Co-operation with the Council of Europe and Ukraine Accountability Efforts: UK statement to the OSCE
Ambassador Holland reaffirmed the UKās strong support for the Council of Europe and its partnership with the OSCE, highlighting shared commitments to human rights, democracy and rule of law, and underlining the importance of accountability for Russiaās war against Ukraine and strengthened institutional co-operation.
Thank you, Mr Chair.Ā
Secretary General, welcome back to the Permanent Council. Thank you for your presentation and for your continued leadership at the Council of Europe, whichĀ remainsĀ central to the UKās human rights and foreign policy agenda.Ā Ā
The UK values the longstanding relationship between the OSCE and the Council of Europe, grounded in our shared commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. These principles underpin our work in Vienna and Strasbourg and are essential to both individual freedoms and economic prosperity.Ā Ā
We meet at a time of serious challenge to EuropeanĀ multilateralism, with Russiaās unprovoked and unjustified war in UkraineĀ presenting aĀ challenge to the rules by which we all agreed to abide. We urge all OSCE participating States to uphold our shared commitments. We must not allow aggression to undermineĀ the international rules-based order.Ā Ā
The UK strongly supports Ukraineās accountability efforts. WeĀ wereĀ proud to Chair the Conference of Participants for the Register of DamageĀ until last week, which now includes overĀ 160,000Ā claims.Ā We commend the Council of Europeās leadership on theĀ ClaimsĀ CommissionĀ Convention, which was opened for signature in December,Ā and welcome theĀ adoption in Chisinau last month of the resolution establishing theĀ EnlargedĀ Partial Agreement on theĀ Special Tribunal for the Crime of AggressionĀ against UkraineĀ by 34 Council of Europe member States including the UK, as well as the EU, Australia and Costa Rica.Ā
The Council of Europe and the OSCEĀ have complementary rolesĀ inĀ promotingĀ democratic values, including media freedom, gender equality, and free elections.Ā Our memberships are not theĀ sameĀ butĀ both organisations faceĀ similarĀ challenges such as democratic backsliding. It isĀ thereforeĀ more important than everĀ to coordinate effectively,Ā toĀ minimise duplicationĀ and overlap and focus onĀ the two organisationsā respectiveĀ mandates andĀ comparative strengths toĀ maximise impact,Ā particularly in a time of constrained resources.Ā Ā We would be interested in your reflections on that.
In this spirit weĀ welcome your initiative to create a New Democratic Pact for Europe, bringing stakeholders together to address democratic backsliding, impunity, and authoritarianism.Ā
Secretary General, the UKĀ remainsĀ a steadfast supporter of both organisations. We wish you and your team every success.Ā Ā
Thank you,Ā Mr Chair.