Ilkka Kanerva (Finland)
In September 2016, President Christine Muttonen appointed Ilkka Kanerva of the OSCE PA's Finnish Delegation as Special Representative on Mediation. The appointment followed the adoption of a resolution at the 2016 Annual Session in Tbilisi, which underlined the “importance of mediation and dialogue facilitation in the peaceful settlement of disputes” and welcomed “the strengthening of the role of the OSCE PA in that regard.”
Kanerva, whose two terms as Assembly President came to a close at the Annual Session in Tbilisi, previously served as Finnish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. In Finland, he has also served as Minister of Transport, Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and Chair of the Parliamentary Defence Committee.
Within the PA, he has served as Head of the Finnish Delegation, Vice-President of the Assembly, and as Co-Chair of the OSCE PA’s Helsinki +40 Project.
His mandate as Special Representative on Mediation is as follows.
Mandate:
- To act as the primary point of contact within the PA on mediation and the conflict cycle;
- To coordinate the PA's efforts and activities aimed at strengthening the PA's preparedness for mediation and dialogue facilitation;
- To present concrete initiatives and activities as a follow-up to the OSCE PA Resolution on the Development of Mediation Capacity in the OSCE area adopted in Baku in 2014;
- To follow developments in the international security situation, with a special emphasis on protracted and emerging conflicts;
- To liaise with the OSCE, its independent Institutions and field operations on all issues pertinent to the conflict cycle;
- To promote gender mainstreaming and gender-based analysis in mediation processes;
- To increase the contribution of parliamentarians to mediation activities conducted by the OSCE with a special emphasis on strengthening the ties between the PA and the governmental side of the organization;
- To liaise with other international organizations dealing with mediation issues, promoting the role of parliamentary diplomacy in conflict prevention and resolution;
- To report to the President on all activities in a timely manner and to present a report to the Assembly and its Standing Committee as needed.
Related documents:
- Report by Ilkka Kanerva, OSCE PA Special Representative on Mediation, to the Autumn Meeting, Andorra, 4 October 2017
- Report by Ilkka Kanerva, OSCE PA Special Representative on Mediation, to the Annual Session, Minsk, 5 July 2017
- Report by Ilkka Kanerva, OSCE PA Special Representative on Mediation, to the Winter Meeting, Vienna, 23 February 2017
- Ilkka Kanerva speech to the OSCE Group of Friends of Mediation meeting in Vienna on 16 Nov 2016