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SWISS AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA LUKAS GASSER: SWITZERLAND WILL TRY TO CONTRIBUTE TO A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT WITHOUT QUESTIONING THE ESTABLISHED FORMATS SUCH AS THE OSCE MINSK PROCESS
ArmInfo's interview with the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Republic
of Armenia
by Marianna Lazarian
Monday, November 25, 17:05
On 1 January 2014 Switzerland will assume OSCE Chairmanship. What
priorities will the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE have and what
steps is Switzerland going to take to contribute to settlement of the
frozen conflicts? Would you tell us about the Swiss Foreign Ministry's
package of new initiatives aimed at stabilizing the situation in the
South Caucasus?
"Creating a Security Community for the Benefit of Everyone" -
under this leitmotif, Switzerland, during its Chairmanship, wants to
contribute to three main objectives: we want to foster security and
stability, to improve people's lives and we want to strengthen the
OSCE's capacity to act.
To concretely implement these goals, we have defined several priority
activities such as combating transnational threats, enhancing the
capacity in the OSCE area for the management of natural disasters,
but also strengthening security sector governance, the implementation
of the commitments in the Human Dimension as well as the mediation
capacities of the OSCE, just to name a few. Switzerland will also pay
special attention to the inclusion of civil society into the OSCE
and wants to give young people a voice by organising an OSCE-Model
series of events.
Switzerland's geographical focus will be on the Western Balkans
and the South Caucasus. Regarding the later, we are looking
into possibilities to promote dialogue and confidence building
measures, all together by actively supporting and strengthening
existing mediation schemes. Furthermore, Switzerland will
further facilitate people to people contacts and support civil
society projects in the region. For more details about the Swiss
priorities:http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/recent/dossie/osce.html
The Federal Council has conferred on Mr. Angelo Gnädinger the title
of ambassador in view of his upcoming post of Special Representative
for the South Caucasus under the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE. What
powers will he have?
Ambassador Gnädinger will take up the post of Special Representative
on 1 January 2014, upon Switzerland's assumption of the OSCE
chairmanship. Among other responsibilities, he will represent the
OSCE in the Geneva Discussions on security and stability in the South
Caucasus. As previous Special Representatives for the South Caucasus,
he will support the OSCE's mediation efforts in the region in 2014
and will accompany the activities of the OSCE representations
in the region. From 2002 to 2010, Ambassador Gnädinger was the
director-general of the ICRC. He has many years of experience in
dealing with conflicts, political mediation and international law.
Turkish media outlets report that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu has asked for Switzerland's support in the Karabakh peace
process so that Turkey could normalize relations with Yerevan. How
reliable is this information and what is Switzerland going to do?
Facilitating dialogue among the parties involved in the protracted
conflicts of the South Caucasus is a priority of the Swiss
Chairmanship. Switzerland will try to contribute to a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict without questioning
the established formats such as the OSCE Minsk process. During its
Chairmanship, Switzerland hopes to build upon its previous and current
engagement in the South Caucasus.
In the last few months, Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter presented
the priorities of the Swiss Chairmanship to many high-ranking
representatives of OSCE participating states - among others, to H.E.
Mr Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, during an
official visit on 10 October 2013 in Berne.
Armenia and Switzerland are closely cooperating in the field of
defense, particularly, within the Geneva Centre for the Democratic
Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and under the Swiss project Capacity
Building in International Relations (CABIR). What tangible results
can you talk about today?
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)
was established in 2000 by initiative of the Swiss Government. This
centre is an international foundation with the mission to assist the
international community in pursuing good governance and reform of
the security sector. DCAF cooperates closely with the OSCE Office
in Yerevan on democratic governance, law enforcement and defence
reform issues.
