Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10USOSCE41
2010-02-17 07:02:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Mission USOSCE
Cable title:
OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 8 - 12, 2010
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USOSCE 000041
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL MARR KV KZ AF
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 8 - 12, 2010
Chairmanship Requests Information on Review Conference,
Afghanistan
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USOSCE 000041
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL MARR KV KZ AF
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 8 - 12, 2010
Chairmanship Requests Information on Review Conference,
Afghanistan
1. (SBU) In our February 9 meeting with the Chairmanship,
Kazakhstani PermRep Abdrakhmanov requested additional
information on U.S. expectations for the review conference
the Chairmanship has been encouraged to hold in the run-up to
a summit. Abdrakhmanov said the subject had come up in
Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Saudabayev's meetings in
Washington and asked for our thoughts on the review
conference's length and substance, specifically asking if it
should focus on all three dimensions (or exclusively on the
human dimension) and if the annual Human Dimension
Implementation Meeting still should be held. Abdrakhmanov
further asked "what the United States expected" on
Afghanistan and said the Chairmanship was trying to figure
out how to achieve results. CDA Fuller promised to provide
additional information but encouraged the Chairmanship to
focus on the Corfu Process and the June interim report,
noting both would help determine whether there was sufficient
substance for a summit.
Chairmanship Plans to Invite High-Level Officials to the PC
2. (SBU) In the same meeting, Abdrakhmanov said the
Chairmanship had invited several high-level officials to
address the Permanent Council (PC) this year, in some cases
charting new territory. Abdrakhmanov said the UN secretary
general had agreed "in principle" to address the PC, perhaps
April 9, and noted that the NATO, CSTO, and SCO secretaries
general also had agreed in principle. In addition,
Abdrakhmanov said the Chairmanship had invited Lady Ashton
and the heads of the Council of Europe, ASEAN, the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Alliance for
Civilizations, and the Conference on Interaction and
Confidence Building Measures in Central Asia (CICA).
Kazakhstan likely is hoping to use these high-level visits to
raise the OSCE's profile and boost its own prestige.
Possible OSCE Endorsement of Afghanistan Conference
Conclusions
3. (SBU) UK PermRep Ian Cliff told the Quad ambassadors and
CDA Fuller February 9 that his government would like to
obtain an OSCE endorsement of the outcomes of the January 28
London conference on Afghanistan. He plans to make a
straightforward statement about the conclusions at the
February 25 Permanent Council meeting and is asking the EU,
the United States, Russia, and like-minded countries to make
positive statements. This would then enable OSCE
Chairman-in-Office and Kazakhstani FM Saudabayev to issue a
public statement saying he had addressed the conference and
that the OSCE Permanent Council had discussed its conclusions
and fully supported them.
Ambassador Dell, SCE Director Hyland Meet Key OSCE Players
4. (SBU) On February 8 and 9 Ambassador Chris Dell and SCE
Director Jason Hyland met a number of key OSCE interlocutors
in Vienna to discuss and give U.S. perspectives on Kosovo and
OMIK. At a dinner hosted by CDA Fuller February 8,
Ambassador Dell noted the many positive developments in
Kosovo and urged the OSCE to focus on practical
capacity-building activities there, including potentially
with new Serb municipalities. The following day, Ambassador
USOSCE 00000041 002 OF 002
Dell, Hyland, and CDA Fuller met senior members of the OSCE
Secretariat to discuss OSCE activities in Kosovo. Later,
Hyland, Pfeuffer, and USDEL met with the Kazakhstani deputy
PermRep responsible for Balkans issues (who professed little
direct knowledge of the region) to emphasize the importance
of taking a balanced approach to Kosovo.
Pushing Term Limits to the Fore
5. (SBU) On the margins of the February 10 PC meeting, the
U.S. and UK Advisory Committee on Management and Finance
(ACMF) representatives cornered the Kazakhstani ACMF chair in
separate encounters and pushed for further action on the
Secretary General's proposals to harmonize term limitations
for OSCE staff and secondees. Our message was simple:
interested delegations had rejected the SG's first proposal,
so a revised version, either from the SG or the ACMF chair,
was needed. The ACMF chair said he understood that the
Secretariat had drafted a response and would offer it
"shortly." Key areas of disagreement remain terms for heads
and deputy heads of mission, grandfathering existing staff,
and whether staff who leave the organization can reset their
clocks and return for another 10-year term. We understand
Albanian Head of Mission (HOM) Bosch is circulating a paper
among other HOM's as a combined position statement on
personnel issues that includes an effort to reconcile
contract and seconded employees at lower levels to a 10-year
time-in-position limitation.
Scales of Contribution: Opening Old Wounds
6. (U) Interested ACMF members attended an informal working
group meeting February 10 to discuss the scales of
contribution review called for in PC/DEC/924. In the
decision, the PC agreed to roll over existing scales for
calendar year 2010 and tasked the ACMF chair to initiate
discussions and report to the PC by the end of June 2010. No
participating State chose to take on the 14 percent ceiling
for field missions, although some grumbled that this did not
follow the principle of capacity to pay. Others, including
the United States, reaffirmed the idea that the OSCE should
not become dependent on any one country or group of countries
and noted that capacity to pay was balanced by political will
to contribute, especially given the organization's
consensus-based decision making process. A discarded idea
from previous years, that of a unified scale that would be
the same for both the headquarters/institutions and the field
operations, was revived. In the past, Russia and other
States opposed a unified scale, as it would raise their
contribution levels. The EU asked that charts be issued
showing the EU contribution as a whole and broken out by
Members. The EU contributes about 70 percent of the OSCE's
overall budget, so the request for group numbers is something
to watch. Many delegations seemed encouraged that progress
-- perhaps even a new scale or scales -- could be attained
this year. The UK plans to hold bi-weekly meetings of the
informal working group.
