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MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES |
Information documents |
CM/Inf(2019)24 |
3 December 2019[1] |
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30th meeting of the Co-ordination Group between the Council of Europe and the OSCE (Vienna, 15 November 2019) |
Introduction
The thirtieth meeting of the Co-ordination Group set up in December 2004 between the Council of Europe and the OSCE took place on 15 November 2019 in Vienna.
The list of participants is set out in Appendix 1.
The report drawn up at the close of the meeting appears in Appendix 2.
Appendix 1 - List of participants
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
Committee of Ministers
Bureau of the Ministers’ Deputies, Vice-Chair of the Ministers’ Deputies
Ambassador Irakli GIVIASHVILI, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the Council of Europe
Chair of the Rapporteur Group on External Relations (GR-EXT)
Ambassador Rémi MORTIER, Permanent Representative of Monaco to the Council of Europe
Council of Europe Focal Point
The fight against terrorism
Ambassador Emil RUFFER, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe, Chair of the Rapporteur Group on Legal Co-operation (GR-J)
The fight against trafficking in human beings
Ambassador Roeland BÖCKER, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe, Chair of the Rapporteur Group on Human Rights (GR-H)
Council of Europe Secretariat
Mr Denis BRIBOSIA, Head of Division, Secretariat of the Committee of Ministers
Mr Carlo CHIAROMONTE, Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, DG I (Human Rights and the Rule of Law)
Ms Petya NESTOROVA, Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, DG II (Democracy)
Mr Max GILBERT, Adviser, Directorate of External Relations
Liaison Office of the Council of Europe to the OSCE
Ambassador Dr. Rudolf LENNKH, Head of the Office
Mr Daniel BERGER, Assistant
Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
AmbassadorDrahoslav ŠTEFÁNEK, Head of the Office
OSCE
OSCE Troika
Slovak Republic (OSCE Chairmanship)
Ambassador Katarina ŽÁKOVÁ, Deputy Perrmanent Representative of the Slovak Republic and Deputy Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council
Ambassador Marek EŠTOK, Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the Council of Europe
Mr Slavomir KANTOR, Deputy Permanent Representative, Slovak Chairmanship
Ms Cianna O’CONNELL, Advisor, Permanent Delegation of Slovakia to the OSCE
Albania (Incoming Chair)
Ambassador Igli HASANI, Permanent Representative of Albania to the OSCE
Ms. Ivis NOCKA, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Delegation of Albania to the OSCE
Italy (Outgoing Chair)
Ambassador Luca FRATINI, Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to the OSCE
Ms Anastasia FUSCO, Advisor, Permanent Delegation of Italy to the OSCE
OSCE Focal Points
The fight against terrorism
Mr Fejzo NUMANAJ, Deputy Head of the Action against Terrorism Unit, OSCE Transnational Threats Department
Ms Georgia HOLMER, Senior Advisor on Anti-Terrorism Issues, Action against Terrorism Unit, Transnational Threats Department
The fight against trafficking in human beings
Mr Valiant RICHEY, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
Ms Tetiana RUDENKO, Senior Co-ordination Advisor, Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
Ms Tarana BAGHIROVA, Associate Country Visit Officer, Associate Officer on CTHB, Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
ODIHR
Mr Peter MOSSOP, Special Adviser, Director’s Representative in Vienna, ODIHR
OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ambassador Kathleen KAVALEC, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
OSCE Secretariat
Ambassador Dr. Thomas GREMINGER, Secretary General of the OSCE
Ambassador Paul BEKKERS, Director, Office of the Secretary General
Mr Philippe TREMBLAY, Head, External Co-operation Section, Office of the Secretary General
Ms Marietta KOENIG, Senior External Co-operation Officer, Office of the Secretary General
Ms Mariana ROIBU, Policy Support Officer, Conflict Prevention Centre
Appendix 2 - Report of the Chairs
1. The 30th meeting of the Co-ordination Group between the OSCE and the Council of Europe was held in Vienna on 15 November 2019. The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Katarina Žáková, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic and Deputy Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council, and co-chaired by Ambassador Irakli Giviashvili, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the Council of Europe and Vice-Chair of the Ministers’ Deputies. The OSCE delegation included representatives of the OSCE Troika, the OSCE Secretary General, the OSCE focal points, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and representatives of ODIHR and the Secretariat. The Council of Europe delegation was composed of the Council of Europe focal points, the Chair of the Rapporteur Group on External Relations (GR-EXT), the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo, and representatives of the Secretariat.
2. Following the opening remarks of the Slovak Chair, the Secretary General of the OSCE, H.E. Thomas Greminger, took the opportunity to personally welcome the Group to Vienna and to highlight the well-established OSCE-CoE co-operation in the four agreed priority areas. OSCE Secretary General Greminger recalled his participation in the 129th Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (Helsinki, 16-17 May 2019) and reported on his first meeting with H.E. Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on the margins of the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2019 during which they, among other things, agreed to look into a pragmatic approach to institutional co-operation, to work together in areas of overlapping interests, and to take steps towards improved co-operation, including in the field.
3. The Group reviewed progress made since its 28th meeting (Vienna, 5 October 2018) in two of the four areas of enhanced co-operation between the Council of Europe and the OSCE: the fight against terrorism and the fight against trafficking in human beings. Based on the joint reports presented by the Council of Europe and the OSCE focal points in these two areas, the Group noted the progress achieved during the reporting period.
