OSCE Secretary General, Mr. Lamberto Zannier has arrived in Dushanbe for taking part in the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan. Here, he is planning to meet with the President of Tajikistan. On the eve of his visit Mr. Zannier had answered some questions of “AP”.
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What is the purpose of your visit?
– It is my first visit to Tajikistan in the capacity of the OSCE Secretary General – the post that I’ve taken up in July 2011.
Tajikistan, being located in the heart of Central Asia, not only plays an important role within the OSCE but is also a key factor of stability within its region. I am attaching great importance to this visit as a step to further strengthening co-operation and an opportunity to exchange views on OSCE current issues with the Tajik authorities. I am planning to meet with President Emomali Rahmon, Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, Interior Minister Ramazon Rakhimov, the Chairperson of the State Committee for National Security Satmumin Yatimov, as well as with representatives of civil society. We will discuss, among other issues, how the OSCE through its institutions and its wide network of field operations, including the OSCE Office in Tajikistan – can contribute to ensuring and enhancing long-term security in the Central Asian region as a whole.
We will specifically focus on what the OSCE can do to assist Afghanistan, one of our Partners for Cooperation, as it prepares to take greater responsibility for its own security. We at the OSCE are developing projects aimed at strengthening national capacities of Afghanistan, – not only in politico-military dimension, but also in the economic and environmental, as well as in human dimension.
The OSCE is well-placed to contribute to the process, for instance, through training Afghan officers in Central Asia. We have good experience in this – up to now, we have trained over 600 senior officers representing counter-narcotics agencies, police, and customs and border agencies from more than 30 countries, including Afghanistan at our Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe. I am looking forward to visiting this College and observing it “in action”.
The OSCE’s engagement with Afghanistan will also be the key theme of my address to the high-level Fifth Regional Economic Co-operation Conference on Afghanistan, as well as of the informal meeting with Heads of OSCE Field Operations I will convene on 27 March, in which representatives of other international and regional organizations and Central Asian states, including Afghanistan, will take part. Only by properly identifying gaps and areas in need for assistance, by creating synergies and optimizing the use of resources will we be able to contribute to advancing prosperity and stability in and around Afghanistan.
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How would you assess the situation in Tajikistan from the point of view of observing human rights? What is of greatest concern for you?
– The OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security looks not only at human rights–related aspects of security – such as the promotion, protection and implementation of human rights, rule of law and fundamental freedoms, – but also at politico-military and economic-environmental dimension. In Tajikistan – and elsewhere – we work in all those fields.
While closely following the human rights situation in the country, we are ready to assist the Republic of Tajikistan to fully implement its commitments in the human dimension, develop its legal framework in line with international standards, establish democratic political institutions and processes. And, in cooperation with the Government of Tajikistan and civil society, we are providing that support day by day, through the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the direct engagement of our institutions.
We commend the recent openness on the side of the government to discuss and concretely address the issue of torture. The Office in Tajikistan has trained officials in torture prevention and assisted civil society in building capacity to monitor closed institutions. More effective investigation and better access to places of detention on part of the civil society and international organizations would help tackle the issue.
Equality of opportunity for women and girls and, particularly, violence in families are also under our attention. The OSCE Office in Tajikistan has assisted the Interior Ministry in establishing five special units in police stations all over the country equipped specifically to address cases of domestic violence and refer families in need to local community networks of support. We look forward to domestic violence being defined as a criminal offense.
Freedom of media and access to information are important matters. The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in March 2012 called for the restoration of access to a number of news and social media websites, access to which had been blocked.
The link between the guarantees of human rights and protection from terrorism cannot be overestimated. While there is universal agreement that acts of violent extremism qualify for criminal prosecution, combating this threat can put at risk a number of human rights, in particular the absolute prohibition of torture, freedom of religion and belief and the right to a fair trial. All OSCE participating States have agreed to develop and implement counter-terrorism strategies in line with their OSCE human dimension commitments.
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The
OSCE
facilitates
the
reform
of
Tajikistan
militia
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In particular, the creation of a public group consisting of the most active representatives of the civil society which could also participate in the process, is planned. Recently, the first meeting of the group took place. However, journalists who were present at the meeting, had an impression that all decisions have already been taken by the MoI leadership long ago, and the participation of the civil society is not more than a nice picture.
– The OSCE is fully committed to supporting Tajikistan’s police reform process in order to develop a national strategy based on democratic policing, in which the participation of the civil society is essential. Seeking to make our efforts in this regard as effective as possible, we value constructive feedback from representatives of the civil society so as to help ensure their concerns are taken into account.
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Recently, there was a report in the Internet which stated that the government allegedly has plans to neutralize the Party of the Islamic Renaissance of Tajikistan. Copies of allegedly scanned protocols of the Government meeting of 24 November were attached to the article. The Tajikistan Government said that these documents are false. Have you discussed this matter with the government of Tajikistan?
– I plan to primarily discuss matters directly related to Tajikistan’s engagement with the OSCE, as well as the OSCE’s contribution to promoting stability in and around Afghanistan. I cannot predict at this point which other matters will be raised during our discussions and cannot speculate on this at this point.
– Recently, the President of Tajikistan suggested to move the articles 135 and 136 of the Criminal Code, which are related to “insult” and “defamation” from the Criminal Code into the Civil Code (i.e. decriminalize them). At the same time, nothing is being said about the article 137 which is related to defamation and insults directed to the President. Don’t you think that this is a half-way solution?
– One of the functions of free media in a democratic society is to control the work of the authorities and officials. Journalists can fulfill this function only when they do not fear criminal prosecution for making statement facilitating political discussion in the society. The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the media calls for decriminalization of libel and defamation. Partially thanks to the OSCE’s efforts, since 2004 already eight participating States decriminalized libel and defamation.
The OSCE, in particular, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, welcomes the offer of the President of Tajikistan to exclude two articles on libel and defamation (135 and 136) from the Criminal Code. At the same time, if a consistent approach to the matter is to be followed, it would make sense to cancel all legal regulations which criminalize libel and insult. For the productive public discourse it is important that public officials have a higher degree of tolerance and do not view criticism in the media as attacks against their personal rights.
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Don’t you think that the OSCE’s policy and approach are too mild vis-à-vis countries, the leadership of which constantly and blatantly violates the commitments it has undertaken?
– All 56 participating States of the OSCE are politically bound by commitments they’ve undertaken. No country can boast an ideal situation in the politico-military, economic and environmental, or human rights field. Political dialogue in the OSCE is essential to identify shortcomings and encourage the States to bridge their differences. The principle of peer-review is central to the work of the OSCE, both during the meetings of all 56 participating States in Vienna, and in our work in the field, and this is a strong political instrument which helps ensure that States strive to respect their commitments. Therefore, public statements made on behalf of the OSCE are only one aspect of our actions in relation to non-compliance with commitments.
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The decisions in the OSCE are taken on the basis of consensus and are not legally binding. These provisions, we believe, to a large degree diminish the effectiveness of the Organization’s efforts. Maybe, one should revise these aspects of the Organization’s functioning?
– The principle of consensus has been always in the heart of the OSCE as a forum for political dialogue of all 56 participating States. The consensus rule is actually the main strength of the OSCE. It allows us to accommodate all legitimate views. Though decisions represent political commitments and are not legally binding, this doesn’t make them weaker. The process of consensus-building is slow and painstaking, but the final result is much more meaningful and rewarding, because it represents the collective will of all the 56. Even in the most difficult moments in the last 10 years, the OSCE has kept working to the benefit of the people of its participating States.
