Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
| Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe | |
|---|---|
| Participating states | |
|
|
| management | |
| Secretary General |  Thomas Greminger
|
| Chairman |  Edi Rama
|
| OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media |  Harlem Désir
|
| founding | |
| Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) | July 1973 |
| Helsinki Final Act | August 1, 1975 |
| Charter of Paris | November 21, 1990 |
| renamed the OSCE | January 1, 1995 |
| Others | |
| Seat |  Vienna 1 , Wallnerstraße 6 (Palais Pálffy) Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 36.2 ″ N , 16 ° 21 ′ 53.2 ″ E
|
| Website | www.osce.org |
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ; English Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe , OSCE ) is a verstetigte Conference peacekeeping. On January 1, 1995, it emerged from the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which was founded on August 1, 1975 with the Helsinki Final Act . The OSCE consists of the following 57 participating States:
- all countries of Europe (and Cyprus ),
- of Mongolia ,
- the successor states of the Soviet Union
- as well as the USA and Canada .
- OSCE headquarters in Vienna
The seat of the General Secretariat and the most important bodies is Vienna with the Hofburg and, since 2007, also the Palais Pálffy on Wallnerstraße (headquarters).
aims
The goals of the OSCE are securing peace and post-conflict reconstruction. She sees herself as a stabilizing factor in Europe. As a regional agreement according to Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations , the OSCE is to serve as the first international point of contact in conflicts within its sphere of activity in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity . It is seen as a system of collective security and is therefore in competition with NATO , which is, however, much more militarily oriented. It also works with international organizations on the "OSCE first" principle . Due to the unsuccessful 2010 Summit, the question of future goals for the OSCE remained open.
The activities of the OSCE are divided into three thematic areas (“dimensions”), which go back to the three baskets of the Helsinki Final Act. These are (a) the political-military dimension, (b) the economic and environmental dimension and (c) the humanitarian (human rights) dimension.
Committees and organs
- Acting Chair (forms the Troika together with the previous and next Chair ), supported by the Secretary General
- Summit of heads of state and government (decision-making; meeting irregularly, most recently in 2010)
- Council of Ministers (annual meeting)
- Permanent council (Vienna, at least one weekly meeting) and committees of the three dimensions.
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Forum for security cooperation (can take decisions in the military-political area, meetings weekly)
- OSCE missions and field operations
- Office on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
- High Commissioner on National Minorities
- Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFOM)
General Secretaries
The Secretaries General of the OSCE:
- 1993–1996 Wilhelm Höynck (Germany)
- 1996–1999 Giancarlo Aragona (Italy)
- 1999–2005 Ján Kubiš (Slovakia)
- 2005–2011 Marc Perrin de Brichambaut (France)
- 2011–2017 Lamberto Zannier (Italy)
- 2017–2020 Thomas Greminger (Switzerland)
- from 2021 Helga Schmid (Germany)
The OSCE Secretary General has the following tasks:
- Politically
- Acts as the Deputy Chairperson and supports him in all activities aimed at achieving the goals of the OSCE
- Attends the meetings of the OSCE Troika (previous, current and next Chair)
- Supports the process of political dialogue and negotiations between participating States
- Maintains close contacts with all OSCE delegations
- Establishes, in consultation with the Chair, an early warning system for the Permanent Council in the event of looming tensions or conflicts in the area of the OSCE and, after consulting the Member States concerned, proposes timely and effective measures to resolve them
- Can submit any topic related to his or her mandate to the decision-making bodies, in consultation with the chairman
- Takes an active part in the debates of the Permanent Council and Forum for Security Co-operation
- Administrative
- Is the Administrative Director of the OSCE and Head of the OSCE Secretariat
- Ensures the implementation of the decisions of the OSCE
- Submit the program of activities and the overall budget to the Permanent Council
- Oversees the OSCE's activities in the field and coordinates its operational work
- Ensures the program coordination between the secretariat, the institutions and the activities in the field as well as within these activities
- Forms the interface for coordination and advice between the OSCE institutions and regularly holds coordination meetings with their heads in order to achieve synergies and avoid duplication
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR, the English abbreviation ODIHR ) in Warsaw is the “Main Institution of the Human Dimension” (Basket III) of the OSCE. Originally the Free Elections Office (an international election observation institution) was the human dimension component of the institutional package to be negotiated at the Paris Summit of the CSCE in 1990.
His first task was to monitor the elections in the former Eastern Bloc countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as in the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. The Helsinki Document of 1992 further strengthened the ODIHR, and Norway included the concept of democratization and human rights in the title of the institution.
