Mr. Roberto Montella, Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
Mr. Roberto Montella
AUTUMN MEETING
Andorra la Vella, 3 – 5 OCTOBER 2017
Report of the Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Report to the Standing Committee
4 October 2017
OSCE PA Secretary General, Roberto Montella
On behalf of the Assembly I want to extend a sincere thanks to the Belarusian and Andorran parliaments, whose excellent and generous support to our meetings this year enable OSCE parliamentary dialogue to continue. Their willingness to host our Annual Session and Autumn Meeting, respectively, are important contributions to the work of our Assembly. I would like to appeal to all countries that have not yet hosted a major OSCE PA meeting to explore possibilities to do so in the near future (in Annex to this report, a list of host countries can be found). Our work depends on the support of our parliamentary hosts.
Following a successful Annual Session in Minsk in early July, the International Secretariat remains active in supporting major fora for dialogue, targeted missions and other Assembly work. The Autumn of 2017 appears to be as busy as ever, with multiple seminars and conferences, several election observation missions, and other events available for OSCE parliamentarians to participate in.
I’m pleased to report that the International Secretariat remains in excellent shape and we are fully equipped to implement the Financial Regulations endorsed by the Standing Committee in July, bringing additional transparency and accountability to our financial management. Our sincere gratitude goes to the Danish parliament for hosting our headquarters for 25 years now, and to the Austrian government for supporting our offices in Vienna; with their support we continue to function at very little cost to OSCE parliaments. I also take this opportunity to thank the Italian government for seconding two of our staff members in the International Secretariat, providing us with significant additional capacity to support the Assembly’s work.
Activities of the International Secretariat in support of Members
Christine Muttonen, following her re-election as President in July, and despite her own domestic political campaign, has maintained a busy schedule on behalf of the OSCE PA. In late August the International Secretariat supported the delegation that she led to Kazakhstan to participate in a major conference on nuclear disarmament. Her contribution, as well as that of Vice-President Azay Guliyev, was greatly appreciated by participants. President Muttonen also took the opportunity to hold several high-level meetings with officials in Kazakhstan on topical issues, before proceeding to Uzbekistan in a continuation of her efforts at encouraging parliamentary dialogue in the Central Asian region. In early September the President also travelled to Azerbaijan where she was met at the highest levels of government and parliament; the President has already announced her plans to continue visits in the South Caucasus including to Armenia in the coming months. Ms. Muttonen has also prioritized work in the Mediterranean, travelling to Morocco, and appointing a new Special Representative, Pascal Allizard, to lead Assembly efforts in this region.
The OSCE PA election team supported the important election observation mission to the 24 September parliamentary elections in Germany. Vice-Presidents George Tsereteli and Isabel Santos provided leadership to our efforts on this occasion and worked closely with the small team of experts deployed by the OSCE/ODIHR for this election.
Andreas Baker supported and traveled with Special Representative Kristian Vigenin for a visit to the three countries in the South Caucasus. Vigenin’s efforts are important to continuing constructive engagement by the OSCE PA in the region, and we very much appreciate the close co-operation and efforts of the parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in arranging this visit.
We were also pleased that a senior representative from the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre was able to join the visit – his participation and contribution is another demonstration of our Secretariat’s efforts to maximize co-operation within the OSCE to the benefit of MPs and all OSCE citizens.
Our Vienna office supported a visit by Special Representative Ilkka Kanerva to the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna to further his work on mediation by meeting a range of relevant officials in the OSCE structures on this issue. The Vienna office was also pleased to support a visit by newly-appointed Special Representative Allizard related to his work in Mediterranean affairs.
The new Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism, Mr. Makis Voridis, visited Copenhagen to plan the future activities of the newly established committee and consider how best the International Secretariat can support its work.
Colleagues from the Netherlands delegation also visited our HQ in Copenhagen to get a briefing of the Secretariat’s work and discuss our common work. We strongly encourage such visits to both our offices in Copenhagen and Vienna as they provide the International Secretariat with an opportunity to get to know our ‘clients’ better, and to consider how best we can support your work.
Strengthening the International Secretariat
October 1st represents the first day on which the Financial Regulations recently approved by the Standing Committee are formally in effect. With this date in mind, the International Secretariat has effectively been functioning according to the guidelines in the agreed rules for several months, but we’re pleased to now have full clarity in our financial management and procedures. As previously reported, I feel that the Regulations provide reasonable restrictions on authorizing transfers, important clarity on extra budgetary contributions and on the appointment of external auditors that will help safeguard the resources that national parliaments provide to the Assembly. To oversee the implementation of these new procedures, and to further strengthen our internal workings and procedures, we have recently hired a new Chief of Administration and Finance, Ms. Marieta Samac (Canada). She is joining our team on 1 October.
