U.S., OSCE Leader Want Observers in Ukraine 'Immediately'
The U.S. envoy and head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said on Monday that the OSCE should "immediately" send an observer mission to Ukraine, as the pan-European body met in Vienna on Monday.
"We call today for OSCE observers to be sent immediately to Ukraine," ambassador Daniel Baer said in a speech, released on Monday, to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
He said that the OSCE "should make the decision today to move forward with plans and preparation for a monitoring mission immediately".
He said this would "monitor and prevent conflict; ensure the protection of human rights of members of minorities; prevent border conflict; promote respect for territorial integrity; and to maintain peace, stability and security in the region."
His comments were made at a OSCE Preparatory Committee Meeting on Ukraine on Sunday afternoon in Vienna, followed Monday morning by a gathering of the OSCE Special Permanent Council.
Created during the Cold War as a forum for dialogue between East and West and now covering most of the northern hemisphere, the OSCE conducts election monitoring, arms control and conflict prevention activities worldwide.
The head of the organisation also said Monday that Ukraine should invite the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to send an observer mission to the crisis-hit country.
"I encourage the Ukrainian government to invite the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to set up a mission to evaluate the past and ... the circumstances surrounding the incidents taking place in Ukraine," said Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, whose country currently holds the OSCE's rotating presidency.
Source: Agence France Presse
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