FULLER
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL MARR KV KZ AF
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 8 - 12, 2010
Chairmanship Requests Information on Review Conference,
Afghanistan
1. (SBU) In our February 9 meeting with the Chairmanship,
Kazakhstani PermRep Abdrakhmanov requested additional
information on U.S. expectations for the review conference
the Chairmanship has been encouraged to hold in the run-up to
a summit. Abdrakhmanov said the subject had come up in
Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Saudabayev's meetings in
Washington and asked for our thoughts on the review
conference's length and substance, specifically asking if it
should focus on all three dimensions (or exclusively on the
human dimension) and if the annual Human Dimension
Implementation Meeting still should be held. Abdrakhmanov
further asked "what the United States expected" on
Afghanistan and said the Chairmanship was trying to figure
out how to achieve results. CDA Fuller promised to provide
additional information but encouraged the Chairmanship to
focus on the Corfu Process and the June interim report,
noting both would help determine whether there was sufficient
substance for a summit.
Chairmanship Plans to Invite High-Level Officials to the PC
2. (SBU) In the same meeting, Abdrakhmanov said the
Chairmanship had invited several high-level officials to
address the Permanent Council (PC) this year, in some cases
charting new territory. Abdrakhmanov said the UN secretary
general had agreed "in principle" to address the PC, perhaps
April 9, and noted that the NATO, CSTO, and SCO secretaries
general also had agreed in principle. In addition,
Abdrakhmanov said the Chairmanship had invited Lady Ashton
and the heads of the Council of Europe, ASEAN, the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Alliance for
Civilizations, and the Conference on Interaction and
Confidence Building Measures in Central Asia (CICA).
Kazakhstan likely is hoping to use these high-level visits to
raise the OSCE's profile and boost its own prestige.
Possible OSCE Endorsement of Afghanistan Conference
Conclusions
3. (SBU) UK PermRep Ian Cliff told the Quad ambassadors and
CDA Fuller February 9 that his government would like to
obtain an OSCE endorsement of the outcomes of the January 28
London conference on Afghanistan. He plans to make a
straightforward statement about the conclusions at the
February 25 Permanent Council meeting and is asking the EU,
the United States, Russia, and like-minded countries to make
positive statements. This would then enable OSCE
Chairman-in-Office and Kazakhstani FM Saudabayev to issue a
public statement saying he had addressed the conference and
that the OSCE Permanent Council had discussed its conclusions
and fully supported them.
Ambassador Dell, SCE Director Hyland Meet Key OSCE Players
4. (SBU) On February 8 and 9 Ambassador Chris Dell and SCE
Director Jason Hyland met a number of key OSCE interlocutors
in Vienna to discuss and give U.S. perspectives on Kosovo and
OMIK. At a dinner hosted by CDA Fuller February 8,
Ambassador Dell noted the many positive developments in
Kosovo and urged the OSCE to focus on practical
capacity-building activities there, including potentially
with new Serb municipalities. The following day, Ambassador
USOSCE 00000041 002 OF 002
Dell, Hyland, and CDA Fuller met senior members of the OSCE
Secretariat to discuss OSCE activities in Kosovo. Later,
Hyland, Pfeuffer, and USDEL met with the Kazakhstani deputy
PermRep responsible for Balkans issues (who professed little
direct knowledge of the region) to emphasize the importance
of taking a balanced approach to Kosovo.
Pushing Term Limits to the Fore
5. (SBU) On the margins of the February 10 PC meeting, the
U.S. and UK Advisory Committee on Management and Finance
(ACMF) representatives cornered the Kazakhstani ACMF chair in
separate encounters and pushed for further action on the
Secretary General's proposals to harmonize term limitations
for OSCE staff and secondees. Our message was simple:
interested delegations had rejected the SG's first proposal,
so a revised version, either from the SG or the ACMF chair,
was needed. The ACMF chair said he understood that the
Secretariat had drafted a response and would offer it
"shortly." Key areas of disagreement remain terms for heads
and deputy heads of mission, grandfathering existing staff,
and whether staff who leave the organization can reset their
clocks and return for another 10-year term. We understand
Albanian Head of Mission (HOM) Bosch is circulating a paper
among other HOM's as a combined position statement on
personnel issues that includes an effort to reconcile
contract and seconded employees at lower levels to a 10-year
time-in-position limitation.
Scales of Contribution: Opening Old Wounds
6. (U) Interested ACMF members attended an informal working
group meeting February 10 to discuss the scales of
contribution review called for in PC/DEC/924. In the
decision, the PC agreed to roll over existing scales for
calendar year 2010 and tasked the ACMF chair to initiate
discussions and report to the PC by the end of June 2010. No
participating State chose to take on the 14 percent ceiling
for field missions, although some grumbled that this did not
follow the principle of capacity to pay. Others, including
the United States, reaffirmed the idea that the OSCE should
not become dependent on any one country or group of countries
and noted that capacity to pay was balanced by political will
to contribute, especially given the organization's
consensus-based decision making process. A discarded idea
from previous years, that of a unified scale that would be
the same for both the headquarters/institutions and the field
operations, was revived. In the past, Russia and other
States opposed a unified scale, as it would raise their
contribution levels. The EU asked that charts be issued
showing the EU contribution as a whole and broken out by
Members. The EU contributes about 70 percent of the OSCE's
overall budget, so the request for group numbers is something
to watch. Many delegations seemed encouraged that progress
-- perhaps even a new scale or scales -- could be attained
this year. The UK plans to hold bi-weekly meetings of the
informal working group.
FULLER