On May 4, a meeting of the Security Council was held at the UN headquarters in New York, devoted to cooperation between the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the UN. The cooperation agreement between them was signed 30 years ago. Those who spoke at the meeting, for the most part, stressed that the main threat to European peace and security today is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war triggered by the Russia against a neighboring country. Speakers noted that Russian aggression is a blow not only to European security, but also to the security of the whole world.
The OSCE brings together 57 states from North America, Europe and Asia and is the largest regional security organization in the world.
“The OSCE has faced many challenges in recent years, culminating in the onset of large-scale Russian aggression,” said OSCE Chairman-in-Office Buyar Osmani. – This aggression destroys the foundations of our organisation, the main provisions of the Helsinki Final Act. The Russian Federation has flagrantly violated basic international laws adopted by the community of all states. I started my speech with an immediate call for peace – and I want to take this opportunity to call on Russia to stop this war and withdraw its troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine. Tremendous damage has already been done, and each new day of aggression continues people’s suffering.
Let us recall that the Helsinki Final Act is the fundamental agreement of the OSCE, concluded in 1975 initially between 35 countries – on political and economic co-operation and on respect for human rights. During a meeting on Wednesday, many members of the Security Council stressed that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a violation of the UN Charter and the foundations of the work of the OSCE.
“When Russia launched its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, it violated all fundamental OSCE principles – respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-violation of borders, peaceful resolution of conflicts,” said James Kariuki, Britain’s deputy permanent representative to the UN.
Kariuki also mentioned the conclusions of the report of the OSCE experts, presented today to the Permanent Council of the organization. Its title is “Report on violations and abuses of international humanitarian and human rights law, war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the forcible transfer and/or deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation”.
“The OSCE report on the deportation of Ukrainian children, published today, once again shows the suffering caused by the Russian war, describes the human rights violations committed by Russia and provides evidence further that several thousand Ukrainian children have been separated from their families and friends. and forcibly expelled from the country,” Kariuki said.
On March 30, the 45 participating States of the OSCE, after consulting Ukraine, decided to investigate and “establish the facts and circumstances relating to possible violations of the relevant OSCE commitments, as well as violations and abuses of human rights, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, as well as possible cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to or resulting from the forcible transfer of children to Ukrainian territories temporarily controlled or occupied by Russia and/or their deportation to the Russian Federation; and collect, compile and analyze such information with a view to formulating recommendations, as well as providing information to relevant accountability mechanisms, as well as national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have or may in the future have jurisdiction relevant.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine , the OSCE has been forced to reduce its activities in Ukraine. In April and June 2022, it closed two of its branches which helped the Ukrainian government and civil society to develop democratic institutions in the country, clear mined areas and prevent cases of human trafficking. According to Helda Maria Schmidt, secretary general of the OSCE, the offices were closed not for security reasons, but because Russia opposed the extension of their mandate. Russia continues to be a member of the OSCE, and to extend the mandate of the office, the consent of all 57 members of the organization is required.
From April 2022, three Ukrainian OSCE staff members were detained in Luhansk (in the territory of the puppet LPR) and sentenced to prison terms.
In November 2022, the OSCE launched a special humanitarian program to continue work in areas where offices previously closed by it were working.
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