Seminar and Excursion:
International Organizations in Practice: Uniqueness,
Cooperation or Overlapping, Vienna
4 – 8 May 2015
Coordinators: Prof. Dr. Götz Neuneck
Mag. Dipl.-SozWiss. Teodora Aurora Vrancean, M.P.S
Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Introduction
Within the framework of their graduate studies, MPS Students at Hamburg
University/IFSH and E.MA students went on a study trip to Vienna between May 4 th and
May 8th, 2015. During this trip, the students mainly visited some of the most prominent
International institutions in the Austrian capital, whereby they got to learn more about
each of these institutions, the history behind their initiation, their main areas of focus,
their basic tasks, achievements, and future aspirations, the obstacles facing them, and
the cooperation among them (or the lack of it). The institutions included in this
excursion were well-chosen and varied in such a way that satisfies the interests of most
of the students, taking into consideration the different academic and professional
backgrounds that each of them comes from. Presentations and discussions mainly
revolved around topics related to nuclear energy, arms control, counter-terrorism,
security and cooperation, migration policies, development, human trafficking, and the
current situation in Ukraine. During the entire week, the students visited the following
institutions: Energy Community Vienna, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of
Germany to the Office of the United Nations and other International Organisations in
Vienna, Landesverteidigungsakademie Wien (Institut für Friedenssicherung und
Konfliktmanagement), Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, OPEC
Fund for International Development (OFID), and The International Centre for Migration
Policy (ICMPD). In addition, the students visited the UN Headquarters in Vienna where
they went on a tour but also visited The Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization
(CTBTO) Preparatory Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-Atoms
For Peace, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
Moreover, the last two days were dedicated to visiting the OSCE, with emphasis on The
German Perspective, Transnational threats, Conflict Prevention Centre, Economic and
Environmental Aspects of Security, Human Anti-trafficking, The US perspective and
mission, and last but not least a perspective on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Zahraa Awada-Badawi
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Monday 4 May 2015
Energy Community Vienna
Speaker: Heli Annika Lesjak
On a beautiful Monday morning we were welcomed by Heli Annika LESJAK, the
Webmaster and Publication Officer of the Energy Community Vienna. She introduced us
to the Energy Community (Enc).
The EnC is one of the 10 energy related organisations in Vienna:
 Energy Community (EnC)
 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
 International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
 International Peace Institute (IPI)
 OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
 Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)
 Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL)
 United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
And the EnC is the youngest member of the Energy Club.
The mission of the EnC is to extend the EU internal energy policy to non-EU members on
the ground of legally binding framework, based on the EU acquis. It provides a stable
investment environment, ties its members together with the EU and thereby contributes
to security of supply in wider Europe.
The EnC distinguishes between the 17 EU participants, Contracting Parties, Candidates
and Observers:




The Institutional setting is as follows:
 Ministerial Council: The Ministerial Council is
the highest decision making body of the Energy
Community. It convenes once a year. The key task of
the Ministerial Council is to ensure that the objectives
set out in the Treaty establishing the Energy
Community are attained
Permanent High Level Group: The Permanent High Level Group (PHLG)
prepares the meetings of the Ministerial Council. Meeting generally four times a
year, the PHLG is more closely involved in the Energy Community's day-to-day
work.
FORA: The Fora embody the broadest discussion platform within the Energy
Community, where ongoing and future legal, regulatory and practical
developments of the Energy Community are discussed.
Regulatory Board: The Energy Community Regulatory Board (ECRB) is the
coordination platform for exchange of knowledge and development of best
practices for regulated electricity and gas markets in the Energy Community.
The Energy Community secretariat: The Energy Community Secretariat is the
only permanent institution of the Energy Community. It is responsible for
administering the day-to-day activities of the Energy Community e.g. assists ,
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
monitors, enforces the implementation
settlement procedure
Administrative support, dispute
Areas of interest and work for the EnC are: gas, electricity, infrastructure, renewable
energy, environment, competition, oil, social statistic, energy efficiency.
Energy Community, and its relationship to the EU, is tight. The EnC, however, is not an
agency of the EU, but independent and founded by an international law treaty. Yet, the
EU contributes 95% of the Budget.
There are bottlenecks within the work of the EnC. There is still a gap between
transpositions and implementations. Eating or heating is still an issue, as the
liberalisation of the markets usually leads to higher prices for the consumers, and there
is no pan-European internal market yet.
The Achievements of the EnC so far are e.g.
 Increased truest and co-operation. So Parties share Security of Supply info.
 The Creation of a Joint Energy Community Strategy in 2012.
 Joint Projects of energy Community interest, 2013, rationality as key criteria
 Establishment of SEE Coordinated Auction office by 7 TSO, 2014
Finally Mrs. Lesjak quotes the European Commission´s Assessment Report which stated
in 2011 that “Energy Community is a model for regional co-operation”.
