Charter of Paris
The Charter of Paris (officially the Charter of Paris for a New Europe ) is a fundamental international agreement on the creation of a new peaceful order in Europe after the reunification of Germany and the end of the East-West confrontation. It was signed on November 21, 1990 in Paris as the final document of the CSCE Special Summit Conference by 32 European countries as well as the USA and Canada . The heads of state and government of the participating states declared the division of Europe to be over, committed themselves to democracy as the only form of government and assured their peoples that human rights and fundamental freedoms would be guaranteed . The Paris Charter documented the end of the Cold War and the division of Europe . Due to the Crimean crisis and the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine , some politicians and publicists see the result as being called into question.
Participating states
Belgium , Bulgaria , Denmark , Germany , European Community , Finland , France , Greece , Holy See , Ireland , Iceland , Italy , Yugoslavia , Canada , Liechtenstein , Luxembourg , Malta , Monaco , Netherlands , Norway , Austria , Poland , Portugal , Romania , San Marino , Sweden , Switzerland , Spain , Czech and Slovak Federal Republic , Turkey , Hungary , Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , United Kingdom , United States of America , Cyprus .
history
The Helsinki Final Act in 1975 was an attempt by the members of the two military alliances and the neutral states in Europe to agree on rules for the settlement of the East-West conflict by non-military means.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) played a central role in the reorganization of pan-European security, which corresponded to a need of the new democracies in East Central Europe , but also of Germany and the then still existing Soviet Union.
With the Paris Charter of November 1990, the East-West conflict was overcome on the normative level. The CSCE has thus also lost its previous function. The dispute over human rights and democracy ended with the victory of Western liberal ideas (including the protection of minorities ) based on a capitalist market economy .
When the Heads of State and Government of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) adopted the Charter for a New Europe in Paris, they were full of hope for the end of the Cold War and the future of a democratic , solidary and peaceful Europe. Despite the victory of Western ideas, which manifested itself in the program of the Charter of Paris as a triad of democracy, market economy and cooperation in international organizations , the war ( Yugoslav Wars ) - in violation of the Charter of Paris - moved back onto the agenda of European politics .
Preamble to the Charter
“We, the Heads of State and Government of the States participating in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, met in Paris at a time of profound change and historic expectations. The age of confrontation and division of Europe has come to an end. We declare that our future relationships will be based on respect and cooperation. Europe frees itself from the legacy of the past. Through the courage of men and women, the strength of will of the peoples and the power of the ideas of the Helsinki Final Act, a new era of democracy, peace and unity is dawning in Europe. "
Content of the charter
The charter is divided into the chapters human rights , democracy and rule of law , economic freedom and responsibility , friendly relations between the participating states , security and unity :
It contains the obligation of participating States to uphold democracy as the basis of freedom, justice and peace, while respecting the rule of law and freedom of expression . The protection and promotion of inalienable human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by law for all people from birth are the duty of every government. Respect for them is an essential protection against state superiority. Democratic government is based on the will of the people, which is expressed in regular, free and fair elections . The states undertake to protect their national minorities, to strengthen cooperation between peoples, to settle disputes peacefully and to continue the disarmament process . The Charter obliges the signatory states, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Helsinki Final Act, to refrain from any threat or use of force or any other act incompatible with the principles or objectives of these documents directed against the territorial integrity or political independence of a state .
The basic principles are the guiding principles of human dimension , security , economic cooperation , environment , culture , migrant workers , the Mediterranean and non-governmental organizations held:
Political pluralism is to be promoted as well as the market economy, ensuring constant economic growth , prosperity , social justice and the rational use of economic resources. The environmental protection should be a shared responsibility of all nations that signed the Charter of Paris.
The Charter also includes the decision to create new structures and institutions for the CSCE process: a Council of Foreign Ministers , a Secretariat in Prague, a Conflict Prevention Center in Vienna and an Office for Free Elections in Warsaw .
In the Unity chapter it says with regard to the two-plus-four contract :
“We take note of the agreement signed in Moscow on September 12, 1990 on the final settlement with regard to Germany and we sincerely welcome the fact that the German people will act in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and united in full agreement with its neighbors in one state. The establishment of the national unity of Germany is an important contribution to a lasting and just peace order for a united democratic Europe that is aware of its responsibility for stability, peace and cooperation. "
literature
- Paris Charter for a New Europe , in: Bulletin, Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, No. 137, November 24, 1990, pp. 1409–1415.
- Curt Gasteyger : Europe from Division to Unification: Presentation and Documentation 1945–1997 . Federal Agency for Civic Education , Bonn 1997, ISBN 3-89331-296-X .
- Joint declaration by 22 states , in: Bulletin, Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, No. 137, Bonn, November 24, 1990.
- Wolfgang Kubiczek: The Paris Meeting of the CSCE - Beginning of a New Era? In: Michael Staack (Hrsg.): Departure to all of Europe. The CSCE after the turnaround in the east , Lit Verlag, Münster / Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-89473-309-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ What would Willy Brandt do? , Die Zeit , November 28, 2014.
- ↑ John J. Mearsheimer: Putin Reacts , International Politics and Society, September 1, 2014.