List of lastest press releases:

- OSCE holds emergency consultations on Kyrgyzstan, sends special envoy

ASTANA, 12 June 2010 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan’s Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev, today held telephone consultations with the Head of Kyrgyzstan’s Provisional Government Roza Otunbayeva, offered condolences for the loss of many lives in Osh, and expressed serious concern over the continuing violence.

Saudabayev also held today telephone consultations with the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki moon, the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, and Foreign Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu.

The situation in southern Kyrgyzstan was discussed in detail. Saudabayev announced his decision to send his Special Envoy, Zhanybek Karibzhanov, to Kyrgyzstan, as well as a senior official of the Vienna-based OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre. The UN and EU representatives also said that they were ready to send their own special envoys to Kyrgyzstan. The OSCE, the UN and the EU, which have already worked together in Kyrgyzstan in close co-operation with Karibzhanov, have agreed to further coordinate their efforts.

Karibzhanov is Deputy Speaker of the Majilis (lower house of Parliament) of Kazakhstan, and Chairman of the Kazakh-Kyrgyz inter-parliamentary group.

Saudabayev said that, since the beginning of the conflict, the OSCE Kazakh Chairmanship and Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev have been focusing on finding a solution to the crisis and today, in view of the present difficulties, stand ready to take all the necessary measures. 

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- Media accreditation for Almaty informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers on 16-17 July opens

ASTANA, 14 June 2010 - An informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers, hosted by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan’s State Secretary and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev, will be held on 16 and 17 July near Almaty.

The meeting, to take place at the Ak-Bulak Resort, 35 kilometres south-east from Almaty, will provide an informal framework to consider matters related to security in Europe and the OSCE’s role, including the Kazakh Chairmanship’s proposal to hold an OSCE Summit.

Journalists are invited to cover the event. The opening session and final press conference on 17 July will be open to media. Information about other media opportunities will be provided at the venue.

Advance accreditation is mandatory. The media accreditation form can be found on Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry website: http://portal.mfa.kz/portal/page/portal/mfa/en/content/press/OSCE-inform-Almaty-2010.

Accreditation forms must be submitted by 10 July 2010 to Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry.

Contact person for media accreditation at the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan: Makhsura Maskhudova, news@mfa.kz, +7 7172 7202 36

Please note that journalists accredited to the OSCE in Vienna or in any other OSCE locations still need accreditation.

Journalists should consult the nearest Embassy of Kazakhstan to check if they need an entry visa prior to their arrival in the country.

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- Crisis of confidence at the core of security challenges, says Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister

VIENNA, 14 June 2010 - A crisis of confidence lies at the core of security challenges facing the OSCE region today, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantin Zhigalov said today at the opening of the OSCE Annual Security Review Conference.

The three-day meeting aims to enhance the dialogue on security among the Organization’s 56 participating States.

"We see the crisis of confidence as our main problem. The stagnation of the arms control regime, the difficulties to resolve protracted conflicts and restoring an OSCE Mission to Georgia, all of which will be at the centre of our Conference’s discussions, provide graphic confirmation of this crisis of confidence or trust," said Zhigalov, representing Kazakhstan’s 2010 OSCE Chairmanship.

"As the OSCE Chairmanship, we see our main task in ensuring a rapprochement in the positions of the participating States and searching for mutually acceptable solutions in the interest of universal peace and security."

He welcomed work to update the 1999 OSCE Vienna Document, saying this would "increase the degree of confidence and the effectiveness of the co-operation among the OSCE countries considerably." The Vienna Document is a confidence- and security-building measure that requires participating States to share information on armed forces and military activities.

Zhigalov said the OSCE-anchored dialogue on the future of European security known as the Corfu Process was a "unique chance for a renewal of the spirit of co-operation" and that the Kazakh OSCE Chairmanship hoped this dialogue and the OSCE’s work in general would lead to mutual understanding, similar to what was achieved between Russia and the United States with the new START treaty.

He said that the Conference would contribute to the Corfu Process, which will be further discussed at the informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers, to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in mid-July.

Regarding the crisis in Kyrgyzstan, Zhigalov expressed condolences for the loss of lives and said that it was "important to continue the active co-ordination of OSCE activities in efforts to stabilize the situation."

Discussing Georgia, Zhigalov said the Chairmanship was "in favour of strengthening the OSCE’s role in the region, in particular through the creation of a support group which could pay regular visits to the region. The question of restoring the OSCE’s field presence in Georgia is undoubtedly a matter of importance."

The conference’s working sessions will focus on transnational threats and challenges; the role of the OSCE in early warning, conflict prevention and resolution, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation; the role and perspectives of arms control and confidence- and security-building regimes in building trust in the evolving security environment; threats and challenges stemming from the territory of Afghanistan and the OSCE’s contribution to stability in the region; and a review of OSCE police-related activities.

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- Gender and comprehensive security in focus at annual OSCE, UN and Council of Europe meeting

VIENNA, 14 June 2010 - Achieving peace and stability requires equal inclusion of both women and men, OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said today at a meeting between the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. 

"In order to be successful and sustainable, all efforts to manage conflict and to establish long-term stability and peace require the inclusion of women and men on an equal basis," de Brichambaut said.

Gender and comprehensive security was the topic of the annual High-Level Tripartite Meeting, organized this year by the OSCE.

More than 50 participants discussed lessons learned and possibilities for enhanced co-operation between international and regional organizations to take gender aspects into account in efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts and to combat violence against women and girls during, before and after armed conflicts.

De Brichambaut said that despite efforts by the OSCE and others, "there is still a lot of work to be done".

"Women continue to suffer from different forms of violence, they are left out of peace negotiations, and their talent is still insufficiently used in economic and political decision-making spheres around the world," he added.

De Brichambaut said that OSCE missions and institutions work to promote the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Stability. He pointed to such examples as an OSCE project that aims to increase the representation of women in the military and police and an online coaching module that seeks to integrate gender perspectives in conflict prevention, policing, military reform and border management. In its efforts to combat domestic violence, the OSCE supports hotlines for victims and works with the police and legislators.

The OSCE, the UN and the Council of Europe convened the meeting and issued a Joint Communiqué at its end. The OSCE Chairmanship and Troika; the EU, the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of Red Cross, NATO and the Collective Security Treaty Organization also participated in the meeting.

The Tripartite Meeting has been held annually since 1993.

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