LITHUANIA’S OSCE CHAIRMANSHIP WILL CLOSELY COOPERATE WITH THE ORGANIZATION’S BODIES, LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS
Lithuania's upcoming chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2011 is ready to closely cooperate with the organization's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Audronius Ažubalis said this at the meetings with D.Mijatović and the ODIHR Director, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič in Astana on 1 December."We support the ODIHR activities of monitoring of the implementation of human dimension commitments by member states and of providing them with the necessary assistance," the Minister said. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania is taking part in the OSCE Summit of Heads of State or Government in Astana with the delegation led by the President of Lithuania.
Ambassador J.Lenarčič acquainted the Foreign Minister with the preparation of the ODIHR to monitor the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus. At the meeting, cooperation of Lithuania, as the OSCE chairmanship, with the ODIHR in the areas of human rights and democratic institutions, possible challenges in the process of election monitoring, and directions of Lithuania's activities related to the OSCE human dimension were also discussed.
During the OSCE chairmanship, Lithuania intends to pay special attention to the issues of freedom of the media, national human rights institution-building and tolerance education.
Ambassador J.Lenarčič was elected Director of the ODIHR as the consensus candidate for a three-year term on 1 July 2008. New Director of the ODIHR will be elected during Lithuania's chairmanship of the OSCE.
The Minister and the OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media discussed concrete cooperation after Lithuania would assume the OSCE chairmanship and next year's main activities in the area of freedom of the media: the promotion of freedom of expression and pluralism in the new media and on the Internet, and enhancing security of journalists in the OSCE space.
The Foreign Minister expressed strong support for the activities of OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media.
The OSCE Summit takes place in Astana, the Kazakh capital, on 1-2 December.
