On 3 December 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, via teleconferencing, took part in the 27th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), organised by the Albanian Chairmanship of the OSCE.
In his statement, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined the role of the OSCE in resolving the Ukrainian crisis, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other protracted conflicts. The Minister also pointed out that the strengthening of the European security order based on international law and the OSCE principles should be a priority; therefore, it is vital to build mutual trust and reduce security risks in the OSCE area.
As the Latvian Foreign Minister drew attention to human rights violations in Belarus, he called on OSCE participating States to provide support for the civil society in Belarus. He urged the representatives of Belarusian authorities to cease employing violence against peaceful protesters, to release the illegitimately detained people and to engage in a political dialogue with the opposition.
At the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council which was held online via video-teleconferencing from 3-4 December, OSCE participating States will exchange views on security, human rights, and economic and environmental cooperation matters in the OSCE area.
Background information
The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the Foreign Ministers of the 57 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization’s activities over the past year and see what the positions of the participating States are on national security and cooperation issues.
The previous OSCE Ministerial Council took place in Bratislava in 2019 under the Slovak Chairmanship. Sweden is taking over the chairmanship of the organisation in 2021.