OSCE: DUTCH PLANS FOR MAASTRICHT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002560

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM NL OSCE
SUBJECT: OSCE: DUTCH PLANS FOR MAASTRICHT

REF: THE HAGUE 2508


1. Summary: In a meeting with visiting Dept. OSCE
Coordinator Doug Wake, Dutch OSCE CiO Personal Representative
Daan Everts stressed that the GoNL is looking ahead to a
successful OSCE Ministerial December 1-2. To add to GoNL
efforts throughout 2003, the Dutch are pushing hard for the
Secretary's participation in the ministerial. Foreign

SIPDIS
Minister de Hoop Scheffer will remain in the office through
the end of the ministerial. FM-designee Bot will take office
either late December 2 or on December 3. Everts anticipates
an agreement to hold a distinct follow-on anti-Semitism
meeting in Berlin, although working level contacts insist
that some EU members still oppose such a meeting. Contacts
also provided Wake with Dutch thoughts in the lead-up to the
annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in
Warsaw. End summary.


2. Doug Wake, Dept. OSCE Coordinator, met with CiO Personal
Representative Daan Everts in the Hague on September 29.
Everts highlighted Dutch thinking in the lead-up to the OSCE
Ministerial meeting in Maastricht. He believes both the
meeting and the Ministerial documents will come together
well, although he acknowledged that some work remains to be
done to add additional substance to strategy for addressing
the "threats to security and stability in the 21st century."
Everts and Wake agreed that practical steps to implement the
Action Plan on trafficking in persons, adopted by the OSCE
Permanent Council in July 2003, should be one of the most
substantive and practical outcomes of Maastricht. Everts
said that he envisioned a new "coordinating mechanism" --
involving a senior official with a small Vienna-based staff
-- that would have a mandate to follow Action Plan
implementation and make fact-finding visits to countries with
significant implementation problems. He stressed that there
would be some budgetary implication to establishing such a
mechanism and agreed that its functions should be oriented
toward providing advice and coordinating assistance as well
as identifying and highlighting problems. While Everts said
that work was progressing satisfactorily toward completion of
a separate OSCE economic strategy, emphasizing such issues as
good governance, he expressed dismay that the Russian
delegation in Vienna had recently suggested that negotiation
of this document could be continued into 2004. Everts also
asked for clarification of U.S. thoughts regarding internally
displaced persons, restrictions on the religious freedom
document, and HIV/AIDS. (Note: He confirmed these would be
discussed at the HDIM in Warsaw, and speculated that a
reference to HIV/AIDS might be included in the document on
"threats to security and stability.") He agreed that
discussions on several major issues remain, including Moldova
(reftel),Chechnya, and a statement on possible OSCE
involvement peacekeeping operations. Everts noted he is in
close contact with both USOSCE Amb. Minikes and DAS Robert
Bradtke, and will look for further conversations with both
throughout the month of October.

Anti-Semitism and Racism/Xenophobia
--------------


3. Noting the particular interest of the U.S. in a follow-on
anti-Semitism meeting, Everts stated that any problems were,
in his opinion, solved. "As the Germans offered to host a
follow-on meeting, the OSCE should accept." However, at the
working level, OSCE Task Force Human Dimension lead Harm
Hazewinkel stated that several EU countries still strongly
opposed a follow-on meeting focused strictly on anti-Semitism
rather than addressing all discrimination and tolerance
issues. When Wake stressed that the U.S. also supports a
separate follow-on to the highly successful September 2003
Vienna conference on racism and xenophobia, Hazewinkel
advised that the easiest way for EU countries to "say yes" is
for the U.S. to offer to host a follow-on racism conference.
When advised that no such offer is on the table, Hazewinkel
observed that Vienna might be an appropriate venue for
follow-up, because the city hosts not only the OSCE but also
an EU Monitoring Center that focuses on racism and related
issues. (Note: He also mused that the Netherlands, which
will hold the EU Presidency in the latter half of 2004, might
consider hosting such a meeting, but he argued -- somewhat
disingenuously -- that it might not be appropriate for the
OSCE CiO to make such an offer.) Whatever the schedule of
follow-up meetings, Hazewinkel suggested that it would be
important to draw upon the experience of the EUMC and a
similar Council of Europe structure in developing OSCE
mechanisms to track hate-crimes across the region. (Note:
Subsequent to the reported here, Amb. Minikes and Wake
discussed the issue with the EU troika on September 30 and EU
reps discussed it among themselves October 1 in Brussels.
End note.)


Participation by Secretary Powell
--------------


4. The GoNL will soon send a letter to the Secretary,
formally requesting his participation in the Maastricht
Ministerial meeting. (Note: The Dutch feel the Secretary's
participation is vital to the success of Maastricht, and the
OSCE shop is tailoring its draft opening-day schedule around
such involvement. End Note.)

Dutch Thoughts - Human Dimension Implementation Meeting
-------------- --------------


5. Harm Hazewinkel summarized Dutch concerns for the HDIM.
The Dutch will watch four issues closely: Roma/Sinti,
Migrant workers, election standards, and
Racism/Anti-Semitism/Xenophobia (see para 3). On
Romat/Sinti, the Dutch are keen to have a tangible good for
Maastricht, and will push hard at the HDIM to bring the
Roma/Sinti NGOs to accept that the Action Plan is important
for them. If the Roma/Sinti do not accept this, the Dutch
are convinced that all efforts to date will fail in the long
run. The GoNL therefore views the HDIM as a the last chance
for any necessary changes to the Action Plan. On election
standards, Hazewinkel stated that member states must ensure
that any presented document not lower standards than to which
the international community already agrees, and will watch to
ensure that any agreed language is not detrimental to
existing international standards. Finally, he said, the GoNL
firmly believes that the issue of migrant workers does belong
in the OSCE. (In saying so, therefore siding with Turkey
instead of EU colleague Germany.) According to Hazewinkel,
this issue also helps to balance the OSCE's traditional focus
on countries East of Vienna, a quieter goal of the Dutch CiO.
SOBEL