Re: OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 18:22:51 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Re: OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Hanne-Margret Birckenbach
<[email protected]>

Re: OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities


I would like to comment on Jonathan Cohen's letter to the MINELRES
community regarding the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities
and start with expressing my deep gratitude that we had Max van der
Stoel in recent years who, together with his staff, was able to
develop the office, that found in the beginning huge reservation and
was difficult to establish, in a constructive way that nobody could
have expected seven years ago and only few people dared to envision.
Thus, Thank you and all the best for his personal future.
 
I agree with Jonathan's analysis of the importance of the previous
working and the relevance of the office for our common future. Coming
to the process of appointing a successor to Mr van der Stoel, and the
future work of the OSCE HCNM, I feel that it is rather late to start a
discussion on names. As far as I know the appointment of OSCE
Officials is not submitted to any kind of democratic procedure - and
we will have to live with a decision we can not influence.  What we
can do, however, is to start an ongoing discussion on our expectation
towards the future HCNM and to try to agree on some kind of criteria a
person should fulfill. The next HCNM will, hopefully, find a
successor, as well.
 
In my view, a HCNM should come from a smaller country and from a
country with a longstanding democratic experience, including
experience in setting human rights and minority standards and
conflict-resolution tradition, and she or he should have the backing
of other smaller countries alike, willing to share their experience
and capacities with the office to give the utmost of support to it.
 
He should particular be openminded to the role of NGOs in conflict
prevention and to increase transparency into the means, results
(success and failures) of his office and help to establish a culture
with respect to discuss arguments on his working thus preventing
rumours, monopoles of information, and contributing to making disputes
constructive. Everybody knows that the duty is very much determined by
the quiet diplomacy approach - however, not every detail must be kept
silent for endless time. I found it extremely contributing when
MINELRES was able to insert the Letters of the HCNM in the Archive.

If I were part of the deciding commity, I asked the candidate three
questions
 
(1) whether she or he has considered the possibility not only to
report to the OSCE officials in Vienna annually but also give an
annual or biannual report for the public, interesting to read and
enlightening many people about the needs and possibilities of the
office and in which ways it can be supported. To my mind, in this
respect, the CBSS Commissioner on Democratic Institutions and HR
including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, can serve as
an example.

(2) I further would ask about his/her perspectives on gender issues
and whether he or she is willing to recruit a gender balanced staff,
able to take into consideration gender issues when dealing with
minorities and conflict prevention.

(3) I also would like to ask the candidate on her/his willingness to
establish a homepage, rich of information, encouraging to open, and up
to date (different from the state of the OSCE homepage which mostly
consists of outdated infomation and is full of mistakes.)

Yours 
Hanne-M. Birckenbach
 
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Dr. Hanne-M. Birckenbach
Schleswig-Holstein Institute for Peace Research
Kaiserstrasse 2
D-24143 Kiel
http://www.schiff.uni-kiel.de

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