Beram Mahmoud
Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Office of the United
Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna
Speakers: Deputy Sven Krauspe, Alternate Permanent Representative Frank Bernhardt
The German embassy in Vienna consists of three missions: The bilateral representation
to Austria, the representation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), and the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the
Office of the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna, which was
the place of visit during the Vienna trip.
Deputy Sven Krauspe, in the name of Ambassador Konrad Max Scharinger, first
explained the organizational structure and work of the mission. Eight diplomats are
appointed to Vienna, supported by four German and four local Austrian staff members,
to represent German interests in a total of twelve organizations. They attend meetings
with the international organizations (IOs) and participate in discussions, e.g. about
budgets, according to the instructions from Berlin. Krauspe underlined the “Vienna
spirit” of trying to establish consensus between all member states, instead of having
majority votes. He also explained that the German mission encourages recruitment of
German citizens into the organizations, as this made communication and flow of
information much easier. In his view, the fact that Germany is the third biggest financial
contributor to the UN calls for a “certain balance between payment contributions and
representation”.
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
As Krauspe is appointed to the
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), discussion focused on
current issues within their area of
competence. After explaining the
difficulties of talks with North Korea,
and the standstill in negotiations
about a “weapons of mass
destruction free zone in the Middle
East”, the diplomat shared his
opinion on talks with Iran: He
perceives the Lausanne agreement as
“step into the right direction”, and is
optimistic that a “good deal” can be
made which includes both an
assurance for the international community that Iran will not work on atomic bombs, and
a lift of the Security Council sanctions against the country. On the question about why
the international discourse is biased towards perceiving Iran as “threat”, while other
countries possessing atomic bombs are considered “partners”, Krauspe said that the
German government “would like to see Pakistan, India and Israel join the NPT”, but that
no one can force them to do so.1 Asked about attempts to reconsider the IAEA’s slogan
“Atoms for Peace” due to the danger to atomic power plans, and the unsolved issue of
atomic waste, the diplomat explained that Germany is supporting the current shift
towards “peace and development”, and focuses its actions on nuclear projects, e.g. in the
medical and agricultural sector.
Alternate Permanent Representative Frank Bernhardt finally joined the group to talk
about career options in the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He explained that
application consists of an online test, written test and oral exam. There are about 2000
applications for 35 to 45 spots each year. Future diplomats have to speak two
international languages, should be internationally orientated and socially active. German
citizenship is a requirement for representing Germany abroad, and Bernhardt considers
it important to be able to avouch for Germany. Diplomats with two years of work
experience can be seconded by their national government to work for an IO.
Lara Eckstein
Landesverteidigungsakademie Wien
Institut für Friedenssicherung und Konfliktmanagement
Speakers: Brigadier General Dr. Walter Feichtinger, Jasmina Rupp
Brigadier General Dr. Walter Feichtinger met us in a very friendly and open way. He took
the time to stay with us and to answer the many questions. First, he gave a brief
overview to the National Defense Academy and in particular to the Institute for Peace
Support and Conflict Management. Their key tasks are lecturing, contribution for
1
Iran has ratified the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970. In 2002, the United States accused Iran of
attempting to gain nuclear weapons.
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
political advising, and to provide information to the public. The research perspective is
sectioned in four areas: “future threat
scenarios”, “conflict analysis”, “conflict
transformation”, and “structuring and
development of the armed forces”. The
compiled results are released in the IFK
Spiegel journal.
Subsequently, Jasmina Rupp gave us a
presentation and an overview over the so
called Islamic State. She talked about the
history, the functioning, the expansion and
the propaganda, which was actively
discussed afterwards.
This appointment was very interesting and good structured. The presenters were not in
a hurry and supported with their appearance a good atmosphere and a fruitful
discussion.
Peter Finke
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Tuesday 5 May 2015
The Evolution of Nuclear Safety
Presented by Grant Spence at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Speaker: Grant Spence
The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation was founded in 2011 as a
result of a proposal put forward by the Austrian Government. The Center is designed as a
think tank existing beside the major nuclear organizations in Vienna like CTBTO or IAEA.
The main objective is to bring together different actors from the nuclear stage. The
center organizes workshops and seminars for journalists and other professionals and,
among other things, focuses on training and education.
We were welcomed by a marvelous view over Vienna and the Danube river from the
13th floor and by Grant Spence, a visiting researcher at the Vienna Center for
Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. Mr. Spence, who is working on his PhD in the field
of nuclear engineering, gave us a detailed overview of the evolution of nuclear safety in
the context of nuclear power plants. This more technical, rather than political view on
the topic was supposed to help us understand policy issues and discussions on nuclear
power in more depth.
The charismatic speaker started with a detailed introduction on how nuclear power
plants are supposed to work. In his presentation he put emphasis on the use of correct
terminology like criticality and the difference between safety and security. Therefore,
nuclear safety from his point of view is meant to protect people and the environment
against radiation risks, by preventing accidents. This field within the realm of nuclear
engineering has developed with varying dynamics since the advent of nuclear power
production.
