(1)

On 20 February 2006, the Council adopted Joint Action 2006/121/CFSP (1) appointing Mr Peter SEMNEBY European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus. The mandate of Mr Peter SEMNEBY expired on 28 February 2011.

(2)

On 25 September 2008, the Council adopted Joint Action 2008/760/CFSP (2) appointing Mr Pierre MOREL European Union Special Representative for the crisis in Georgia. The mandate of Mr Pierre MOREL expires on 31 August 2011.

(3)

A European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia should be appointed for the period from 1 September 2011 to 30 June 2012.

(4)

The mandate of the EUSR will be implemented in the context of a situation which may deteriorate and could impede the achievement of the objectives of the Union’s external action as set out in Article 21 of the Treaty,

(a)

in accordance with the existing mechanisms, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Minsk Group, to prevent conflicts in the region, to contribute to a peaceful settlement of conflicts in the region, including the crisis in Georgia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, by promoting the return of refugees and internally displaced persons and through other appropriate means, and to support the implementation of such a settlement in accordance with the principles of international law;

(b)

to engage constructively with main interested actors concerning the region;

(c)

to encourage and to support further cooperation between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and, as appropriate, their neighbouring countries;

(d)

to enhance the Union’s effectiveness and visibility in the region.

(a)

to develop contacts with governments, parliaments, other key political actors, the judiciary and civil society in the region;

(b)

to encourage the countries in the region to cooperate on regional themes of common interest, such as common security threats, the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking and organised crime;

(c)

to contribute to the peaceful settlement of conflicts in accordance with the principles of international law and to facilitate the implementation of such settlement in close coordination with the United Nations, the OSCE and its Minsk Group;

(d)

with respect to the crisis in Georgia:

(e)

to facilitate the development and implementation of confidence-building measures;

(f)

to assist in the preparation, as appropriate, of Union contributions to the implementation of a possible conflict settlement;

(g)

to intensify the Union’s dialogue with the main actors concerned regarding the region;

(h)

to assist the Union in further developing a comprehensive policy towards the South Caucasus;

(i)

in the framework of the activities set out in this Article, to contribute to the implementation of the EU human rights policy and EU Guidelines on Human Rights, in particular with regard to children and women in areas affected by conflicts, especially by monitoring and addressing developments in this regard.

(a)

establishing a mission-specific security plan, providing for mission-specific physical, organisational and procedural security measures governing the management of the secure movement of personnel to, and within, the mission area and the management of security incidents, and providing for a contingency plan and a mission evacuation plan;

(b)

ensuring that all personnel deployed outside the Union are covered by high risk insurance, as required by the conditions in the mission area;

(c)

ensuring that all members of the EUSR's team to be deployed outside the Union, including locally contracted personnel, have received appropriate security training before or upon arriving in the mission area, based on the risk ratings assigned to the mission area;

(d)

ensuring that all agreed recommendations made following regular security assessments are implemented, and providing the Council, the HR and the Commission with written reports on their implementation and on other security issues within the framework of the mid-term report and the report on the implementation of the mandate.