Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

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The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is an international organization for security. In its region, it is concerned with early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has 55 participating states from Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and North America.

1 Institutions
2 History
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

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Institutions

Image:OSCEmap 2005.png The decision making bodies of the organization are the Summit, Ministerial Council and Senior Council, with the Permanent Council the regular decision-making body, under the leadership of the Chairman-in-Office, who holds the position for one year. The 2006 chairman is the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht.

The OSCE's Secretariat (headquarters) is located in Vienna, Austria. The current Secretary General is Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France. The Organization also has offices in Copenhagen, Geneva, The Hague, Prague and Warsaw. Image:OSCE-Permanent Council.JPG The OSCE employs close to 440 persons in its various Institutions. In the field, the Organization has about 750 international and 2,370 local staff.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe issues resolutions, including a controversial measure in 2005 endorsing full representation of District of Columbia residents in the United States Congress [1].

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, is the oldest OSCE institution, established in 1990. It is based in Warsaw, Poland, and is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and rule of law. OSCE/ODIHR has observed over 150 elections and referenda since 1995, sending more than 15,000 observers. It has operated outside its own area once. A 43-member OSCE team offered technical support for the October 9, 2004 presidential election in Afghanistan.

The office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, established in December 1997, acts as a watchdog to provide early warning on violations of freedom of expression in OSCE member states. The Representative also assists member states by advocating and promoting full compliance with OSCE principles and commitments regarding freedom of expression and free media. The current Representative is former Hungarian parliamentarian Miklos Haraszti [2].

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History

The organization was established in 1973 as the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). Talks had been mooted about a European security grouping since the 1950s but the Cold War prevented any substantial progress until the talks at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki began in November 1972. These talks were held at the suggestion of the Soviet Union which wished to use the talks to maintain its control over the communist countries in Eastern Europe. Western Europe, however, saw these talks as a way to reduce the tension in the region, furthering economic cooperation and obtaining humanitarian improvements for the populations of the Communist Bloc.

The recommendations of the talks, "The Blue Book", gave the practical foundations for a three-stage conference, the Helsinki process. The CSCE opened in Helsinki on July 3, 1973 with 35 states sending representatives. Stage I only took five days to agree to follow the Blue Book. Stage II was the main working phase and was conducted in Geneva from September 18, 1973 until July 21, 1975. the result of Stage II was the Helsinki Final Act which was signed by the 35 particpating nations during Stage III, which took place in Finlandia Hall in Helsinki from July 30 to August 1, 1975. It was opened by Holy Sees diplomat Agostino Cardinal Casaroli who was chairman of the conference.

The concepts of improving relations and implementing the Act were developed over a series of follow-up meeting, with major gatherings in Belgrade (October 4, 1977 - March 8, 1978), Madrid (November 11, 1980 - September 9, 1983), and Vienna (November 4, 1986 - January 19, 1989).

The collapse of Communism required a change of role for the CSCE. The Charter of Paris for a New Europe which was signed on November 21, 1990 marked the beginning of this change. With the changes capped by the re-naming of the CSCE to the OSCE on January 1, 1995, accordingly to the results of the conference held in Budapest, in 1994. The OSCE now had a formal Secretariat, Council, Parliamentary Assembly, Center for Conflict Resolution, and Bureau for Free Elections (later becoming th Bureau on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights).

In December 1996, the "Lisbon Declaration on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe for the Twenty-First Century" affirmed the universal and indivisible nature of security on the European continent.

In Istanbul on November 19, 1999, the OSCE ended a two-day summit by calling for a political settlement in Chechnya and adopting a Charter for European Security. According to then Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov, this summit marked a turning point in Russian perception of the OSCE, from an organization that expressed Europe's collective will, to an organization that serves as a Western tool for "forced democratization."Template:Ref

After a group of 13 democratic U.S. senators petitioned Secretary of State Colin Powell to have foreign election monitors oversee the 2004 US presidential election, the State Department acquiesced, and President Bush invited the OSCE to do so. [3]

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Structural History

The Chairman in Office for -

2006: Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht
2005: Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel
2004: Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy
2003: Netherlands Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

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Fiscal History

Budget (in Millions of Euros, not adjusted for inflation) for -

2006: 186.2
2005: 186.6
2004: 180.8
2003: 165.5
2002: 167.5
2001: 194.5
2000: 202.7
1999: 146.1
1998: 118.7
1997: 43.3
1996: 34.9
1995: 18.9
1994: 21
1993: 12

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Participating States

State	Admission	Signed the Helsinki Final Act	Signed the Charter of Paris
Template:ALB	1991 19 June	1991 16 September	1991 17 September
Template:AND	1996 25 April	1999 10 November	1998 17 February
Template:ARM	1992 30 January	1992 8 July	1992 17 April
Template:AUT	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:AZE	1992 30 January	1992 8 July	1993 20 December
Template:BLR	1992 30 January	1992 26 February	1993 8 April
Template:BEL	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:BIH	1992 30 April	1992 8 July
Template:BGR	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:CAN	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:HRV	1992 24 March	1992 8 July
Template:CYP	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:CZE	1993 1 January
Template:DNK	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:EST	1991 10 September	1992 14 October	1991 6 December
Template:FIN	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:FRA	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:GEO	1992 24 March	1992 8 July	1994 21 January
Template:DEU	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:GRC	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:VA-HS	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:HUN	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:ISL	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:IRL	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:ITA	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:KAZ	1992 30 January	1992 8 July	1992 23 September
Template:KGZ	1992 30 January	1992 8 July	1994 3 June
Template:LVA	1991 10 September	1991 14 October	1991 6 December
Template:LIE	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:LTU	1991 10 September	1991 14 October	1991 6 December
Template:LUX	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:MLT	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:MDA	1992 30 January	1992 26 February	1993 29 January
Template:MCO	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:NLD	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:NOR	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:POL	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:PRT	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:ROU	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:RUS	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:SMR	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:SCG	2000 10 November
Template:SVK	1993 1 January
Template:SVN	1992 24 March	1992 8 July	1993 8 March
Template:ESP	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:SWE	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:CHE	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:TJK	1992 30 January	1992 26 February
Template:MKD	1995 12 October
Template:TUR	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:TKM	1992 30 January	1992 8 July
Template:UKR	1992 30 January	1992 26 February	1992 16 June
Template:UK	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:USA	1973 25 June	1975 1 August	1990 21 November
Template:UZB	1992 30 January	1992 26 February	1993 27 October