Between 1946 and
1970, the “golden age
of nuclear energy”, big
efforts were made to
promote
the
advantages of nuclear
technologies,
including
energy
production
and
medical
or
food
radiation applications.
In the 1970s the US in
particular
created
ambitious plans to
construct
more
nuclear power plants
throughout the country. The overall perception was: “Nuclear is okay.” Officials planned
to have 1.000 nuclear power plants operating by the 21st century. In reality there are
about 100 power plants in the US today that produce roughly 20 % of the country’s
overall energy supply.
A number of nuclear accidents changed the attitude towards nuclear technologies of all
kinds. The first accident took place in 1979 in Pennsylvania: The Three Mile Island
accident. Compared to later accidents this incident was rather minor, but still marks the
starting point of the so-called “nuclear safety culture”. An even stronger impact was
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
witnessed in the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986. The accident was followed by a process
of “nuclear consensus building” throughout the 1990s. The strategy developed was
called “defense in depth” and meant that no single human or technical failure in a
nuclear power plant should have severe consequences. This nuclear safety regime was
consolidated in 2000, and in 2005 the IAEA even won the Nobel Prize for its work.
Nuclear optimists believed in a renaissance of the technology by 2010. But the severe
consequences of the earthquake and following tsunami that affected the nuclear power
plant in Fukushima, Japan in 2011 put new facts on the table: accidents can also happen
without technical or human failures. Even “defense in depth” can fail. Grant Spence
assumed that, in the case of Fukushima, economic pressures led to an underestimation
of hazards.
As current hot issues of nuclear safety the speaker identified overconfidence of countries
despite incidents on a regular basis, a gap in knowledge due to a missing generation of
nuclear engineers, the fact that nuclear power is an industry and therefore underlies
economic pressures and an unsatisfying level of information of the civil society on this
issue.
Stella Peters
Visit to the UN Headquarters in Vienna
Speakers: Romana Kropilova
On Tuesday we visited the headquarters of the United Nations in Vienna. After a formal
security and passport check we were able to enter the exterritorial area also called UNOcity. Romana Kropilova gave us a guided tour that first lead us to the main square,
displaying the flags of all 193 United Nations Member States, as well as those of the two
observer states Palestine and Vatican. As one out of four headquarters, in Vienna they
mainly deal with technical issues and incorporate among others the Preparatory
Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Later
we would also have talks with officials from these agencies.
The decisions to establish and build the UN headquarters in Vienna in 1979 were
manifold. On the one side Austria was a neutral country and held a strategic position in a
Cold War world order. On the other side practical reasons such as the fact that the IAEA
was already in Vienna and that the Austrian government was willing to pay for the site
finalized the decision.
The design of the Austrian architect Johann Staber won the international competition
and the Vienna International Centre was built on 180 000 m2 and cost 8.8 billion
Austrian shilling. It was financed 35% by the city of Vienna and 65% by the state of
Austria. The UNO-city has many attributes of a real city: it has its own security system,
follows international bank holidays and even has its own postal office. People from more
than 120 different countries in the world work here every day.
The next thing we visited on our guided tour was a conference room which would hold
up to 1600 people. We saw the booths for the interpreters were speeches are interpreted
in all official languages of the UN, namely English, French, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and
Chinese. Here our guide Romana told us some anecdotes: One time Colonel Gaddafi held
a speech and brought his own interpreter. Since interpreting requires a high level of
concentration it is usually not done for more than 20-30 minutes at the time by one
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
person. Because Ghaddafi spoke for more than one hour, his personal interpreter
couldn’t make it any longer and collapsed!
Toward the end of our tour through the buildings we were able to see the Nobel Peace
Prize that the IAEA received in 2005 as well as gifts that the UN has received for their
work over the years. Noteworthy was a tapestry designed by Austrian artist
Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Marie Schwall
The Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory
Commission
Speaker: Prof. Martin Kalinowski
Prof. Martin Kalinowski is currently a staff member at CTBTO, working there in his
capacity as a nuclear physicist. Given that Prof. Kalinowski is on leave from his teaching
post at the University of Hamburg and heading the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker-Centre
for Science and Peace Research since 2012, he is familiar with the MPS program and
hence kindly tailored his presentation according to the interests to the group. He began,
and dedicated the larger part of his presentation, to giving information and answering
questions from the participants regarding employment opportunities at CTBTO. In
response to a participant’s question, he mentioned that it could be advantageous, but by
no means compulsory, for a candidate to belong to one of the diplomatic missions of one
of the member states of the CTBTO, in order to get employed. Prof. Kalinowski also
stressed the importance of networking and contacts for being selected for a job. Under
the advantages of being a member of the CTBTO’s staff, Kalinowski listed the
multicultural environment, the feeling of working for an organization with a goal that
serves a humanitarian purpose and the beauty of Vienna. As for the disadvantages, he
referenced the rotational system at CTBTO, which doesn’t allow for employment longer
than seven years. This could lead to problems of uncertainty and difficulty in finding
future employment. Nevertheless, he added that in the end it might not be such a bad
thing, given the importance of change for personal growth.