My plan is to further develop, strengthen and increase the flexibility and capacity to adapt of our International Secretariat. In consultations with Deputy Secretary General Gustavo Pallares and Ambassador Andreas Nothelle, we looked at possibilities to refocus the activities of the OSCE PA Vienna Liaison Office in light of the significantly improved relationship with the governmental side. This will allow us to draw from the OSCE PA Liaison Office human resources necessary for new activities of the PA.
Throughout the summer we also refurbished some of the facilities of our headquarters in Copenhagen to provide better working conditions for our young Research Fellows. We recently held an informal gathering of ‘alumni’ from the Research Fellowship programme, gathering more than 10% of the some 250 fellows that have contributed to our work over the past 25 years. I’m proud of the work that they do and always pleased with the energy they bring to our office. I’m also pleased that we recently welcomed the first Research Fellow under an agreement we have reached with the OSCE Academy in Bishkek through which we will regularly recruit a Fellow from among the top students coming out of this OSCE-supported university in Kyrgyzstan.
Co-operation with the OSCE and other partners
I’m very pleased that in mid-July the OSCE has managed to reach consensus on the appointment of a new Secretary General, a new Director of ODIHR, a new High Commissioner on National Minorities, and a new Representative on Freedom of the Media. This enables the Organization’s work to continue effectively and it gives the OSCE PA interlocutors with whom we can cooperate on all aspects of the OSCE security agenda.
In early September, Vice-President Marietta Tidei and Third Committee Rapporteur Kyriakos Hadjiyianni led our participation in the OSCE’s annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, with Tidei addressing the opening session on behalf of the Assembly and highlighting key OSCE PA efforts in the human dimension. This event also provided a first opportunity for me to meet the new leadership of the OSCE Institutions. I am confident that our already good co-operation will continue to improve in the coming years.
Fifteen months ago in Tbilisi, the Assembly requested the International Secretariat to explore, together with OSCE executive structures, opportunities for deepening our co-operation in various fields. Since that time I have made a number of efforts to significantly improve our co-operation with the OSCE’s executive structures, striving in particular to immediately turn co-operation into action. I hope you agree that this has been an effective way of implementing the wishes of the Assembly. To ensure this can continue, I recently took the opportunity to meet with the new Secretary General of the OSCE, Thomas Greminger; he agreed that the letters I recently exchanged with his predecessor (attached to my July 2017 report) form a good basis for continued and improved co-operation. The International Secretariat will therefore continue to seek all opportunities to this end, and I am confident that we have willing partners within the OSCE structures. We also welcome all ideas by parliamentarians on how to improve both our internal workings and our external co-operation, and will continue to support the efforts of the Sub-Committee on Rules of Procedure and Working Practices led by Lord Bowness to ensure adjustments are made if and when appropriate.
Upcoming events
Soon after the close of this conference in Andorra, we expect to deploy an election observation mission of the upcoming elections in Kyrgyzstan on 15 October. We look forward to supporting the work of the team headed by Vice-President Azay Guliyev and 2nd Committee Vice-Chair Artur Gerasymov, and to working closely with our traditional partners including the OSCE/ODIHR, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament. In 2018, we foresee several election observation missions to be deployed, and further details on these plans will be distributed in due time.
We are working closely with the Austrian parliament related to our OSCE PA Bureau Meeting, scheduled to take place in conjunction with the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in early December. We also expect participation by a large number of OSCE parliamentarians in various targeted events organized by national parliaments in the coming months, including a seminar on countering extremism in Morocco, and activities related to migration, countering terrorism, and other topics.
