OSCE Annual Report 2000

38 The Head of the HLPG is appointed by the Chairman-in-Office, to whom he reports directly and from whom he receives directives. He is responsible for implementation of the HLPG’s mandate and for organization and management of the HLPG’s work and its staff. He liaises, as appropriate, with the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group, with the Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office on the Conflict Dealt with by the Minsk Conference, with field Representatives and with the contributing States.

The HLPG is composed of military staff seconded by OSCE participating States and non-military staff employed by the OSCE Secretariat. The initial strength of the HLPG was 35; the current strength is nine.

As a result of its planning activity, the HLPG has developed a concept for an OSCE multinational peacekeeping force, to be deployed in the area of conflict. This concept covers four options, of which three are a mixture of armed peacekeeping troops and unarmed military observers and the fourth is an unarmed military observer mission.

In the spirit of its mandate, the HLPG continued to maintain and expand contacts with international bodies and institutions in order to improve its current information; in addition, it continuously adapted the concept through fact-finding missions, which resulted in the updating of the four options.

At the beginning of the year, in accordance with its mandate, the HLPG was given new guidelines by the Chairman-in-Office that included, inter alia, the resumption of logistics reconnaissance in order to update knowledge of the possibilities throughout the area, liaison and visits to relevant Missions and organizations related to peacekeeping operations, participation in monitoring tasks on the line of contact (LOC) organized by the Personal Representative of the CiO, support for the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group, as required, a revision of option 4/98 (military observer mission) and updating of the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

To date, this year, option 4 has been revised and submitted to the Chairperson-in-Office for perusal and approval and the budget estimates of the three other options have been updated (costs and “quick start-up fund”).

In accordance with the recommendations of the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group, and in view of the delicate situation in the area of conflict (repercussions of the assassination in Yerevan in October 1999 and the slow resumption of direct meetings between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan), the HLPG could not carry out the proposed logistics reconnaissance.

On the other hand, participation in the monitoring tasks on the line of contact organized by the Personal Representative of the CiO continued, with the HLPG participating in nine monitorings since last November. These visits allow the HLPG to familiarize itself with local conditions and to make the acquaintance of local and national representatives, both military and civilian.

The revised standard operating procedures have been drafted and sent to the CiO and to the Secretary General for comment. The staff is currently working on producing a draft handbook on the area of conflict, memoranda of understanding and a status of force agreement for use in the event of a Mission. Furthermore, the HLPG is carrying out specific tasks as requested by the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group.

Since last October, the HLPG has briefed high-ranking visitors on the current planning process, including the OSCE Secretary General, the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group, the Permanent Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office and military advisers from OSCE Annual Report 2000 on OSCE Activities