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
In the second part of his
presentation, Kalinowski gave a
short overview of CTBTO and
what it does. He began by giving a
short
historical
background
regarding nuclear tests, the first of
which is the ‘Trinity’ test,
conducted by the US on July 16,
1945 in Alamogordo, NM. He went
on to explain the principles of
fission and fusion of nuclear
matter and the basic science of
nuclear explosions. After that,
Kalinowski showed a time-lapse map, created by a Japanese artist, which showed every
nuclear explosion since 1945. The number of nuclear explosions since then has exceeded
2000, which come up to about once test every nine days in the last 50 days. This number
includes peaceful nuclear explosions, such as those conducted for mining purposes.
Kalinowski went on to explain the negative effects of the nuclear explosions on the level
of radioactivity in the atmosphere and consequently, on man, flora and fauna. The Partial
Test-Ban Treaty (PTBT) from 1963, banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere,
underwater and in space, but not underground, was intended to prepare for the CTBT. It
enjoyed some success with the number of tests conducted ‘above ground’ decreasing
immensely. The number of underground tests, however, increased. According to
Kalinowski, the PTBT served more of an environmental protection purpose rather than
an arms control purpose. Ultimately, the PTBT didn’t slow down testing nor did it serve
its environmental purpose, since the radioactivity was still able to make its way to the
atmosphere. In 1996, the CTBT was open for signature at the Conference on
Disarmament in Geneva and since then boasts 183 members.
Unfortunately the treaty has not yet entered into force, due to the failure of some Annex
2 states to sign or ratify it. Annex 2, is a list of 44 countries that operate nuclear reactors
and have the capabilities to produce fissile material. The list was produced and
submitted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The CTBTO Preparatory Commission currently operates an international monitoring
system, which, upon the treaty’s entry into force, can be used for verification. The system
monitors four indicators of nuclear explosions: seismic signals, atmospheric
radioactivity detectors, infrasound monitoring and hydro acoustic waves. The reason for
the existence of such an extensive monitoring regime although the treaty has not yet
entered to force is that it has to be functional after six months of the treaty’s entry to
force, which, due to its complexity, required longer preparations. Thus, it was set up
beforehand, so that once the treaty does enter into force, it would be ready.
Tomisha Tino
International Atomic Energy Agency
-The IAEA at Work Atoms for Peace
Speakers: Jeff Donovan
Mr. Jeff Donovan, Public Information and Press Officer at the IAEA, gave a very
interesting and informative presentation on the history, main missions and activities of
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
the International Atomic Energy Agency. First of all he introduced himself as a life-time
journalist and told us that he was quite new to the IAEA, working there only since the
beginning of the year 2015. After the introduction he talked about the history of the
creation of IAEA. Mr. Donovan spoke about the development of the field of nuclear
physics, which appeared with the discovery of radioactivity and then the discovery of
nuclear fission in 1938. He told us about the contributions of Marie Curie, Lise Meitner,
Otto Hahn, Niels Bohr and Leo Szilard into this field. The speaker proceeded by showing
the connection between the developments in the field of nuclear physics and the events
on the international arena right before the outbreak of the World War II. It started from
Einstein’s (Szilard’s) Letter to Roosevelt (the letter to the US President Roosevelt written
by Szilard but signed by Einstein), suggesting that the USA should start its own nuclear
program, because there were suspicions of Germany possibly developing nuclear bombs.
This created conditions for the race for the atomic bomb and eventually led to the birth
of the Nuclear Arms Race in 1949. Further developments in this field, taking place in the
context of the Cold War, resulting in fears of the consequences of the discovery of nuclear
energy, found its reflection in the creation of the IAEA in 1957. The famous speech
“Atoms for Peace” by the US President Eisenhower at the General Assembly of the United
Nations on 8 December 1953 was a genesis of the organization. The ideas expressed in
this speech helped to shape the IAEA Statute which was approved unanimously by 81
nations in October 1956. On 29 July 1957, the IAEA's Statute came into force. In October
1957, the first IAEA General Conference took place in Vienna. This city was chosen as the
location of the IAEA’s permanent headquarters.
After introducing the history of the Organization’s development, Mr. Donovan talked
about the three Pillars of the IAEA’s mission and activities, which are:
- Science and Technology
- Safety and Security
- Safeguards and Verification
He described in detail the main activities within each pillar, but put special emphasis on
the first two, as the least known by common audience. The speaker mentioned that
mostly the work of the IAEA is associated with the issues of verification and safeguards.