ANNEX I:
OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY MEETINGS VENUES (since 1991)
ALBANIA
Fall Meetings 2012, Tirana
ANDORRA
Autumn Meeting 2017, Andorra la Vella
Economic Conference 2007, Andorra La Vella
AUSTRIA
Annual Session 1994, Vienna
Various seminars
Annual Reception / Winter Meeting ( since 2002)
AZERBAIJAN
Annual Session 2014, Baku
BELARUS
Annual Session 2017, Minsk
BELGIUM
Annual Session 2006, Brussels
CANADA
Annual Session 1995, Ottawa
Fall Meetings 2008, Toronto
CROATIA
Fall Meetings 2011, Dubrovnik
CYPRUS
Limassol conference, 2000
DENMARK (host of the International Secretariat office)
Annual Session 1998, Copenhagen
Bureau Meeting almost annually
FINLAND
Annual Session 2015, Helsinki
Annual Session 1993, Helsinki
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Autumn Meeting 2016, Skopje
FRANCE
Annual Session 2001, Paris
Sub-regional Conference 1999, Nantes
GEORGIA
Annual Session 2016, Tbilisi
Economic Conference 2012, Batumi
Seminar 1998, Tbilisi
GERMANY
Annual Session 2018, Berlin ( to be held)
Annual Session 2002, Berlin
Leinsweiler seminars
GREECE
Fall Meetings 2009, Athens
Fall Meetings 2004, Rhodes
HUNGARY
Annual Session 1992, Budapest
IRELAND
Economic Conference 2009, Dublin
ITALY
Fall Meetings 2010, Palermo
Fall Meetings 2003, Rome
Bureau and Standing Committee 1993, Rome
KAZAKHSTAN
Annual Session 2008, Astana
Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum, 2004 Almaty
Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum, 2010 Almaty
KYRGYZSTAN
Autumn Meeting 2018, Bishkek ( to be held)
LITHUANIA
Annual Session 2009, Vilnius
LUXEMBOURG
Annual Session 2019, Luxembourg ( to be announced)
MALTA
Fall Meetings 2006, Valletta
Bureau 1994, Valletta
MONACO
Annual Session 2012, Monaco
Sub-regional Conference 1997, Monaco
MONGOLIA
Autumn Meeting 2015, Ulaanbaatar
MONTENEGRO
Fall Meetings 2013, Budva
Fall Meetings 2005, Sveti Stefan ( as Serbia-Montenegro)
NETHERLANDS
Annual Session 2003, Rotterdam
NORWAY
Annual Session 2010, Oslo
Sub-regional Conference 2005, Tromsø
POLAND
Annual Session 1997, Warsaw
PORTUGAL
Fall Meetings 2001, Sintra
Bureau 2009, Lisbon
ROMANIA
Annual Session 2000, Bucharest
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Annual Session 1999, St. Petersburg
SERBIA
Annual Session 2011, Belgrade
SLOVENIA
Fall Meetings 2007, Portoroz
SPAIN
Fall Meetings 2002, Madrid
Bureau Meeting 1998, Madrid
Madrid Conference creating the CSCE PA, 1991
SWEDEN
Annual Session 1996, Stockholm
SWITZERLAND
Fall Meetings 2014, Geneva
Sub-regional Conference 2003, Bern
TURKEY
Annual Session 2013, Istanbul
Bureau and Conference 2000, Antalya
UKRAINE
Annual Session 2007, Kyiv
UNITED KINGDOM
Annual Session 2004, Edinburgh
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Annual Session 2005, Washington, DC
UZBEKISTAN
Bureau and Parliamentary Seminar on Regional Security, 1997, Tashkent
COUNTRIES YET TO HOST OSCE PA MEETINGS
ARMENIA
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
BULGARIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
ESTONIA
ICELAND
LATVIA LIECHSTENSTEIN
SAN MARINO SLOVAKIA
TAJIKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
ANNEX II:
OVERVIEW OF OSCE PA INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT –
INTERNAL STRUCTURES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
THE OSCE PA INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT:
- Roberto MONTELLA, Secretary General
- Gustavo PALLARES, Deputy Secretary General
- Semyon DZAKHAEV, Deputy Secretary General
- Andreas NOTHELLE, Ambassador, Special Representative (Vienna Liaison Office)
- Marieta SAMAC, Chief Administration and Finance
- Andreas BAKER, Chief of the Executive Office
- Marco BONABELLO, Liaison Officer and Advisor
- Dana BJERREGAARD, Head of Document Services
- Marc CARILLET, Deputy Director of the Vienna Liaison Office
- Farimah DAFTARY, Programme Officer
- Anna DI DOMENICO, Executive Assistant
- Tim KNOBLAU, Executive Assistant to the Vienna Liaison Office
- Odile LELARGE, Head of Conference Services
- Kurt LERRAS, Senior Advisor (consultant)
- Bo Hjorth NIELSEN, General Services Manager
- Francesco PAGANI, Chief Political Advisor
- Nat PARRY, Head of Communications and Press
- Stephen PAUL, Chief, ICT Service and Support Section
