"Mr. President, at the outset, I would like to join previous speakers in thanking Serbia for organising this meeting.
The OSCE occupies a unique place among the regional organizations with which the United Nations is called upon to cooperate under Chapter VIII of its Charter. The OSCE was the first security organization that conceived of and adopted a concept of comprehensive and co-operative security, which the participating States have reaffirmed in major documents and decisions taken since the Helsinki Final Act. It therefore has an essential role to play in settling conflicts and promoting human rights in the OSCE area.
The cooperation between the OSCE and the United Nations covers a broad field of actions in which both organizations have demonstrated their ability to work together, be it in the field of disarmament, the fight against terrorism or the promotion and protection of human rights. Through its field missions, the OSCE is present in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and it often works in close cooperation with the United Nations and with other relevant regional organizations such as the European Union or the Council of Europe. Increased cooperation will enable us to maximize synergies globally, regionally and locally.
The crisis in and around Ukraine shows the dangerous consequences of the violation of our common values as enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, in particular the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States. This crisis has, on the other hand, proven that the OSCE and its participating States can act rapidly to prevent further escalation of a dangerous conflict. Luxembourg welcomes the important role played by the OSCE, in particular through the deployment of its special monitoring mission and the role of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group.
Luxembourg fully supports the efforts by the OSCE to explore further ideas for cooperation with the United Nations and other regional organisations, including in the area of peace operations. I thank the OSCE chairperson-in-office, Mr. Ivica Dacic, and the Secretary General of the OSCE, Mr. Lamberto Zannier, for their proposals with regard to peace operations at the OSCE. Luxembourg will participate constructively in the discussions with a view to improving the OSCE’s capacities in the field. We look forward to early conclusions in this process.
Further to the crisis response capacities, we must continue to work among participating states to strengthen mechanisms to prevent crises before they arise, in the framework of the multidimensional concept of security which regards the respect for human rights and the rule of law as an integral element of security. The OSCE and in particular its Conflict Prevention Centre have accumulated a lot of expertise in this field in recent and not so recent peace operations In the context of prevention, I would also like to emphasize the importance of preventing radicalization in our societies. Education is key here. In our fight against new transnational threats such as foreign terrorist fighters, we should indeed first and foremost identify strategies to prevent vulnerable individuals from becoming radicalized in the first place.
Mr. President, I also strongly believe that the OSCE will have a crucial role to play in the overall European security architecture as an inclusive platform for fostering dialogue, building trust and bridging potential divides among participating states based on the values we share. The final report of the panel of eminent persons will, I am sure, feed into our discussions on how to advance European Security as a common project.
I look forward to discussing these and other ideas further at the upcoming Ministerial meeting in Belgrade. Thank you."