At the same time he stressed that the International safeguards regime was not well
developed at the beginning, and only the war in Iraq in 1991 served as a trigger to the
realization of the importance of the safeguards regime. Within the Science and
Technology pillar, there is an IAEA PACT (Programme on Action for cancer therapy)
which was developed in order to address comprehensively the urgent problem of the
uneven access to the radiotherapy. In agriculture the Organization is also working on the
plant mutation breeding, by this helping to feed the world, 3200 plant varieties have
been developed in 60 countries so far.
After the presentation the speaker engaged into the discussion with the students and
answered all the questions. One of the questions was with regard to financing the
expertise being sent to a destination by request of the member state. As a response to it
Mr. Donovan explained the financing scheme of the IAEA reflected in its Statute. He
ended his speech by expressing his best wishes to the students and offering them to
contact him any time whenever there were any questions with regard to the IAEA.
Anastasiya Bayok
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
Speakers: Ravindra Wickremasinghe, Advocacy and Communications Unit
The presentation of UNIDO held by Ravindra Wickremasinghe from the Advocacy and
Communications Unit gave first insights into their goals and work. The organization is
based on the assumption that industrialization is essential for development and aims to
provide richness for the people through industrial development. Founded in 1966 as a
result of an experiment by the name of “Centre for Industrial Development” by the
Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN, UNIDO acts as an autonomous
agency, dealing mainly with the industrialization of developing countries. Since 1985,
UNIDO is a specialized agency of the UN with its own constitution, member states, policy
making organs, executive head and budget. Its work is based on three pillars, namely
“Poverty Reduction through Productive Activities”, “Trade Capacity Building” and
“Energy and Environment”.
Under the first pillar, UNIDO promotes sustainable industrial development as well as the
creation of wealth and tackling of poverty through industry and manufacturing. The goal
is to have people create jobs for themselves, since, as Wickremasinghe put it: “If you
work for someone else, one day you will be fired.” The targets are mostly small and
medium enterprises. Furthermore, UNIDO supports the participation in international
trade and the need to safeguard the environment. UNIDO wants to be “green” by
listening, learning and contributing, by creating tailor made programs for each country.
On the ground, UNIDO does trainings and workshops with the people and certifies skills
so that these people are qualified in the eyes of an employer. According to
Wickremasinghe; “Trade Capacity Building” means that “countries should have the full
benefit of their raw material”. The motto here is: compete, conform, and connect. This
means, develop a competitive manufacturing capability, prove conformity with market
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
requirements and connect to the market by upgrading the supply capacities and
standards infrastructure. Create quality and keep it long-term. Pillar number three is
UNIDO’s engagement in energy production, environmental safety, sustainability, costeffectiveness and quality of production. Summed up, UNIDO aims to keep energyconsumption down and the amount of industrial waste as low as possible.
Katrin Obenauf
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Wednesday 6 May 2015
OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
Speaker: Ms. Reem Aljarbou, Information Officer
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is a development finance
institution that was founded in 1976 by the OPEC member states. The members of OFID
are Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. OPEC and OFID perceive themselves as sister
institutions. Their membership overlaps to a big extent, but both organizations work
independently in very different fields.
As an international organization OFID’s aim is to promote development cooperation
between the OPEC members and other developing countries. Working in the field of
South-South cooperation, OFID supports social and economic development projects
particularly in poor and low-income countries. Compared to other international
institutions and agencies OFID is a relatively small actor in the field of poverty reduction
and development cooperation with an annual budget of about 17 billion USD. However,
what makes the organization special is that its financial schemes are given out as untied
aid which means they come without political or economic conditions. As OFID’s work is
people-centered, it offers aid regardless of religion or politics in the receiving countries.
So far, OFID has supported projects in 134 partner countries all over the world. Its own
member states are exempted from taking financial help from OFID.
OFID’s financial mechanisms cover public sector lending, private sector loans, trade
finance facilities and grant assistance. Loans to governments and the public sector make
up the biggest share of activities. The overall budget consists primarily of funds made
available by the OPEC Member States and to a smaller extent of financial reserves that
OFID holds on its own. There is special focus on programmes that work in the field of
battling HIV/Aids, supporting the people of Palestine and alleviating energy poverty.
Furthermore, with the recent initiative “Energy for the Poor” OFID is trying to bring the
topic of energy poverty onto the development agenda of the global community.
During the discussion several questions were raised about good governance and
government accountability concerning development aid. Ms. Aljarbou explained risks
and strategies with regards to monitoring the use of financial aid in development
projects. Other questions that were discussed touched on human rights issues and
gender equality within the framework of sustainable development.
Before we left Ms. Aljarbou gave us a tour of the OFID building, which once served as the
headquarters of the German Order of Knights before it was seized by the Nazis and
turned into the SS-headquarters in Vienna.
Kathrin Rupprecht
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
The International Center for Migration Policy (ICMPD)
Speaker: Slavka Zborovianova, the Head of External Relations Unit
The talk at the headquarters of the
ICMPD was a very interesting,
leading to a motivated and
controversial discussion at the end
of session.
