Statement by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer at the OSCE Ministerial Council, Maastricht, 1 December 2003

The OSCE is squaring up to face the security policy challenges of the 21^st century. It continues to make a crucial and indispensable contribution to conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, as well as to arms control and military confidence-building in the Euro-Atlantic area.

It is characterized more than any other organization by its ability to support processes of transition by word and deed and to settle regional conflicts and crises. With its innumerable field missions, it has created a unique instrument for this work.

The special value of this civilian field presence lies in the knowledge at its disposal, the networks established and its proximity to the local people. The field activities are a visible sign of the willingness of OSCE participating states to seek the Organization's advice and assistance to help advance their reforms. The field activities are not a problem for the countries they are based in, but a force for progress.

A problem arises, however, if the values to which we committed ourselves in Helsinki and thereafter are not respected. We are all called upon to respect and protect democracy, the rule of law and good governance. It thus remains one of the OSCE's core tasks to remind the participating states of their commitments and to support them in their implementation. After all, the CSCE participating states did declare in Moscow in 1991 that the protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law was of international concern and not exclusively a domestic matter to be dealt with by individual states.

For years the OSCE has been successfully proving its competence in solving regional crises. Through its good offices it has helped ensure that many "frozen conflicts", such as that over Nagorno-Karabakh, never reach boiling point.

I do not however wish to hide my disappointment that we have not this year made any substantial progress in resolving such frozen conflicts, apart from the tentative steps made in Moldova. The OSCE and the parties to the conflicts are still required to act.

In Georgia, too, the OSCE wants to contribute to peacefully resolving the crisis. We cannot and should not leave Georgia and its neighbours to tackle this problem on their own. The OSCE, with its many years' experience in regional crisis management, must step in. It should assume a key role in the forthcoming new elections, in order to help secure Georgia's stability, democracy and integrity in the long term.

Moldova needs a viable constitution to serve as the foundation for a functioning democratic state for all Moldovans. Here, too, we should utilize the OSCE framework to achieve this objective.

I call upon all states concerned to fulfil the commitments made in Istanbul without further delay.

The OSCE can also make an important contribution to finding a political solution to the Chechnyan conflict.

I most warmly welcome the fact the Netherlands Chairmanship has taken an important step to strengthen the OSCE Human Dimension. The OSCE anti-trafficking representative will be a new, high-profile instrument in the fight against human trafficking. It underlines our readiness to take a determined stand against this modern form of slavery.

Germany will lend its full support to the work of the anti-trafficking representative, for the crime of human trafficking strikes at the core of human rights: human dignity, and the dignity of defenceless women.

We have furthermore chosen to focus on combating intolerance in all its forms, a task that I personally feel strongly about.

For anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination amount to a declaration of war on the very foundations of our democratic society, which is built on respect, tolerance and understanding.

We must continue this vital debate. We want to contribute to it. We will thus hold a high-level OSCE conference in Berlin from 28 to 29 April 2004 to examine anti-Semitism, a phenomenon which is of special concern to us, and for which, as Germans, we feel a special responsibility.

At the meeting in Berlin, we would like to join together to consider how to successfully fight anti-Semitism. I hope that we will indeed also be able to agree on concrete steps.

The asymmetric terrorist threat has made it clear that a multilateral and effective policy on crisis and conflict prevention is absolutely essential. As our only pan-European organization, the OSCE makes a major contribution to such a policy, not least because its activities rest on a comprehensive security concept.

This concept also includes promising new initiatives. By way of example I would like to mention the strengthening of the OSCE capabilities to guarantee open and secure borders, the non-proliferation of MANPADS and the securing of conventional munitions stockpiles.

Whilst I warmly welcome these new initiatives, we must not neglect the traditional core areas of OSCE activities: the OSCE's crucial contribution to the stability and security of the Euro-Atlantic area lies in the Human Dimension, in its field missions, its conflict settlement, arms control and military confidence-building measures.

I would like to thank you for the considerable personal dedication shown by the Netherlands OSCE Chairmanship, and would like to wish you continued success in your new post.

At this early opportunity I would also like to wish the incoming Bulgarian Chair a sure hand for the year to come.

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