The cooperation with the parliamentary committee on defence and
security, based on an MoU signed at the end of 2012, and supported by
the OSCE Office in Yerevan, has enabled the project partners to hold
international seminars, parliamentary hearings and capacity-building
activities in the fields of best practices in parliamentary oversight
and guidance, defence management, human rights in the security sector,
and defence and police reform. In parallel a review of the security
sector legislation and parliamentary powers was undertaken which will
shortly be discussed in parliament, along with best practices for terms
of reference for parliamentary visits to defence sites. Good progress
has already been made in reforming the curriculum of the Military
Academy. DCAF has further offered a number of capacity-building
activities at different levels of defence management.
DCAF's local partners in Armenia are the Ministry of Defence, the
National Assembly, and, more recently, the RA Police. Over the last
years, Armenia, along with Georgia and Azerbaijan, has been the focus
of DCAF cooperation with the OSCE and the Partnership for Peace on
the issue of Human Rights in the Armed Forces and Integrity-Building
in Defence Management.
The Capacity Building in International Relations (CABIR) programme is
another key element of Swiss cooperation in the region. Switzerland is
committed to continue the project in the three countries of the South
Caucasus. The project is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation (SDC) and has been implemented for the last consecutive
twelve years by the Graduate Institute of International and Development
Studies in Geneva. It has managed to contribute to a large extent to
the capacity building of the young government officials in the three
countries. So far, around 450 persons were trained (140 from Armenia
and Azerbaijan respectively, and 170 from Georgia).
The project represents a good example of Switzerland's long-standing
cooperation with the governments of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
It has contributed to the strengthening of the countries' governance
for their effective representation at the regional and international
arena as well as strived to increase accountability and transparency in
the management of public affairs. The courses have been held in such
topics as International Law, International Economics and Negotiation
Techniques, International Trade Policy, International Human Rights
and Humanitarian Law.
We still see a strong need for such trainings in the three countries.
In the project's next phase, emphasis will be given on training
trainers for continuous education of public servants in the three
countries. The topics of training will be jointly defined with the
three partner governments. A strong network twinning the best academic
and training institutions in Switzerland and the three South Caucasus
countries will provide the foundation for this cooperation.
The key element of the future project, which in the long run will
ensure its sustainability, will be local ownership and commitment:
by the governments and training institutions of the target countries'
as well as their active participation and contribution to the project.
http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=9663A0F0-55DA-11E3-B7220EB7C0D21663
ArmInfo's interview with the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Republic
of Armenia
by Marianna Lazarian
Monday, November 25, 17:05
On 1 January 2014 Switzerland will assume OSCE Chairmanship. What
priorities will the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE have and what
steps is Switzerland going to take to contribute to settlement of the
frozen conflicts? Would you tell us about the Swiss Foreign Ministry's
package of new initiatives aimed at stabilizing the situation in the
South Caucasus?
"Creating a Security Community for the Benefit of Everyone" -
under this leitmotif, Switzerland, during its Chairmanship, wants to
contribute to three main objectives: we want to foster security and
stability, to improve people's lives and we want to strengthen the
OSCE's capacity to act.
To concretely implement these goals, we have defined several priority
activities such as combating transnational threats, enhancing the
capacity in the OSCE area for the management of natural disasters,
but also strengthening security sector governance, the implementation
of the commitments in the Human Dimension as well as the mediation
capacities of the OSCE, just to name a few. Switzerland will also pay
special attention to the inclusion of civil society into the OSCE
and wants to give young people a voice by organising an OSCE-Model
series of events.
Switzerland's geographical focus will be on the Western Balkans
and the South Caucasus. Regarding the later, we are looking
into possibilities to promote dialogue and confidence building
measures, all together by actively supporting and strengthening
existing mediation schemes. Furthermore, Switzerland will
further facilitate people to people contacts and support civil
society projects in the region. For more details about the Swiss
priorities:http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/recent/dossie/osce.html
The Federal Council has conferred on Mr. Angelo Gnädinger the title
of ambassador in view of his upcoming post of Special Representative
for the South Caucasus under the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE. What
powers will he have?
