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On 3 March, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis met with representatives from Lithuanian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), political scientists and journalists, acquainted them with challenges and possibilities of Lithuania’s Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2011, and discussed the civil society’s support for the Chairmanship. Representatives from the Lithuanian Human Rights Association, Human Rights Monitoring Institute, Civil Defence Support Fund, Center for Equality Advancement, Lithuanian Union of Journalists, as well as teachers from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science (IIRPS) of Vilnius University and Mykolas Romeris University, political scientists and journalists attended the meeting.

The Minister welcomed founder of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group Viktoras Petkus, who had made every effort to assure the compliance with principles that are set out in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975) and to inform the Lithuanian and Western societies about human rights violations.

The Minister suggested establishing a NGO support for Lithuania’s OSCE Chairmanship group, which would be comprised of political scientists and NGO representatives.

“Such a group would ensure cooperation among state institutions and non-governmental organizations, political scientists, commentators. We need the support of these independent experts for Lithuania’s OSCE Chairmanship in 2011.  We wish Lithuanian non-governmental organizations to play a more active role, especially in the OSCE’s human dimension matters,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

A representative from the IIRPS, Dr. Lauras Bielinis stressed that Lithuania’s OSCE Chairmanship was in the interests of all the country.

“Maybe we shall not profit from this, but Lithuania will take part in world politics. Our assistance can support the actions of the organizers and strengthen the civil initiative in Lithuania,” L.Bielinis said.

Lithuania, Greece, and Kazakhstan are members of this year’s OSCE Troika. During the OSCE Chairmanship, Lithuania will aim to further strengthen the security and stability in 56 countries of the OSCE space. One of the priorities of Lithuania’s Chairmanship that are being discussed includes the human rights, the press freedom and safety of journalists.  

The culmination of the Chairmanship will be the OSCE Ministerial Council in December 2011, in Vilnius. This will be the largest ever diplomatic event in Lithuania so far. Holding such an event will require good mobilisation of human, financial and organizational resources. Lithuania’s OSCE Chairmanship will contribute to strengthening the country’s international and regional role, preparation for the European Union Presidency in 2013 and a potential membership in the United Nations Security Council in 2014-2015.