Madame Chair,
I join others in congratulating Dr. Volker Frobarth on his appointment and thank him for his first report to the Permanent Council.
The OSCE’s field presences give our organisation added value. It is our belief that host countries benefit from the comprehensive approach to capacity building across all three dimensions of security. As a result, we all benefit from the increased security in our OSCE region. We are pleased to note that the projects of the office in Nur-Sultan continue to constitute a broad and balanced portfolio. We encourage this approach. We were also glad to hear about close contacts between ambassador Frobart and highlevel representatives of Kazakhstan, and see great value in continued close cooperation between the programme office and Kazakh authorities.
We appreciate the report’s reference to how the programme office emphasises the positive aspects of gender mainstreaming in its projects. As we have stated numerous times, promoting gender equality and mainstreaming is more than “just” ensuring equal participation, it is something we do to ensure that the resources we spend and the work we do have the best possible impact.
Norway is happy to have been able to support the programme office’s project related to police reform. The promotion of community policing principles builds trust between the population and law enforcement agencies. The inclusion of NGOs on these and other matters will further contribute to securing the people’s engagement and ownership of reforms, and thus their efficient implementation.
Let me seize the opportunity to wish ambassador Frobarth and his staff the best of luck in their important work.
Thank you.