Description: With 56 participating States from
Europe,
Central Asia and
North America, the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (
OSCE) forms the largest regional security organization in the world.
The
OSCE is a primary instrument for
early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in its area. It has 19 missions or field operations in South-Eastern
Europe, Eastern
Europe, the Caucasus and
Central Asia.
The Organization deals with three dimensions of security - the politico-military, the economic and environmental, and the human dimension. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures,
human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 56 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.
Budget
At a meeting on 20 December 2005, the Permanent Council approved the
OSCE Unified Budget for 2006, amounting to 167,935,800 euros (PC Decision No 740).
Staffing and employment
The
OSCE employs some 450 people in its various institutions and around 3,000 in its field operations. Locally-contracted employees outnumber international seconded employees by roughly five to one. Seconded staff members are funded by their national administrations.
History of the
OSCEThe
OSCE traces its origins to the détente phase of the early
1970s, when the Conference on Security and Co-operation in
Europe (CSCE) was created to serve as a
multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between East and West. Meeting over two years in
Helsinki and
Geneva, the CSCE reached agreement on the
Helsinki Final Act, which was signed on 1 August 1975. This document contained a number of key commitments on polito-military, economic and environmental and
human rights issues that became central to the so-called '
Helsinki process'. It also established ten fundamental principles (the 'Decalogue') governing the behaviour of States towards their citizens, as well as towards each other.
Until 1990, the CSCE functioned mainly as a series of meetings and conferences that built on and extended the participating States' commitments, while periodically reviewing their implementation. However, with the end of the
Cold War, the
Paris Summit of November 1990 set the CSCE on a new course. In the Charter of
Paris for a New
Europe, the CSCE was called upon to play its part in managing the historic change taking place in
Europe and responding to the new challenges of the post-
Cold War period, which led to its acquiring permanent institutions and operational capabilities.
As part of this institutionalization process, the name was changed from the CSCE to the
OSCE by a decision of the
Budapest Summit of Heads of State or Government in December 1994.
Observations: The responsibilities of the Chairman-in-Office (CiO) include
co-ordination of the work of
OSCE Institutions;
representing the Organization;
supervising activities related to conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.
The Chairmanship rotates annually, and the post of the Chairman-in-Office is held by the Foreign Minister of a participating State. The CiO is assisted by the previous and succeeding Chairmen; the three of them together constitute the Troika. The origin of the institution lies with the Charter of
Paris for a New
Europe (1990), the
Helsinki Document 1992 formally institutionalized this function.
OSCE Chairmen-in-Office
2006:
Karel De Gucht (
Belgium)
2005:
Dimitrij Rupel (
Slovenia)
2004:
Solomon Passy (
Bulgaria)
2003:
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, followed by
Bernard Rudolf Bot (The
Netherlands)
2002:
Jaime Gama, followed by Antonio Martins da Cruz (
Portugal)
2001:
Mircea Dan Geoana (
Romania)
2000:
Wolfgang Schuessel, followed by
Benita Ferrero-Waldner (
Austria)
1999:
Knut Vollebaek (
Norway)
1998:
Bronislaw Geremek (
Poland)
1997:
Niels Helveg Petersen (
Denmark)
1996:
Flavio Cotti (
Switzerland)
1995:
Laszlo Kovacs (
Hungary)
1994:
Beniamino Andreatta, followed by
Antonio Martino (
Italy)
1993: Margaretha af Ugglas (
Sweden)
1992: Jiri Dienstbier, followed by Josef Moravcik (Czechoslovakia)
1991:
Hans-Dietrich Genscher (
Germany)