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The OSCE
FAQ OSCE
FAQ OSCE
Faq OSCE
- What is the OSCE?
- When was OSCE created?
- Where is the seat of the OSCE?
- Where can I find more information on the OSCE?
What is the OSCE?
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a pan-European security organization whose 56 participating states span the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.
As a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, the OSCE constitutes a primary instrument in Europe for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.
The OSCE approach to security is comprehensive and co-operative. It addresses a wide range of security-related issues including arms control, preventive diplomacy, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, election monitoring and economic and environmental security.
All states participating in OSCE activities have equal status and decisions are made on the basis of consensus.
When was OSCE created?
The OSCE was created in the early 1970's under the name of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) to serve as a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between East and West. In November 1990 an important arms control agreement, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), was negotiated within the CSCE framework.
Further developments came through a series of regular meetings between 1990 and 1994 which established new mechanisms, offices, and principles for addressing the challenges of post-Cold War Europe. At the 1994 Budapest Summit, recognising that it was no longer simply a conference, the CSCE changed its name to the OSCE. This gave the Organisation new political impetus and also reflected its institutional development since the end of the Cold War.
Where is the seat of the OSCE?
Most of the meetings take place in the Hofburg Congress Centre in Vienna. The Secretariat is situated at Kärtnerring 5-7 in Vienna.
Other organs are situated outside Vienna. The High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) in The Hague, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutionsand Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw, the Economic Forum, that meets annually, in Prague.