First we were introduced in the
history and mission of the ICMPD by
Mrs. Slavka Zborovianova, the Head
of External Relations Unit.
The International Centre for
Migration
Policy
Development
(ICMPD) was founded in 1993, upon
the initiative of Austria and Switzerland. The organization was created to serve as a
support mechanism for informal consultations, and to provide expertise and efficient
services in the newly emerging landscape of multilateral cooperation on migration and
asylum issues.
The ICMPD is an international organization with 15 Member States (Austria, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, The former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and
Switzerland), 146 staff members, a mission in Brussels and regional offices and
representatives throughout Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
ICMPD holds UN observer status. Mrs. Zborovianova explained that the ICMPD's
working philosophy is based upon the conviction that the complexities of migration
challenges can only be met by working in partnership with governments, research
institutes, international organizations, intergovernmental institutions and civil society.
Therefore the work of ICMPD is based on a three-pillar approach, that includes research,
migration dialogues, and capacity building.
Each research and capacity building activity generally focuses on one out of the six
thematic areas, which consist of: irregular migration and return, trafficking in human
beings, border management and visa, asylum, migration and development, legal
migration and integration.
Mariam Puvogel
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Thursday 7 May 2015
The German Perspective, OSCE
Speaker: Rüdiger Lüdeking, head of the Permanent Mission of Germany to the OSCE
On Wednesday, 7th May the first presentation of the day was held by the Head of the
Permanent Mission of Germany to the OSCE, Ambassador Rüdiger Lüdeking, who spoke
about the German perspective. In his opening remarks, Lüdeking pointed to the hybrid
nature of the OSCE that, since the 1990s, has lead to a lack of focus. While the OSCE
helped to overcome the military and political tensions of the Cold War era, the benefits
of the organizations expertise of arms control as well as confidence and trust-building
measures were not adequately garnered in the post-Cold War era.
Yet, in the light of the Ukraine crisis the OSCE was able to draw on a set of distinct
features, routines and tools that have helped managing the crisis. Amongst these are (1)
the inclusive nature of the OSCE that helped discussing tension between Russia, the
Ukraine, the EU and NATO at eye level and thus helped facilitate a diplomatic process, (2)
the availability of a tested and agreed toolbox for arms control measures that could be
put in place on short-notice, (3) the creation of the Special Monitoring Mission for
Ukraine as a means to oversee the implement of the Minsk agreement, (4) the creation of
a trilateral contact group of OSCE, Ukraine and Russia as a means to discuss measures in
four working groups (security, political / elections, economic, humanitarian), (5) a
dedicated and able OSCE chairmanship-in-office, especially the Swiss Chairmanship in
2014 as well the upcoming chairmanships of Germany in 2016 and Austria in 2017, (6)
the ability of the OSCE to foster an international dialogue and it thus able to adapt to a
changing environment.
Yet, despite the OSCE being the only inclusive, consensus-based international
organization, Russia’s annexation of Crimea will be problematic for the time for come
and may pose as a stumbling block for Germany’s chairmanship in 2016.
Tobias Taube
Transnational threats, OSCE
Speaker:Manuel Eising
Manuel Eising, Policy and Co-ordination Officer of the OSCE Transnational threats
department (TNTD), began by introducing his department and its activities.
The department was established at the beginning of 2012. It was created by an OSCE
Ministerial Council decision in 2011, which integrated different agencies.
While being a structure of its own, it is strongly interlinked with other OSCE
departments as well as the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Strategy and several
Directorate-Generals of the EU commission. Integrated border control project
management is for example done in cooperation with the EU’s Frontex agency.
The TNTD however is not the only department dealing with these issues – there is, for
example, a specific department on combatting organized crime.
Eising first of all presented a list of transnational threats the OSCE is dealing with. These
are: human trafficking, organized crime, terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters, drugs
and weapons trafficking together with their chemical precursors, corruption and moneylaundering, cyber/ICT threats, which include privacy issues, and ID theft and espionage.
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Eising then presented how the OSCE is dealing with transnational threats. This he
presented in form a hexagon – each side representing one of the TNTD’s activities. These
are: police reform, development and co-operation, border security and management,
combating organized crime, illicit drugs, counter-terrorism, new emerging issues like
cyber and ICT security, combating corruption and finally money laundering and
financing of terrorism.
At last, Eising presented the
structure of the TNTD, which is led
by a co-ordinator and a coordination cell and divided into the
Agency against Terrorism (ATU),
the Border Security Management
Unit (BSMU) and the Strategic
Police Matters Unit (SPMU).
According to Eising, the “added
value” of the OSCE in this domain
consists in being a unique forum, in
having a tested toolbox and having
a comprehensive and crossdimensional approach to security. For Eising, the TNTD has developed successfully after
a first set of confidence building measures and enhanced services for information
exchange.
After a question from the group Mister Eising then offered the audience some
information on job opportunities at the OSCE and presented his personal professional
experience. The group then thanked the speaker for his lecture.
