OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: RESPONSE TO ARAB LEAGUE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 039693

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PREL
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: RESPONSE TO ARAB LEAGUE
SECRETARY GENERAL AMR MOUSSA

SIPDIS


1. (U) Post is authorized to present the following statement
at the April 17 Permanent Council meeting in Vienna.

Begin Text:

Mr. Chairman,

We join other participating States in welcoming Amr Moussa,
Secretary General of the League of Arab States, to the

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Permanent Council this morning. While the OSCE does not have
many opportunities to deal with the Arab League, or with the
Middle East in general, it does have considerable contact
with some of the Arab League members through its
Mediterranean Partnership.

The OSCE, as the only organization representing all the
states of Europe and Central Asia and the trans-Atlantic
community, provides an umbrella under which OSCE
participating States meet Mediterranean Partner States. The
growing inter-connectedness of the Mediterranean as a region
means that developments in the OSCE region impact upon
security in the Mediterranean, and vice versa. Central Asia,
Europe, America, North Africa and the Middle East have common
interests on which to build.

The OSCE provides a neutral forum for the Mediterranean
Partners to enhance dialogue and cooperation through the
Contact Group and with other OSCE events. We urge our
Partners to make full use of this forum to increase
understanding and build confidence among and between the
countries of the region.

The OSCE's concept of comprehensive security would seem
particularly relevant in the Middle East, where insecurity
due to internal and cross-border conflict has threatened and
thwarted progress in human rights. Human rights and
democracy are closely linked and are essential to long-term
stability and security. Democracies, based on respect for
human rights, provide political incentives for governments to
allow for more informed and extensive policy dialogue, which
provides an advantage in preventing and managing conflict.
We have seen that states that severely and systematically
violate the human rights of their own people are more likely
to pose threats to neighboring countries and the
international community.

We need initiatives where we can seek cooperation and provide
opportunities to build mutual understanding and confidence to
approach today,s difficult security issues. One of the
major challenges that confronts us all is the management of
multi-ethnic societies is diversity, whether of ethnicity or
of religion. As our world gets smaller, our cultures
interconnect, and demographics change, our societies become
more diverse. That diversity brings with it many tangible
rewards, but also new challenges on how to promote
inter-religious and inter-ethnic tolerance and understanding.
While some OSCE countries have a good record in this area,
there is always room for improvement. We have made serious
efforts to work actively and share experiences and best
practices with our Mediterranean Partners. In that regard,
we welcome the formation of the Partnership Fund as a way to
fund worthwhile projects in those countries in support of
OSCE commitments.

Many of the OSCE,s key commitments have been in the areas of
counter-terrorism and human rights. We have sought to work
with our Mediterranean partners and others throughout the
globe against the threat of violence by committing ourselves
to marginalizing violent extremists and confronting their
ideology of hate. As you know, recent years have seen a
dramatic rise in violent, even terrorist acts perpetrated in
the name of Islam. In the long run, defeating these violent
extremists requires an alternative to their murderous
ideology. One of the best ways to defeat their ideology is
to amplify the voices of mainstream Muslims, as the
embodiment of an alternative vision.

Within the OSCE region, we seek to empower mainstream voices
and to demonstrate respect for all ethnic and religious
communities, including those of the Islamic faith. Promoting
freedom of thought and freedom of religion is essential in
this regard. As participating States and Partner countries,
we all are fortunate to have the opportunity to work together
within the OSCE in pursuit of these goals.

We hope to strengthen our work with our Mediterranean
partners in these areas. We again thank Secretary General

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Moussa for joining us today and hope his visit here was
useful.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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