As a result, the ODIHR organizes an implementation meeting every two years in Warsaw, which monitors compliance with the OSCE obligations under Basket III and in which, in addition to the OSCE participating States, other intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations take part. In addition, it organizes seminars, supports the missions of the OSCE and the development of democratic structures through a variety of other measures, gathers information and makes it available, and publishes instructions. Election observation also makes up a large part of the activities.
- Directors
- 1991–1994: Luchino Cortese (Italy)
- 1994–1997: Audrey Glover (UK)
- 1997–2002: Gerard Stoudmann (Switzerland)
- 2003–2008: Christian Strohal (Austria)
- 2008-2014: Janez Lenarčič (Slovenia)
- 2014–2017: Michael Georg Link (Germany)
- 2017–2020: Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir (Iceland)
Economic and environmental dimension
The economic and environmental dimension goes back to the Helsinki "second basket" (cooperation in the fields of technology, science, economy and the environment). In the economic and environmental dimension, the organization takes care of the fight against corruption, money laundering, the financing of terrorism, organized crime and Internet crime, among other things. The OSCE also promotes cooperation in the field of the environment, water management, migration issues and energy.
High Commissioner on National Minorities
The post of High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) was created at the Helsinki Summit in 1992. The HCNM's office is in The Hague and employs around 10 people.
This office of silent diplomacy has been shaped since 1992 by the Dutchman Max van der Stoel, who was replaced in 2001 by the Swede Rolf Ekéus . From 2007 to 2013, the former Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek held the office of HCNM . Astrid Thors, a former member of the European Parliament and Finnish Minister for Migration and European Affairs, began her term of office as HCNM on August 20, 2013. The Italian diplomat Lamberto Zannier has been in office since July 19, 2017 .
The Office is intended to identify and resolve tensions that could endanger peace, stability or good relations between the OSCE participating States and that develop out of ethnic tensions. His mandate allows the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) to intervene at an early stage, that is, preventive diplomacy.
The HCNM's mandate is innovative in comparison to the previous instruments for combating conflict, as it leaves the intergovernmental level and thus enables a direct approach in the affected state. The HCNM is used to provide early warning of minority tensions and may be empowered by the High Council to take early action as part of his engagement.
Commissioner for Freedom of the Media
Finally, with Decision 193 at the meeting of the Permanent Council on November 5, 1997, the office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFOM), based in Vienna, was established as the youngest of these three independent institutions.
The establishment of the institution of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media goes back to a German initiative. It is based on the recognition of the particular importance of OSCE commitments with regard to freedom of expression and the role of free and pluralistic media. The mandate for the creation of the new institution came from the OSCE Summit, which took place in Lisbon in 1996. The mandate was approved by the Council of Ministers in Copenhagen (December 1997), through which the appointment of MP a. D. Freimut Duve as the first OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. His successor was the Hungarian Miklós Haraszti from March 2004 to March 2010 (also for the permissible duration of two terms of office) . In June 2017, Harlem Désir from France was appointed OSCE Media Representative.
The media representative has an early warning function comparable to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. He takes action in the event of restrictions on freedom of the media, which are usually signs of a political development that is prone to conflict. If serious violations of OSCE principles are suspected, the Media Representative has the opportunity to establish direct contact with the participating State and other parties and to assess the issue, as well as to assist the participating State and to help solve the problem.
OSCE Commissioner for Anti-Semitism
The office of anti-Semitism representative of the OSCE, the Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance ( English Special Representative of the Parliamentary Assembly against anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance ), takes since 2015, the US Senator Benjamin Cardin true. In his role, he raises awareness of the ongoing problem of prejudice and discrimination in the OSCE region, with a focus on anti-Semitism, anti-Muslimism, migrants, and refugee bias and discrimination in the judicial system. Its responsibilities include advising the OSCE PC on the implementation of its agreed strategies and developing new strategies to strengthen and protect vulnerable communities. It endeavors to reduce prejudice and discrimination in the 57 OSCE participating States.
Other bodies and institutions
The OSCC, which is responsible for the implementation of the Treaty on Open Skies, is not directly part of the OSCE, but is linked to the organization in Vienna .
story
precursor
The OSCE was preceded by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which came about on an initiative of the Warsaw Pact. From the 1950s onwards, the Soviet Union had called for such a conference, but the Western powers, especially West Germany, had refused. Bonn feared that such talks could lead to international acceptance of the division of Germany. It was not until the new Ostpolitik of the social-liberal coalition under Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt (SPD) in the early 1970s that the idea of a CSCE in the West was on the agenda. Under Brandt's motto “Change through rapprochement”, the icy mood of the Cold War was relaxed and the CSCE made possible. The first of these multinational conferences took place in Helsinki from 1973 to 1975 . All European countries (with the exception of Albania ), the Soviet Union as well as the USA and Canada took part in the cross-bloc conference .
