Address by DPM Lukšić at OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Dublin

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Address by H.E. Mr. Igor Lukšić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro, OSCE Ministerial Council,

Dublin, 6-7 December 2012


Mr. Chairman, Mr. Secretary General,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great honour to represent Montenegro on such an important occasion and to be with you here today. I would like to commend the Irish Chairmanship for the excellent organisation of this event as well as for skillful steering of our Organisation in the past year.

As a result of tireless efforts by the Chairmanship, today we can greet a new member of our community. The true value of the ideas that this organisation cherishes today is enriched with one more, the youngest participating state – Mongolia. That fact makes us all content and convinced that Mongolia will make its unique contribution in shaping the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security community, which we are set on creating.

Both our Organisation and us as its participating states are confronted with new realities and challenges. This is why the concept of comprehensive, cooperative and cross dimensional security is even more valid and attractive. However, you have to trust to be able to build. That is the central idea of our own Confidence and Security Building Measures.

We have commenced this process with the Astana Declaration and we should invest every effort to restore the confidence to be able to move forward in building a free, democratic, common and indivisible Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security community. With the strategic approach to this goal, the OSCE can celebrate the 40 years of the Helsinki Final Declaration stronger and more prepared.

Ladies and gentleman,

As it is crucial for any international body to grow and change along with the changing dynamics of the globalised world and constantly protect its universal and timeless values, the OSCE is continuing to fulfill its mission. Implementation of the OSCE commitments and building on the aquis in all three dimensions is a precondition for our common vision of peace, stability and prosperity from Vancouver to Vladivostok. This is especially true in Human Dimension, which entails core values of democracy and security. The work of our institutions plays a crucial role in this. Chairmanship’s proposals for Ministerial Council decisions in the third dimension follow this logic and we support the Media Freedom Draft, Declaration on Freedom of Digital Media as well as Draft Decision on Strengthening Efforts to Combat Racism and Xenophobia.

Montenegro strongly supports initiatives for a substantive update of the Vienna Document. As a country involved in a successful regional mechanism for arms control under Article IV of the Dayton Accord, we understand the value of accepting proposals which could strain our capacities and resources, but are a long-term investment in confidence building and security. We are also a country benefiting from an OSCE project in demilitarisation-MONDEM. Therefore we support the activities related to SALW and stockpiles of conventional ammunition.

Countering transnational threats calls for immediate joint action. We welcome the decisions adopted to this end. However, we should keep in mind that fighting the consequences of this great challenge for all of us does not dismiss the need to address its causes, which is the essence of the comprehensive security concept.

Good governance, as one of the topics which are in the center of the OSCE’s discussions this year, represents a framework for sustainable economic, social and environmental development. Montenegro strongly supports all the initiatives aimed at combating corruption, money laundering and financing of terrorism, as main obstacles in achieving good governance.

We hope for further progress in resolving the protracted conflicts in the OSCE area and finding sustainable and long-term solutions in dialogue. We need to work further in strengthening mechanisms of the Organization in conflict cycle to make sure we react timely and avoid escalation of violence. In this context, we believe it is also important to define further steps in implementation of UN Resolution 1325 on women in conflicts.

Mr. Chairman,

The OSCE’s field missions are at the heart of the Organisation. We believe that Montenegro is an example of excellent cooperation between the host country and the mission. Together we identify areas in which we need assistance and in which the OSCE has the necessary expertise. Expert support and assistance provided by the Mission contributed invaluably to strengthening of democratic institutions and overall reforms in our country. That is, also, why Montenegro made important progress in the EU and NATO integration. We launched accession negotiations with the EU and are working diligently in fulfilling obligations in NATO MAP which will hopefully lead to invitation to join soon. We expect that this progress will reflect in the priorities and work of the Mission in future, in synergy with other actors in the field. Further development of regional cooperation and strengthening good neighbourly relations, as key foreign policy priorities of Montenegro, are the best contribution we can make to the overall prosperity and stability in the OSCE area as a whole.

This meeting ends the Chairmanship of Ireland. Thank you Ireland for keeping strong spirit of our Organisation mission. I wish Ukraine as the next Chairman the same success. It is my strong belief that the clear vision of leadership of the OSCE in time to come will meet all the challenges and greatly contribute in building trust, cooperation and security among the member states and broader.

Thank you for your attention.