CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Mr. Chair,
Norway joins others in welcoming the Head of the Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Claus Neukirch, back to the Permanent Council and thanks him for his report.
In 1993, the participating States decided to establish the Mission to Moldova in order to facilitate the achievement of a lasting, comprehensive political settlement of the conflict in all its aspects. While states on occasion have expanded the mandate, that is still the main objective and purpose of the mission. Fulfilling the mandate requires the necessary long-term perspective on the mission.
In the current reporting period, we recognize reduced dynamics, but continued commitment to a settlement. Progress at the political level has slowed down as a result of attention being diverted to the parliamentary elections in Moldova. There is concern about the genuine intentions of both parties. As a result, the OSCE’s ongoing support to the working level process is increasingly important to avoid a breakdown in communications.
Ensuring an appropriate gender perspective in our efforts is crucial to reaching our objectives more effectively. Few peace agreements sufficiently integrate a gender perspective or properly safeguard women’s rights and needs. It is crucial that a settlement takes account of the rights and needs of all citizens. Everyone who is involved in a settlement process, both men and women, bear this responsibility.
Therefore, we are pleased to hear of the Mission’s gender mapping of the topics under discussion in all of the thematic expert working groups. We would appreciate more information on the results of this mapping. We would also like to hear more on how the Mission intends to follow up on the mapping and continuously address gender across the broad array of topics in the settlement process. The lessons learned from the mapping, and its follow-up, may prove relevant for settlement processes, and other activities, across the OSCE and beyond.
We look forward to continuing partnership between Moldova and the OSCE in support of positive developments and continued good co-operation in Moldova and throughout the region. As we have said before, the field operations are among those parts of the OSCE that truly add value with their support to participating States. The work of the field operations provides lessons that may prove useful across all OSCE activities.
Thank you
Norway's statement in Response to the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.pdf