4. With regard to action against terrorism, the Group welcomed the continued co-operation between the Council of Europe and the OSCE in promoting legal action and international legal co-operation in the prevention of, and fight against, terrorism, which each organisation conducts in a spirit of complementarity and through regular participation in each other’s activities, exchange of information and frequent stock-taking.
5. The Group welcomed the Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Strategy for the years 2018-2022 and noted the progress already made on its implementation, including the development of a screening tool establishing a set of indicators for assessing the risk that a terrorist attack may be carried out by radicalised individuals, and the drafting of Guidelines establishing the links between terrorism and transnational organised crime. The Group took note of the Council of Europe work on the gathering of evidence from conflict zones for the purpose of criminal prosecution, focusing on how to efficiently handle criminal proceedings through evidence that is gathered in situ and in accordance with the principle of the rule of law. The Group also noted the progress made with regards to the feasibility of elaborating a pan-European definition of terrorism.
6. The Group welcomed the developments concerning the 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist Fighters and of the recently established Network of Contact Points for the exchange of information regarding the legal standing of victims of terrorism. The Group further took note of the Council of Europe forthcoming activities aiming at identifying emerging terrorist threats and of the organisation of a counter-terrorism conference on the roles of women and children returnees.
7. The Group recalled the 2019 OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference, held in Bratislava, which focused on assessing the “state of play” in efforts to prevent and counter terrorism as well as violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism in the OSCE area, and exchanging best practices on platforms for co-operation and co-ordination between governments and civil society, referral mechanisms and pre-criminal interventions, as well as rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. It also took note of the ongoing OSCE efforts to assist States in the implementation of their international counter-terrorism commitments.
8. The Group commended the recently concluded Biannual Action Plan between the OSCE and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism to strengthen international co-operation related to preventing violent extremism, countering the financing of terrorism, strengthening border security and management, countering terrorist travel and enhancing the use of Advance Passenger Information (API)/Passenger Name Record (PNR), countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes, and enhancing the protection of critical infrastructure. The Group commented on the positive roles of the Council of Europe and the OSCE in wider international co-ordination and co-operation efforts, under the leadership of the United Nations, including through engagement in the framework of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee. The Group encouraged the Council of Europe and the OSCE to seek collaboration in mutual areas of interest for the next reporting period. The Group also referred to the Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property and stressed its importance in the fight against the financing of terrorism.
9. Concerning action against trafficking in human beings, the Group reiterated the importance of continuing co-operation in the existing formats, including through the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons and meetings of the Alliance Experts Co-ordination Team, as well as regular co-ordination and exchange of information between the respective Secretariats, in particular in the context of the preparation of evaluation visits by GRETA and country visits by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (SR/CTHB).
10. The Group commended the continuous strategic co-operation between the Council of Europe and the OSCE in co-organizing the annual meetings of National Anti-Trafficking Co-ordinators and Rapporteurs or equivalent mechanisms, with the latest meeting having taken place on 22-23 October 2019 and having been hosted by the OSCE Slovak Chairmanship in Bratislava. The extended 1.5-day format of the meeting provided for in-depth exchange on a number of strategic areas, including child trafficking, addressing the demand that fosters human trafficking for various types of exploitation, and co-operation with civil society. These meetings foster better implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and relevant OSCE commitments, and the Group agreed that they should be continued in future. The Group took note of the agreement that the Council of Europe will take the lead in organising the next join meeting in 2020.
11. The Group commended the co-operation that both the Council of Europe and the OSCE are engaged through the framework of the UN Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), which was co-chaired by the OSCE and UN Women in 2019.
12. The Group also took note of the co-operation in the area of capacity building, namely the involvement of current and former members of GRETA in updating the 2004 “National Referral Mechanisms – Joining Efforts to Protect the Rights of Trafficked Persons” Handbook led by OSCE ODIHR.
13. The Group acknowledged the progress made by GRETA in completing the second round of evaluation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in respect of 42 State Parties, and the start of the third evaluation round of the Convention, which has a thematic focus on trafficking victims’ access to justice and effective remedies, as well as the publication of GRETA’s 8th General Report with a thematic focus on assistance to victims of trafficking, including on the role of civil society.
14. The Group took further note of the OSCE publications, “Child Trafficking and Child Protection: Ensuring that Child Protection Mechanisms Protect the Rights and Meet the Needs of Child Victims of Human Trafficking” (December 2018), “The Critical Role of Civil Society in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings” (December 2018) and “Uniform Guidelines for the Identification and Referral of Victims of Human Trafficking within the Migrant and Refugee Reception Framework in the OSCE Region” (March 2019) for addressing particular challenges in stakeholders’ responses to human trafficking.
15. At the invitation of the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec and the Head of the CoE Office in Sarajevo Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, highlighted best practices in co-operation.
16. The Group reiterated the relevance and impact of joint activities by the OSCE and the Council of Europe. In addition, the Group took note of the call from certain delegations to be particularly mindful of the different mandates and composition of the two organizations and of the opportunity, in the drafting of the joint reports, to attempt to reflect agreed-upon language in the four areas of cooperation.
17. In conclusion, the Group decided to meet in Strasbourg in the first half of 2020 to examine co-operation on protecting the rights of persons belonging to national minorities and promoting tolerance and non-discrimination. Finally, it was recalled that this report would be submitted to the OSCE Permanent Council and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in due course.