Thank you Chair, and welcome Ambassador Del Monaco to the Permanent Council. It is a pleasure to have you with us in the Hofburg.
Thank you for your comprehensive report, which highlights the achievements of the OSCE Presence over the last 10 months. We recognise that you and your team have continued to make a difference during the ongoing challenge of a global pandemic.
At yesterday's informal meeting, we heard first hand from one of your key interlocutors - Deputy Minister of Interior, Mr Besfort Lamallari. Hearing first hand of the value he attaches to your work allows Vienna delegations to better understand the impact the OSCE field missions are having on the ground. We look forward to further such briefings in the next reporting period.
I would like to focus on three key areas covered in your report, namely: electoral reform, anti-corruption, and the fight against serious organised crime and trafficking.
First - on electoral reform, we welcome your continued efforts to assist in advancing and influencing the reform process. The activities of the Presence, ahead of the 25th April elections, including your support for Out-of-Country Voting, ensuring an inclusive approach through voter education sessions for minority women and youth, as well as your work with youth more generally on elections and the role of the media clearly demonstrate the value you add. This is highly appreciated. The final ODIHR Report of 26th July made 23 recommendations, of which five were highlighted as priorities, and eleven require changes to the legal framework. The OSCE's continued support and guidance in implementing these recommendations will be valuable.
Secondly - we commend your continued focus and expertise in addressing corruption. Building on your enhanced engagement in the previous reporting period, we welcome your ongoing support to tackle corruption, including through improving "corruption-proofing" in the process of drafting laws, and through a peer review of anti-corruption legislation. We also appreciate your support for investigative journalism as a strategic instrument to fight corruption. This links well to your role in supporting the freedom of the media and further underlines the importance of a free media in any democracy. We look forward to hearing the outcome of the multi-stakeholder conference on anti-corruption that will take place on 1st October.
Thirdly - on fighting serious organised crime and trafficking, we welcome the OSCE's capacity building activities with key stakeholders. Tackling these issues is a priority for any government. We recognise that the Presence has provided support to both the Ministry of Interior and the Co-ordination Centre for Countering Violent Extremism in order to help strengthen efforts in countering violent extremism and radicalisation that lead to terrorism (VERLT), as well as to strengthen the response to the threat of international terrorism. Amongst other efforts, we also recognise your continued assistance on combating trafficking in human beings. The importance of engaging youth in safety and security issues is also highlighted in your report, and we welcome your engagement here too.
Finally - integral to all of the Presence's assistance is gender equality and ensuring that gender is mainstreamed throughout your activities. We appreciate that the report provides data on the gender of participants in your engagement. This is really helpful to determining the gender balance of the target audience and whether more needs to be done to ensure greater inclusivity. Intersecting factors are another important aspect and an area where the OSCE is rightly starting to increase emphasis. We encourage a continued strong focus on your efforts to achieve gender equality, and on your support for eliminating gender-based violence. We look forward to hearing more on the outcomes of your work in the next reporting period. We also take this opportunity to commend Albania for their focus on gender, which is also listed as one of their priorities for their UN Security Council membership.
Thank you, again Ambassador Del Monaco and your team, for your report today.
