“A UN mission could become an alternative to the OSCE”

The activities of the OSCE special monitoring mission in Donbas have raised a lot of questions and remarks ever before, the biggest one being: Why the developments in the ATO zone are monitored by observers from Russia, the country which is a party to this conflict and its instigator? The other day, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe declared that its observers had met representatives of Ukraine and Russia at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination to inform them on “heavy artillery and tanks which they saw near Karlivka” (a village controlled by the Ukrainian forces). In other words, Russia’s military effectively learned about the location of the ATO forces. The OSCE communique goes on to say that the monitoring mission “will continue working together with the Joint Center for Control and Coordination.” However, is it wise to continue such “cooperation”?

Information Resistance, a group coordinated by Dmytro Tymchuk, has cooperated with the OSCE since last March. However, the other day Tymchuk announced that they will not continue expert consultations with this organization. Moreover, “…given the recent events [the OSCE report on casualties near School No. 63 in Donetsk in the result of a shelling, as well as earlier facts of collaboration of the OSCE reps with terrorists, and its work in favor of the RF] we, i.e. Information Resistance, must refuse to have further contacts with the representatives of your organization,” wrote Tymchuk on his Facebook page. He continued, “Regrettably, as long as the OSCE is extensively represented by the citizens of Russia, this organization serves as a shield for the Russian Federation’s aggressive plans against Ukraine. Given this, we consider it impossible to continue further cooperation with this organization.”

The Day has written multiple times about the biased approach of the OSCE in Donbas caused by the presence of Russian nationals in the monitoring mission. However, the latest developments show that the problem has remained unsolved. Is there an alternative to the OSCE mission in Donbas? And is it possible to eliminate the representatives of Russia from the monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine? The Day interviewed Professor Volodymyr VASYLENKO, an international lawyer.

“As soon as the news of Russian representatives involved in the OSCE monitoring mission reached the public, it became clear that the mission is doomed and that it will pursue anti-Ukrainian interests. A representative of the state which is party to a conflict cannot be a judge in his own case. Ukrainians also should not take part in such missions, and they do not. Then why on earth Russians are observing? This approach is absolutely wrong.

“It is impossible to exclude Russians from the OSCE monitoring mission, and they will never agree to it. On the contrary, they will attack citing the rules of the Organization which adopts all its decisions by consensus.

“The best solution for this issue would be the so-called Geneva format [Ukraine-EU-US-Russia. – Ed.]. By the way, the EU may also create monitoring missions, just as the UN. And despite the fact that Russia has the right of veto in the UN Security Council, I would propose the Security Council to send a UN peace mission to east of Ukraine. This organization has a lot of experience with such missions, the UN’s one might prove successful if it was deployed along the entire length of the border.

“Russia will certainly refuse, but it would become yet another proof of its aversion to the peaceful settling of the situation. It will not give up its aggressive policy.

“A UN mission might become an alternative to the OSCE. On the other hand, it would be a test of Russia’s goodwill. It would totally conform to the commonly accepted principles and methods of settling conflicts. If bilateral negotiations yield no result, a third, neutral party is invited. Now we see that this is just the case.”