- Loic POULAIN, Presidential Advisor
Iryna SABASHUK, Head of Administration for Election Observation
MANAGEMENT
- Roberto MONTELLA, Secretary General
- Gustavo PALLARES, Deputy Secretary General
- Semyon DZAKHAEV, Deputy Secretary General
- Andreas NOTHELLE, Ambassador, Special Representative (Vienna Liaison Office)
- Marieta SAMAC, Chief Administration and Finance
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
- Andreas BAKER, Chief of the Executive Office
- Marco BONABELLO, Liaison Officer and Advisor
- Farimah DAFTARY, Programme Officer
- Anna DI DOMENICO, Executive Assistant
- Francesco PAGANI, Chief Political Advisor
- Nat PARRY, Head of Communications and Press
- Loic POULAIN, Presidential Advisor
- Iryna SABASHUK, Head of Administration for Election Observation
Election Observation Department
- Iryna SABASHUK, Head of Administration for Election Observation
- Loic POULAIN, Support
- Anna DI DOMENICO, Support
- On a rotating basis all staff are involved in election observation missions
Presidential Activities
- Loic POULAIN, Presidential Advisor
- Farimah DAFTARY, Support
- Francesco PAGANI, Support
Press and Communications
- Nat PARRY, Head of Communications and Press
- Stephen PAUL, Support
- Loic POULAIN, Support
ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES
- Marieta SAMAC Chief, Administration and Finance
- Stephen PAUL, Chief, ICT Service and Support Section / Accounting Officer
- Dana BJERREGAARD, Head of Document Services
- Marc CARILLET, Deputy Director of the Vienna Liaison Office
- Tim KNOBLAU, Executive Assistant to the Vienna Liaison Office
- Odile LELARGE, Head of Conference Services
- Kurt LERRAS, Senior Advisor (consultant)
- Bo Hjorth NIELSEN, General Services Manager
Conference Services
- Odile LELARGE, Head of Conference Services
- Kurt LERRAS, support
- Bo Hjorth NIELSEN, support
Document Services
- Dana BJERREGAARD, Head of Document Services
- Farimah DAFTARY, Support
- Tim KNOBLAU, Support
- Iryna SABASHUK, Support
Information Technology
- Stephen PAUL, Chief, ICT Service and Support Section
- Bo Hjorth NIELSEN, support
Research Assistants Programme
- Iryna SABASHUK, Programme Manager
- Marco BONABELLO, Program Manager (Vienna)
- Dana BJERREGAARD, Support
- Marc CARILLET, Support
VIENNA LIAISON OFFICE
- Andreas NOTHELLE, Ambassador, Special Representative
- Marco BONABELLO, Liaison Officer and Advisor
- Marc CARILLET, Deputy Director of the Vienna Liaison Office
- Tim KNOBLAU, Executive Assistant to the Vienna Liaison Office
- Francesco PAGANI, Chief Political Advisor
STATUTORY ACTIVITIES AND OUTREACH PROGRAMMES
General Committee on Political Affairs and Security
- Gustavo PALLARES, Director
- Loic POULAIN, support
- Andreas NOTHELLE, Member of the Vienna PC based FSC and 1st Committee
General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment
- Semyon DZAKHAEV, Director
- Nat PARRY, support
- Marco BONABELLO, Member of the Vienna PC based 2nd Committee
General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions
- Andreas BAKER, Director
- Farimah DAFTARY, support
- Marc CARILLET, Member of the Vienna PC based 3rd Committee
Sub-Committee on Rules of Procedure and Working Practices
- Semyon DZAKHAEV, Director
- Andreas BAKER, Support
- Iryna SABASHUK, Support
Counter-terrorism
- Marco BONABELLO, Programme Manager
- Farimah DAFTARY, Support
- Loic POULAIN, Support
Migration
- Farimah DAFTARY, Programme Manager
- Loic POULAIN, Support
- Marco BONABELLO, Support
Belarus
- Francesco PAGANI, Programme Manager
- Farimah DAFTARY, Support
Moldova
- Loic POULAIN, Programme Manager
- Farimah DAFTARY, Support
Gender Issues
- Gustavo PALLARES, Programme Manager
- Marc CARILLET, Support
South East Europe
- Andreas NOTHELLE, Programme Manager
- Francesco PAGANI, Support
- Marc CARILLET, Support
Mediterranean
- Gustavo PALLARES, Programme Manager
- Marc CARILLET, Support
- Marco BONABELLO, Support
- Anna DI DOMENICO, Support
- Loic POULAIN, Support
Central Asia
- Farimah DAFTARY, Programme Manager
- Gustavo PALLARES (ad interim), Support
- Andreas BAKER (ad interim), Support
South Caucasus
- Andreas BAKER, Programme Manager
- Iryna SABASHUK, Support
Ukraine
- Andreas NOTHELLE, Programme Manager
- Iryna SABASHUK, Support
- Francesco PAGANI, Support