Michel Buckley
Conflict Prevention Centre, OSCE
Speaker: Tarik Ndifi, Analyst/ Researcher, OSCE Secretariat-Conflict Prevention Centre
The third lecture at the OSCE was held by Tarik Ndifi, analyst/ researcher of the OSCE
Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC). As a short introduction Tarik Ndifi gave us information
about how it would be possible to work at the OSCE. After that Tarik Ndifi presented the
concept of early warning, early action, conflicts management, and post-conflict
rehabilitation, also named the “conflict cycle.”, and CPC’s activities.
The CPC is designated as an OSCE-wide focal point for early warning. By annual and
regional meetings the network of early warning focal points is built in OSCE executive
structures. Tarik Ndifi introduced “agreed formats” for conflict settlement such as the
Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement which the OSCE strived for. The CPC is also engaged in
conflict mediation and mediation-support as Tarik Ndifi showed us with a picture of
Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-inOffice in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group on the implementation of the peace
plan in the East of Ukraine.
At the end, Tarik Ndifi opened the floor to questions and comments. We learned more
about jobs at the OSCE, the speaker’s background, and the two current OSCE-missions in
Ukraine.
Chihiro Sugisawa
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Economic and Environmental Aspects of Security, OSCE
Speaker: Mr. Lorenzo Rilasciati
During his presentation Mr. Rilasciati discussed the economic and environmental
dimension of the OSCE, one of the three “baskets” aside from the political-military and
human dimension, all three of which constitute the comprehensive approach to security.
The presentation discussed the basis for OSCE’s involvement in development and
economic affairs, the most important being 1990 Bonn document and the 2003
Maastricht document. Further, we learned about the structure of EED and its most
important instruments. The office of Coordinator
of OSCE economic and environmental activities is
the main organ responsible for those challenges.
It does so by cooperation with field mission as
well as by organizing an annual Economic and
Environmental
Forum
and
Dimension
Implementation Meetings, meant to enhance
dialogue and cooperation and set the direction for
future work. The Coordinators office works with
a number other organizations; OECD, NATO,
UNDP, Council of Europe, UNODC, etc. The areas
cover by the office fall in both categories,
economic and environmental. The first one
focuses on the idea that Economic Prosperity
leads to stability. Hence OSCE implements projects such as combating corruption and
money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism, promoting good governance,
Supporting transport development or assisting migration management. The
environmental activities on the other hand deal with water resource management,
hazardous waste, climate change and cooperation with other organizations within the
Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) framework.
The students asked about examples of the field missions within this dimensions to which
a few examples were given. Kazakhstan has asked for OSCE assistance in developing
legislation on migration. The office together with missions in central Asia has worked on
ways to mobilize those migrants choosing Russia as their destination after. In
Montenegro students were involved in projects teaching them about environmental
issues.
A question was also raised about a possible overlap in work with other international
organizations based in Vienna to which the response was that because the OSCE is aware
of the overlaps and at the same time has a limited budget on its own, it is a good
motivation to search for partners in other institutions and establish a common,
comprehensive action.
Marcin Macenowicz
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Anti-trafficking Human Beings, OSCE
Speaker: Mr. Alfred Kueppers, Public Information Officer, Office of the Special
Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
Before joining OSCE, Mr. Alfred Kueppers maintained for ten years a career as a
journalist and concluded his Master degree at the Columbia University in the United
States. After a brief introduction about himself and the OSCE, Mr. Alfred Kueppers asked
about the background of M.P.S. Students, which is very diverse and differs from the
majority of the staff in the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating
Trafficking in Human Beings, which is mainly made by international lawyers and public
administrators.
In order to introduce the topic, Mr. Alfred Kueppers showed an emotional video about
the different forms of human trafficking: forced labour, forced begging, sexual
exploitation, and organs trafficking (mostly kidneys). According to art. 3 of the UN
Trafficking Protocol, human trafficking refers to “the recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other
forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a
position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve
the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of
exploitation”. Thus, human trafficking has first and foremost an economic goal.
According to International Labour Organization (ILO) this criminal business represents
about US 32$ million a year.
The Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in
Human Beings relies mainly on the research made by NGOs and participant states, with
special emphasis on the U.S, highlighted Mr. Kueppers. According to recent statistics by
the ILO, 20.9 million people are victims of forced labour and human trafficking
worldwide. In spite of the media focusing particularly on forced sexual exploitation,
these victims represent only 22% of the total (4.5 million), and the majority, 68%, are
victims of forced labour exploitation in sectors such as agriculture, construction,
domestic work or manufacturing (14.2 million). Out of the total, 5.5 million of victims
are children. However, only less than 1% (9.460) of those crimes are prosecuted.