The conference was characterized by an exchange deal: for the Eastern Bloc it brought recognition of the limits of the post-war order and a stronger economic exchange with the West. In return, the East made concessions on human rights. In the years that followed, civil rights movements arose in several socialist countries that invoked the Helsinki Final Act and contributed to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, so that the CSCE made a decisive contribution to the end of the East-West conflict.
The conference, originally planned as a one-off event, was continued with the CSCE follow-up conferences in Belgrade (1977–1978), Madrid (1980–1983), Vienna (1986–1989) and again Helsinki (1992).
At the CSCE summit meeting in Budapest on December 5 and 6, 1994, it was decided to institutionalize the CSCE and rename it as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with effect from January 1, 1995 .
Summit meeting
The following summits took place in the 1990s
- December 2-3, 1996 in Lisbon
- November 18-19, 1999 in Istanbul
After an eleven-year break, the next OSCE summit took place from December 1-2 , 2010 in Astana . The conference was chaired by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev . Differences in opinion between western and eastern member states regarding the future content and strategic direction of the OSCE led to another fruitless conclusion of the conference. The planned adoption of an action plan to resolve international conflicts and reform the OSCE failed.
Meeting of the OSCE Council of Ministers
At the end of the meeting on December 5, 2014 in Basel , there were declarations, but no final declaration. Chairman Didier Burkhalter stated that the security situation in Europe deteriorated in 2014 due to the Ukraine crisis .
On the 3rd / 4th December 2015 the OSCE Ministerial Council met in Belgrade (Serbia). The OSCE Ministerial Council met in Hamburg from December 8, 2016 to December 9, 2016 . The meeting took place on the grounds of Hamburg Messe . The foreign ministers of the participating states also met on December 8 in the large ballroom of Hamburg's town hall for a joint working lunch. The meeting took place in Hamburg because Germany took over the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on January 1, 2016, for the second time since 1991.
Chair and meeting
The chair changes annually. A foreign minister acts as chairman.
Participating states
| Country | Cooperated since |
|---|---|
 Afghanistan
|
2003 |
 Egypt
|
1975 |
 Algeria
|
1975 |
 Australia
|
2009 |
 Israel
|
1975 |
 Japan
|
1992 |
 Jordan
|
1998 |
 Morocco
|
1975 |
 South Korea
|
1994 |
 Thailand
|
2000 |
 Tunisia
|
1975 |
| Country | accession | Helsinki Final Act signed | Paris Charter signed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Albania
|
June 19, 1991 | September 16, 1991 | 17th September 1991 |
 Andorra
|
April 25, 1996 | November 10, 1999 | February 17, 1998 |
 Armenia
|
January 30, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | April 17, 1992 |
 Azerbaijan
|
January 30, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | December 20, 1993 |
 Belgium
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
April 30, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | |
 Bulgaria
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Denmark
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Germany
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Estonia
|
September 10, 1991 | October 14, 1992 | December 6, 1991 |
 Finland
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
|
France
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Georgia
|
March 24, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | January 21, 1994 |
 Greece
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Holy See
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Ireland
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Iceland
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Italy
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Canada
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Kazakhstan
|
January 30, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | September 23, 1992 |
 Kyrgyzstan
|
January 30, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | June 3, 1994 |
 Croatia
|
March 24, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | |
 Latvia
|
September 10, 1991 | October 14, 1991 | December 6, 1991 |
 Liechtenstein
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Lithuania
|
September 10, 1991 | October 14, 1991 | December 6, 1991 |
 Luxembourg
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Malta
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Moldova
|
January 30, 1992 | February 26, 1992 | January 29, 1993 |
 Monaco
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Mongolia
|
November 21, 2012 | ||
 Montenegro
|
June 22, 2006 | September 1, 2006 | |
 Netherlands
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 North Macedonia
|
October 12, 1995 | ||
 Norway
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
|
Austria
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Poland
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Portugal
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Romania
