Dysfunctional conflict launched by Azerbaijan decapitates the OSCE

Baku/11.07.20/Turan:  The  meeting of the Permanent Council  OSCE held in Vienna on July 10, did not reach an agreement on  appointment for the next three-year term the OSCE Secretary General, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and High Commissioner on National Minorities. Unlike the previous review (all four in one package), each candidate was considered separately. After heated discussions, it was decided to declare vacant all of the above leadership posts. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office Albania declared open the acceptance of nominations of candidates from member countries until September 18, 2020.

On June 11, Azerbaijan sent a note against the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir, thereby violating the consensus on the extension of powers on all four positions.

On July 10, during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, the representative of Azerbaijan once again started traditional attacks against French diplomat Harlem Desir. This time a representative of Tajikistan supported him and presented a note, expressing dissatisfaction with the activities of Desir. Tajikistan also presented claims to the Director of the Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Inhibjörg Solrun Gisladottir. A corresponding note was also provided by Turkey. However, representatives of Tajikistan and Turkey practically did not speak at the meeting, leaving Azerbijan room for criticism.

In response to the disruption of consensus, France, Canada, Norway, Iceland and Armenia, refused the approval of the OSCE Secretary General Thomas Griminger and High Commissioner for National Minorities Lamberto Zannier, explaining his decision by the need to  extend simultaneously all four mandates. The current mandates of all 4 leading officials expire on July 18, 2020, after which none of them can fulfill their duties, which will automatically decapitate the OSCE, minimizing its role not only in matters of security and cooperation, but also in protecting democracy and human rights .

On June 24, the Turan Agency for the first time published information on the sole breakdown of consensus on the part of Azerbaijan, which blocked the mandate of Harlem Desir.

The next day, on June 25, the Tajik Foreign Ministry unexpectedly presented a note of protest to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. Even more strange was the position of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which presented the note only 4 days before the meeting of the Permanent Council. The actions of Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkey found support from Russia. All four countries are regularly criticized for restricting freedom of speech by international organizations.

"Synchronized swimming" of Baku, Dushanbe, Ankara and Moscow is only the visible part of the iceberg. Active consultations between the ambassadors of Azerbaijan and Turkey on the sidelines of the Hofburg Imperial Palace, where the OSCE headquarters are located, and the ambiguous speech of the Russian representative in the style of “Byzantine diplomacy” give reason to believe that Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, whether or not freely, play a role in someone's chess game. This is also indicated by the belated note of protest of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Obviously, Ankara and Moscow in recent years have been at the forefront of the anti-Western vector of world politics. With the growth of his political career, the current Foreign Minister, Mevlud Cavusoglu, is largely indebted to the support of a number of countries, including Azerbaijan and Russia, which contributed to his election as PACE President.

A week before the fateful meeting in Vienna, the Azerbaijani authorities, through pro-government media, launched a dirty drip against both Harlem Desir and all other OSCE institutions, including the OSCE Minsk Group, accusing them of their anti-Azerbaijani and pro-Armenian positions.

This campaign included criticism of not only OSCE assessments in the field of freedom of speech, but also human rights and democracy. These materials expressed claims against the United States and the West for their dominance in the OSCE, for imposing democratic values ​​on other members of the organization.

It is still unknown whether Switzerland, France, Iceland, and Italy have nominated new candidates for the leadership positions that these countries have held over the past three years. Typically, Western countries do not sacrifice their diplomats, whom they initially approved. The position of the USA and Great Britain in this solitaire is not yet clear. Usually, both of these countries are still observing active in the work of the OSCE, confining themselves to monitoring the situation.

In any case, it becomes obvious that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, established in August 1975, is experiencing an unprecedented dysfunctional conflict for the first time, in which it was driven by countries hostile to such fundamental values ​​as freedom of speech, democracy and human rights.

The OSCE rules allow the extension of mandates for 1 year in the form of acting, but under the current realities, this seems unlikely. In the case of a large number of applicants that countries can nominate before September 18, the whole fall of the OSCE will be in search of a magical consensus, which will not be easy to find.

Most likely, the OSCE will remain paralyzed until December 2020 - the next meeting of the Council of Ministers to be held in Tirana, the capital of the OSCE Chairmanship of Albania.

The OSCE Permanent Council, which meets once a week in Vienna, is the main decision-making body, which includes delegates from 57 OSCE participating States. Azerbaijan joined the OSCE as a full member in January 1992. –0—