borders," the High Commissioner said at the Permanent Council, the OSCE’s main regular decision-making body.
The HCNM has worked across large parts of the OSCE area, including the Baltics, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
â€œWhen the Soviet Union broke up, the States which replaced it did not identify themselves on the basis of the principles of socialism, as before, but as nation states.
In addition to giving advice to States on what needs to be done to reduce risks and tensions arising from minority issues, it is sometimes also necessary to provide financial and technical assistance for the implementation of the recommendations. In this connection, as an example I would like to highlight the extensive programme which the HCNM has been running in co-operation with the Georgian Government, aimed at promoting the integration into Georgian society of the Armenian and Azeri minorities,â€ he stressed. /APA/