Institute for New Democracies

U.S.- Kazakhstan OSCE Task Force:
Shaping and Supporting Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship Agenda

The “U.S.-Kazakhstan Task Force: Shaping and Supporting Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship Agenda” is a joint initiative of the CSIS New European Democracies Project and the Institute for New Democracies funded through a grant from the government of Kazakhstan. The goal of the initiative is to assist Kazakhstan in shaping its OSCE chairmanship agenda, support Kazakhstan during its OSCE mandate, and strengthen U.S.-Kazakh relations. The project aims to provide expert analysis and policy recommendations for a successful OSCE chairmanship of Kazakhstan in 2010, which will benefit all parties involved - the OSCE, the member states including the United States and Kazakhstan, and the Central Asian region.

In November 2007, the OSCE designated Kazakhstan as the OCSE Chairman-in-Office for 2010. Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic to be given such high responsibility, thus marking the commitment of OSCE to apply a new system of incentives by assigning leadership positions to key transitional countries that are members of the multi-national organization. Kazakhstan will need to meet the challenge in two ways: by presenting a compelling agenda for its chairmanship and by consolidating ongoing democratic reforms in the country.

Washington can play a constructive role in ensuring that Kazakhstan fully prepares itself to assume its OSCE chairmanship in 2010 and receives expert and policy support during the course of the chairmanship. The U.S. administration can provide direct assistance and guidance in Kazakhstan’s commitment to establishing sound democratic practices and conducting necessary reforms to help guarantee Astana’s effective leadership of the OSCE.

CSIS and IND have organized a U.S.-Kazakhstan OSCE Task Force, which brings together policymakers, regional specialists, representatives of non-governmental organizations, representatives of former OSCE chairing countries, and business leaders to offer valuable recommendations for shaping and implementing a compelling, focused, and pragmatic agenda for Kazakhstan’s chairmanship. The Task Force addresses aspects related to all three OSCE baskets, including strengthening OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and making recommendations to the Kazakh government to implement democratic reforms and meet the Madrid Commitments.

Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship Agenda in 2010
CSIS-IND Conference - June 11, 2009

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Institute for New Democracies (IND) hosted a conference on Kazakhstan’s 2010 Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The conference featured a keynote address by Ambassador George A. Krol, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South-Central Asia at the U.S. Department of State, as well as a strategic overview by CSIS Counselor and former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. The event brought together regional experts, diplomats, U.S. and Kazakh policymakers, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and former OSCE chairing countries. Read More

Kazakhstan Announces Priorities for the 2010 OSCE Chairmanship

On January 14th Kazakhstan announced its priorities for the 2010 Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an organization that now spans 56 countries and encompasses all of Europe together with the United States, Canada, and each of the former Soviet republics. The organization, which was established through the Helsinki Final Act during the period of East-West détente, celebrates its 35th birthday in 2010.

Kazakhstan’s chairmanship is a landmark event as this will be the first Central Asian, post-Soviet, and predominantly Muslim state to lead the OSCE. The country’s leadership views the OSCE chairmanship as a strategic national project that will enable the country to develop closer ties with both Europe and the United States and to make its own contribution to Euro-Asian security.

The 2010 OSCE Chairmanship will focus on resolving protracted conflicts, reconstruction of Afghanistan, addressing terrorism and other threats, co-operation on transport, and promoting inter-ethnic and inter-religious coexistence. In a video-taped address to the OSCE Permanent Council, President Nursultan Nazarbayev stated that Kazakhstan’s 2010 Chairmanship would be guided by trust, tradition, transparency and tolerance – styled as the “four T's.”

In his first speech to the OSCE Permanent Council, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Kazakh Foreign Minister and State Secretary Kanat Saudabayev asserted that combating illicit narcotics trafficking and countering terrorism would be among Astana’s priorities.

The Task Force consists of two components a Working Group of international experts in Washington, D.C. and a Working Group of Kazakh experts and government representatives in Astana. Both groups communicate on a regular basis and complement each other’s work. Ideas generated by either Working Group are discussed by their counterpart before concrete policy formulations are decided and recommendations disseminated.

The U.S.-Kazakhstan OSCE Task Force is future-oriented and nonpartisan. It is a broad-based open structure, which includes a diverse array of experts on Kazakhstan and the region. It aims to produce policy recommendations through regular, problem-specific meetings and high-level strategic thinking among U.S. and Central Asian policy experts, politicians, and business and military leaders.

The initiative involves Task Force meetings, publication of policy briefs, conferences in Washington and Astana and the publication of a Policy Paper on Kazakhstan’s progress and challenges in the implementation of the Madrid OSCE commitment. The Policy Paper will focus on key issues during the 2010 OSCE chairmanship, examine domestic arenas where progress can be made before 2010; and offer recommendations for the American and Kazakh governments. Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship will enable Astana to draw the attention of Europe and the U.S. to the importance of the Central Asian region and its numerous challenges, from security and democratization to balanced economic development.

Kazakhstan’s Priorities for the OSCE
Chairmanship

On 10 September 2009, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Institute for New Democracies (IND), held a roundtable in Washington D.C. focused on Kazakhstan’s 2010 OSCE chairmanship. The key speaker was Ambassador Kairat Abdrakhmanov, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the OSCE. Panelists included Erlan Idrissov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, Julie Finley, former U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, Martha Brill Olcott, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Edward Chow, Energy and National Security Program at CSIS, and Jon Chicky, National Defense University. Read More

Kazakhstan views the situation in Afghanistan as a critical factor for regional and global security.

The government in Astana has come under strong criticism from Western human rights lobbies for its evident shortcomings in implementing European standards of democratic governance. Nonetheless, Kazakhstan is in a unique position to better assimilate these values the more secure it feels as a contributing OSCE member. It has committed itself to supporting intercultural dialogue, the rule of law, judicial independence, the prevention of hate crimes, freedom of movement, and the position of Roma and Sinti populations as vital ingredients of the OSCE’s human dimension.

President Nazarbayev has called for the convening of an OSCE summit in 2010 to help strengthen the Organization and its principle of consensus. Amidst growing questions about the OSCE’s effectiveness in promoting stability and given the new security threats that confront the entire OSCE region, a summit assembling all heads of state in 2010 would be in a position to assess existing security threats within and around the OSCE area and formulate more effective common responses through the pursuit of the OSCE’s three dimensions.

The OSCE can also make a multi-national contribution in Afghanistan through the training of border patrols, police officers, and the national administration. The summit could promote the integration process between Central Asia and the Euro-Atlantic sphere for the benefit of both regions, particularly through energy, trade, and business connections.