Thereby, Mr. Alfred Kueppers recognized that there is still a long way to go in order to
eliminate that criminal practice. Even in Germany, he says, there is human trafficking,
mainly in the border region with Poland and Czech Republic. The differences of income
between countries seem to be an important cause for the practice. In Europe, the main
trend of trafficking occurs from East towards Western countries (mostly in the case of
sexual exploitation). In order to combat the human trafficking, the Office of the Special
Representative focus its work on supporting capacity building across the OSCE region;
promoting internal and external cooperation; advocating and rising political will;
promoting political dialogue and technical assistance; as well as promoting research. The
session was concluded by brief a question-and-answer round about the topic.
Glória Sousa
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
Friday 8 May 2015
The US perspective, OSCE
Speakers: Kathy Eagen, Monica Greco, and Jules Silberberg
On the last day of our trip we arrived at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) for a presentation on the US perspective and mission. The talk included
three members of the US delegation, Kathy Eagen, Monica Greco, and Jules Silberberg.
Mrs. Greco started the presentation by giving a brief introduction to the OSCE in order to
highlight the role of the United States. She explained the three dimensions or “baskets”
of the OSCE; the political-military dimension, the economic-environmental dimension,
and the human dimension, and pointed out the difficulty that can arise in trying to find
consensus among the 57 participating states, but the significance when consensus is
found.
According to the U.S. Mission to the OSCE brochure, the United States’ goals in the OSCE
include: to build democracy and rule of law, promote the implementation of OSCE
commitments, enhance political and military security, implement arms control
agreements, strengthen the Organization’s conflict prevention, increase the OSCE’s
capabilities to promote good governance, combat new regional security threats, and
encourage democratic development in Central Asia. Mrs. Greco also added that the US is
the largest contributor to the OSCE (Approx. 14% of total budget) and activity supports
the OSCE in dealing with such issues as the Ukraine crisis, foreign fighters, cyber
security, and kidnapping for ransom.
Mrs. Eagen then spoke, as Mrs. Greco had another meeting to attend, and explained that
although all of the OSCE dimensions are of equal importance, the US is particularly
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
interested in the human dimension and supporting human rights. She then answered a
couple questions concerning the human rights record of the US and the existence of
double standards, particularly in the case of Palestine. She stated that the US supports an
independent Palestine, but that the issue is extremely complicated and that the US does
not have as much power regarding the situation as is commonly assumed. Additionally,
she addressed the situations in Ferguson and Baltimore and said that such issues were
regularly brought up by the US delegation and discussed in the permanent council.
Mr. Silberberg then took over to give a brief overview on arms control. He explained the
three “robust” arms control agreements. The biggest is the Conventional Armed Forces
in Europe Treaty (CFE), which is over 20 years old, and covers issues of heavy weaponry
(tanks, aircraft, large artillery, etc.) as well as information exchanges (organization, troop
numbers, locations of military bases, etc.). The second treaty, he explained, is the Open
Sky Treaty, which allows for unmanned flights for observation and is meant to
compliment on the ground observation from the CFE. Lastly, he spoke briefly about the
Vienna Document, which includes confidence and security building measures, and which
he said is sometimes considered a “poor man’s” CFE. To conclude Mr. Silberberg
answered a couple questions concerning Russia. He explained that Russia has backed
away from the CFE and that their complaints are based on NATO enlargement. However,
he expressed hope for a return to full dialogue with Russia, but admitted that the
situation in the Ukraine severely complicates the issue.
John Elflein
A perspective on the Ukraine Conflict
Speaker: Dr. Claus Neukrich, Deputy Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre
Dr. Neukirch gave us an insight in the work of the Operation Centre of the Conflict
Prevention Department of the OSCE and how it established the Special Monitoring
Mission to Ukraine (SMM). The Operation Service plans and deploys new missions and
by that follows methods of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and
post-conflict rehabilitation, also named the “conflict cycle”. It uses a rapid deployment
roster, which is a mechanism that allows setting up a team of experts to deploy in the
field within 24 hours. Further, Dr. Neukirch
explained that different back-up supplies like cars
or special kits are permanently installed to keep
the logistic effort of providing fundamental devices
low.
21st of March 2014 the OSCE deployed for the first
time people with help of the rapid deployment
roaster within 24 hours when establishing the
SMM. This happened after the annexation of
Crimea. The SMM is an unarmed, civilian mission,
present on the ground 24/7 in all regions of
Ukraine. Its main tasks are to observe and report
in an impartial and objective way on the situation
in Ukraine; and to facilitate dialogue among all
parties to the crisis. Considering the military
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Seminar and Excursion to Vienna International Institutions, 4 – 8 May 2015
approach, they for example monitor the cease fire, record cease fire violations and
follow verification approaches of weapon systems. This is one of the reasons why
experts with military background are deployed, too. According to Dr. Neukirch one
prospect of conflict prevention by the OSCE is elaborating further capacities of the
Operation Centre though he emphasized that using violence cannot be necessarily
stopped. Mechanisms, operations and technical devices are tools, but no guarantee for
preventing a conflict since each conflict depends on the actions of the respective conflict
parties.
Ina Wolf
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