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Russia from January 30, 1992 as the legal successor to the Soviet Union.svg){kind=small}
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 San Marino
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Sweden
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
|
Switzerland
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Serbia since June 3, 2006 as legal successor to Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro (February 4, 2003 to June 3, 2006) |
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Slovakia
|
January 1, 1993 | ||
 Slovenia
|
March 24, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | March 8, 1993 |
 Spain
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Tajikistan
|
January 30, 1992 | February 26, 1992 | |
 Czech Republic
|
January 1, 1993 | ||
 Turkey
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Turkmenistan
|
January 30, 1992 | July 8, 1992 | |
 Ukraine
|
January 30, 1992 | February 26, 1992 | June 16, 1992 |
 Hungary
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Uzbekistan
|
January 30, 1992 | February 26, 1992 | October 27, 1993 |
 United Kingdom |
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 United States
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
 Belarus
|
January 30, 1992 | February 26, 1992 | April 8, 1993 |
 Cyprus
|
June 25, 1973 | August 1, 1975 | November 21, 1990 |
Legal status
Despite its name, it is questionable whether the OSCE has the character of an international organization, since Article 22 of the Budapest Declaration explicitly does not provide for filing with the General Secretariat of the United Nations (in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations). The Secretary-General of the United Nations has therefore repeatedly urged the legal nature of the OSCE to be clarified. An international commission of experts has classified the OSCE as an international organization based on its activities; However, the prevailing doctrine and the vast majority of state practice do not treat the OSCE as an international organization.
literature
- Kurt P. Tudyka: The OSCE - Concerned for Europe's Security. Cooperation instead of confrontation. Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-939519-03-4 .
- Kurt P. Tudyka: The OSCE Handbook. 2nd edition, Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2002, 251 pages, ISBN 978-3-322-92221-2
honors and awards
- 2015 Kaiser Otto Prize
- 2015 Ewald von Kleist Prize
- 2015: Integration award from the Apfelbaum Foundation
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Participating States. In: osce.org. Retrieved August 4, 2016 .
- ↑ Entry on the OSCE. In: rulers.org. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ↑ a b Alexander Sarovic, DER SPIEGEL: Leadership Vacuum in Vienna: The Chaos at the OSCE - DER SPIEGEL - Politics. Retrieved November 5, 2020 .
- ↑ 02 12 2020 at 08:11 by Stephanie Liechtenstein: Helga Schmid will be the new OSCE Secretary General. December 2, 2020, accessed December 2, 2020 .
- ↑ Thomas Grüninger. In: OSCE website.
- ↑ Hans-Jörg Schmedes: Voting in the view of Europe. The OSCE's observation of the 2009 Bundestag elections . In: Journal for Parliamentary Issues, 1/2010, pp. 77–91.
- ↑ a b Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir: Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Accessed July 19, 2019 .
- ↑ Internship: High Commissioner for National Minorities OSCE - Humanrights.ch. Retrieved December 3, 2020 .
- ↑ Monitoring crucial for press freedom, says OSCE media freedom representative in final report. In: osce.org. Retrieved August 4, 2016 .
- ^ Benjamin Cardin, USA , OSCE PA. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ↑ Cardin reappointed OSCE . Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education: 35 Years Helsinki Final Act (accessed April 27, 2014)
- ↑ OSCE page on the Budapest Summit (English) with links to the documents, accessed on April 28, 2018
- ^ OSCE page on the Summit , accessed on April 28, 2018
- ↑ OSCE page on the Lisbon Summit (English) with links to the document, accessed on April 28, 2018
- ↑ OSCE page on the Istanbul Summit (English) with links to the documents, accessed on April 28, 2018
- ↑ OSCE page on the Astana Summit with links to the documents, accessed on April 28, 2018
- ↑ Christian Neef: Failed OSCE Summit: Heads of State embarrass themselves on the mammoth show. on: Spiegel online. December 3, 2010.
- ↑ Russia plays deaf , NZZ, December 5, 2014; "The point of view advocated by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov was refined in that it adopted the vocabulary of the OSCE principles, but gave them a completely different meaning."
- ↑ Taking responsibility is good for Switzerland , Der Landbote, December 17, 2014; "From an international perspective, the conclusion is not positive: the security situation in Europe is worse than it was a year ago."
- ^ German OSCE Chairmanship 2016. In: diplo.de. Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE, archived from the original on August 4, 2016 ; accessed on August 4, 2016 .
- ^ Partners for Co-operation. In: osce.org. Retrieved August 4, 2016 .
- ↑ See Herdegen: Völkerrecht. 6th edition. § 45; Ipsen: international law. 5th edition. Section 34, marginal number 16.