We have associated ourselves with the statement by the distinguished Permanent Representative of Austria on behalf of the European Union. I will now add the Lithuanian view on the agenda item which concerns both the general issue of a model cooperation between the UN and a regional arrangement, and the particular issue for us as a European state.
But first I would like to highly commend the contribution of Poland as the out-going Chairman-in-office of the OSCE. The incoming chairmanship of Norway means another promising year for this unique regional organization, standing as firm and confident as ever on the threshold of new millennium.
We also welcome today's presence of Mr. Giancarlo Aragona, the Secretary-General of the OSCE. We thank him for the efficient management of his well-performing secretariat.
Regional bodies are often better equipped to address regional issues than are global organizations. Advantages of "intimacy" to the region must always be heeded when selecting an instrument from international institutions, without, of course, prejudice to relevant legal norms such as the mandate of the UN Security Council. In this year's statement before the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania, emphasized that the UN "...should interact with greater vigor with regional organizations which, in many cases, succeed in the areas where global forums fail. Europe has already provided us with an example of such productive interaction through concrete cooperation of the United Nations with the OSCE and NATO".
Europe is endowed with abundant regional and sub-regional establishments of various types, mandates, expertise and membership. Reliance on them in promoting universal values on the Continent has proven useful in most cases. The OSCE has been one of the best examples. One can hardly think of any recent initiative aimed at restoring peace in areas of conflict around Europe that could have been undertaken by single international organization. Advantages of each involved international institution have been utilized in complex solutions in each case. Be it in Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo or Caucasus - everywhere we see a bundle of international actors doing great work in their respectively prescribed fields. Lithuanian representatives who participated in many multilateral projects around Europe are witnesses of successful inter-institutional cooperation. The UN Secretary-General's report (A/53/672) demonstrates that the spirit of Chapter VIII is understood and practiced wisely and efficiently.
We welcome expanded contacts between the UN Secretary-General and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Secretary-General. Parallel to the executive contacts on the part of the UN, there could be more benefit from dialogue on the political level, between, for instance, the President of the UN General Assembly and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.
The UN and the OSCE, whose security dimension are largely based on confidence-building policies such as conventional arms control, transparency in armaments and information sharing, can complement one another by acting together in response to security challenges. The degree of cooperation within the OSCE in the sphere of arms and weapons transparency can be exemplary to the United Nations, and through the UN, to other regions of the world. Committed to the principles of openness, predictability and confidence-building, Lithuania has expressed readiness, in particular cases, to share reciprocally relevant information with any OSCE member-state more than required by the Vienna Document '94.
Pertinence of the OSCE to the goals of the United Nations is especially prominent in pan-European efforts to find systematic common grounds for European security. Europe has engaged in drafting a Document-Charter on European Security. The UN is already contributing to this process, the fruits of which we hope may later pay back as models for other regions and continents.
Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights promotes the Human Dimension of the OSCE. Through many documents signed on the highest level, beginning with the Helsinki Document '75, the Europeans are bound by advanced and still developing standards of democracy, rule of law and human rights. Stricter standards, new norms and stronger enforcement mechanisms are being contemplated and devised. The achievements of the present and the future will bear results of universal value and applicability, and thus uphold a new meaning of the Universal Declaration both region-wise and worldwide.
We salute the cooperation in the Human Dimension between a number international organizations in Europe and beyond it, such as the regular exchange of information and joint actions between the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe and NATO. Events that deserve special recognition are the informal high-level tripartite consultations and target-oriented meetings between the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe held last January and April. Increasing cooperation between multilateral institutions beyond their deliberative chambers and ability to prove complementarity in the field is especially meaningful. We strongly encourage this development.
The institutionalized cooperation between the UN and the OSCE internal structures and agencies, in particular, the UNHCR, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Organization for Migration on the one hand, and the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights as well as the High Commissioner on National Minorities on the other, is commendable. The memoranda of understanding concluded between the UN and the OSCE and their bodies, and the parallel share of work and responsibility in the field, especially in the countries of Caucasus and former Yugoslavia, demonstrate that cooperation is orderly and full-fledged rather than mere paper-work or random ad hoc movements in hot spots.
The past year has not been good for the economies of many nations. The economic torrents that engulfed several Eastern European countries, including Russia, are re-generating regional and global repercussions. Under these circumstances, the recourse to all available economic instruments has been timely. Neither UN nor OSCE have stood aside - they joined their efforts, primarily through the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the Economic Dimension of the OSCE, in the search for solutions, especially in such crucial areas as energy development in the OSCE area.
Lithuania has made, to the best of its ability, contributions aimed at relieving regional economic difficulties. Acting upon the fundamental principle of OSCE - good neighbourly relations - and out of humanitarian concern, the Lithuanian Government assigned 1.25 million USD for food and medicine assistance to hospitals and other institutions in the Kaliningrad District of the Russian Federation that have suffered from the financial crisis.
Invoking Chapter VIII of the UN Charter is a special case for my country both this year and next year. We are currently presiding over a 10-member Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS). The mandate of the Council is directly complementary to the mandates of the United Nations and the OSCE. Fighting illegal migration and organized crime in the region as well as strengthening the freedom of press and rights of national minorities are among our priorities in steering the CBSS. Special attention is also devoted to environmental issues and practical aspects of sub-regional economic cooperation.
Unique in their own way, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe together make a mutually complementary part of multilateral instruments for contacts among the peoples in Europe and around the world. We ought to make the best use of these potent tools. The resolution introduced by Poland invites us to do precisely that and deserves a consensus approval.
Thank you, Mr. President.
PERMANENT MISSION OF LITHUANIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
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