Ambassador Gnädinger will take up the post of Special Representative
on 1 January 2014, upon Switzerland's assumption of the OSCE
chairmanship. Among other responsibilities, he will represent the
OSCE in the Geneva Discussions on security and stability in the South
Caucasus. As previous Special Representatives for the South Caucasus,
he will support the OSCE's mediation efforts in the region in 2014
and will accompany the activities of the OSCE representations
in the region. From 2002 to 2010, Ambassador Gnädinger was the
director-general of the ICRC. He has many years of experience in
dealing with conflicts, political mediation and international law.
Turkish media outlets report that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu has asked for Switzerland's support in the Karabakh peace
process so that Turkey could normalize relations with Yerevan. How
reliable is this information and what is Switzerland going to do?
Facilitating dialogue among the parties involved in the protracted
conflicts of the South Caucasus is a priority of the Swiss
Chairmanship. Switzerland will try to contribute to a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict without questioning
the established formats such as the OSCE Minsk process. During its
Chairmanship, Switzerland hopes to build upon its previous and current
engagement in the South Caucasus.
In the last few months, Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter presented
the priorities of the Swiss Chairmanship to many high-ranking
representatives of OSCE participating states - among others, to H.E.
Mr Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, during an
official visit on 10 October 2013 in Berne.
Armenia and Switzerland are closely cooperating in the field of
defense, particularly, within the Geneva Centre for the Democratic
Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and under the Swiss project Capacity
Building in International Relations (CABIR). What tangible results
can you talk about today?
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)
was established in 2000 by initiative of the Swiss Government. This
centre is an international foundation with the mission to assist the
international community in pursuing good governance and reform of
the security sector. DCAF cooperates closely with the OSCE Office
in Yerevan on democratic governance, law enforcement and defence
reform issues.
The cooperation with the parliamentary committee on defence and
security, based on an MoU signed at the end of 2012, and supported by
the OSCE Office in Yerevan, has enabled the project partners to hold
international seminars, parliamentary hearings and capacity-building
activities in the fields of best practices in parliamentary oversight
and guidance, defence management, human rights in the security sector,
and defence and police reform. In parallel a review of the security
sector legislation and parliamentary powers was undertaken which will
shortly be discussed in parliament, along with best practices for terms
of reference for parliamentary visits to defence sites. Good progress
has already been made in reforming the curriculum of the Military
Academy. DCAF has further offered a number of capacity-building
activities at different levels of defence management.
DCAF's local partners in Armenia are the Ministry of Defence, the
National Assembly, and, more recently, the RA Police. Over the last
years, Armenia, along with Georgia and Azerbaijan, has been the focus
of DCAF cooperation with the OSCE and the Partnership for Peace on
the issue of Human Rights in the Armed Forces and Integrity-Building
in Defence Management.
The Capacity Building in International Relations (CABIR) programme is
another key element of Swiss cooperation in the region. Switzerland is
committed to continue the project in the three countries of the South
Caucasus. The project is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation (SDC) and has been implemented for the last consecutive
twelve years by the Graduate Institute of International and Development
Studies in Geneva. It has managed to contribute to a large extent to
the capacity building of the young government officials in the three
countries. So far, around 450 persons were trained (140 from Armenia
and Azerbaijan respectively, and 170 from Georgia).
The project represents a good example of Switzerland's long-standing
cooperation with the governments of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
It has contributed to the strengthening of the countries' governance
for their effective representation at the regional and international
arena as well as strived to increase accountability and transparency in
the management of public affairs. The courses have been held in such
topics as International Law, International Economics and Negotiation
Techniques, International Trade Policy, International Human Rights
and Humanitarian Law.
We still see a strong need for such trainings in the three countries.
In the project's next phase, emphasis will be given on training
trainers for continuous education of public servants in the three
countries. The topics of training will be jointly defined with the
three partner governments. A strong network twinning the best academic
and training institutions in Switzerland and the three South Caucasus
countries will provide the foundation for this cooperation.
The key element of the future project, which in the long run will
ensure its sustainability, will be local ownership and commitment:
by the governments and training institutions of the target countries'
as well as their active participation and contribution to the project.
http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=9663A0F0-55DA-11E3-B7220EB7C0D21663