OSCE: structure, tasks and activities of the organization. Further development of the organization

History of formation. The OSCE took shape in the course of a political process that began in the 1970s to create a European security system. Throughout its long history, Europe has been an arena of military confrontation between the states located in it. The achievement of pan-European agreements on the development of cooperation between all states of the region and the creation of a pan-European security system became possible thanks to the improvement of relations between East and West, which was called the "policy of international detente."

At the initiative of the Warsaw Pact, which found understanding among other European countries, as well as the support of the United States and Canada, it was decided to hold a pan-European conference in order to finally stabilize the territorial changes that occurred as a result of World War II. Three preparatory meetings were held: in Helsinki (July 3-7, 1973) - at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in Geneva (September 18, 1973 - July 21, 1975) - with the participation of delegations of the participating States and in Helsinki (30 July - August 1, 1975), which ended with the signing of the Final Act by the heads of state or government of the states participating in it; the last, third meeting was called the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The meeting was the most representative in the history of Europe after the Second World War and was of great international importance. Thirty years after the end of World War II, European states were able to take stock of its political results and lay the foundation for future cooperation.

Over the next 15 years, within the framework of the Helsinki process of pan-European cooperation, various meetings and negotiations were held aimed at implementing the Helsinki agreements. The end of the Cold War was marked by efforts to institutionalize the Helsinki process, culminating in the creation of the OSCE.

By its very nature, the Helsinki process was political nature, the conference form of organization of interstate interaction corresponded to the level of relations between European states achieved at that time. Initially, the initiators and all participants in the process did not set the task of creating a pan-European MM software, which was determined by a number of military-political and other factors that determine the policy of the states concerned. After the summit meeting in Budapest in 1994, the all-European political process began to gradually fill with legal content, indicating the transformation of the CSCE into the IIGO.

Basic principles and goals of the Helsinki process, the nature of its founding act. The adoption of the Final Act of the CSCE pursued several important political goals, the most significant of which was the final settlement of all disputed issues of political relations between European states that remained after the Second World War. A special role in this was assigned to the consolidation of the international legal foundations for the security and cooperation of European states, which was done in the Declaration of Principles of the Helsinki Act. The Declaration reaffirmed the most important fundamental principles of international law.

The scientific literature notes the complex nature of the Final Act of the CSCE. Its structure testifies to the desire to regulate a wide range of relations between the signatory states. It consists of a preamble and five sections, including, in addition to the declaration of principles governing the mutual relations of the participating States, a set of agreements relating to security, disarmament and confidence-building measures in Europe, measures to develop economic, scientific and technical cooperation and cooperation in environmental and humanitarian spheres, as well as a number of other topics.

The question of the legal significance of the Final Act remains debatable. Some lawyers proposed considering it as an international agreement, but at the same time did not recognize in it an international treaty in the sense given to it by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969. As a result, they denied the legal nature of the obligations arising from the act, recognizing that they only moral or political significance. A close position was taken by supporters of recognizing the Helsinki Act as a source of “soft law”.

Other experts viewed the Final Act and the Paris Charter for a New Europe as treaties. sui generis. They were joined by those who, without denying the political nature of the obligations contained in the act, emphasized the unique nature of this document, whose influence on European development many times exceeded the significance of most legally binding treaties.

The question of the legal character of the Final Act should not obscure its truly unique character and great political significance both for Europe and for international peace and security in general. As for the definition of its legal form, there are grounds for asserting that the participating states consciously tried not to clothe it in the form of an international treaty. Thus, according to the Final Act, it is not subject to registration on the basis of Art. 102 of the UN Charter, provided for international treaties. Apparently this is not accidental, because the political obligations under the Final Act intersect with the competence of the UN in the matter of maintaining international peace and security. In the preamble of the Final Act, the specific proposals of the main body are referred to as recommendations. All this suggests that the Final Act is not an international treaty in the conventional sense.

Legal status, organizational structure and participation in the OSCE. For a long time, the CSCE was a cycle of pan-European conferences and meetings that could not be attributed to any particular type of international organization. Since the 1990s the process of institutionalization of the CSCE and its transformation into the OSCE is gradually developing, which may lead in the future to the formation of an international regional organization.

The international legal basis for the activities of the OSCE is a number of documents, but there is still no single statutory (constituent) act of the OSCE. The statutory documents of the OSCE include the Final Act of 1975 and the Charter of Paris for a New Europe

• 1990, which proclaimed the OSCE a regional body in the sense of Ch. VIII of the UN Charter. The Charter defines the framework of institutions and structures, further refined at the meetings of the Council in Berlin in
• 1991, Prague 1992, Stockholm 1992, Rome 1993, Declaration of Helsinki 1992, Budapest Document Towards a Genuine Partnership in a New Era 1994.

Since the signing of the Final Act in 1975, the number of members of the organization has grown from 35 to 57. In addition, the so-called associated states of the Mediterranean cooperate with the OSCE: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, as well as other countries such as Japan, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Afghanistan and Mongolia.

AT structure of the OSCE several types of bodies can be distinguished: the main bodies (high-level meetings, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Permanent Council, the Forum for Security and Cooperation); functional bodies (OSCE Chairman, troika, Parliamentary Assembly, etc.); OSCE-affiliated bodies (Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, Joint Advisory Group and Open Skies Advisory Commission).

Main organs are characterized as follows.

Meeting of Heads of State and Government - the highest political body of the OSCE (meetings are held at least once every two years) - discusses the most important pan-European problems, makes decisions, determines priorities and develops the main directions of the organization's activities.

Council of Foreign Ministers - central executive and administrative body - holds meetings regularly at least once a year as a central forum for political consultations and assessment of all issues of the OSCE activities, as well as for the adoption of decisions on them. It shall take all necessary measures to carry out all the decisions of the Meetings of Heads of State and Government and to study any suitable measures to strengthen security and cooperation in Europe.

The participating States may convene meetings of ministers responsible for other matters in the form industry councils.

OSCE Permanent Committee composed of representatives of Member States, weekly meetings of the Committee are held in Vienna for political consultations and political decision-making.

Forum on Security and Cooperation holds weekly meetings in Vienna to discuss and decide on issues related to the military aspects of security in the OSCE area, in particular confidence-building and security measures.

Functional organs OSCE:

• 1) the highest official - the Chairman of the OSCE. He is the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the country that hosted the last meeting of the Council;
• 2) High Commissioner for National Minorities;
• 3) Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights;
• 4) OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media;
• 5) the Parliamentary Assembly, established to develop inter-parliamentary dialogue, which is an important aspect of efforts to develop democracy in the OSCE area;
• 6) The OSCE Secretariat - located in Vienna, assistance in its work is provided by the Office, located in Prague. The secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Council and the Committee, maintains an archive of OSCE documents. In 2000, the Secretariat was reorganized and now consists of three departments: the Conflict Prevention Center (CPC), which includes the external operations department, as well as the assistance and operational cooperation team of experts, the human resources department and the administration and finance department . On the basis of the Charter of Paris, a Bureau for Free Elections has also been formed to facilitate contacts and exchange of information on elections in the participating states.

The main areas of OSCE activity:

• 1) military-political issues, including European security and disarmament, peaceful settlement of disputes between European states;
• 2) development of economic cooperation and cooperation in environmental matters;
• 3) actions in the sphere of the human dimension.

OSCE activities for military-political issues generally

contributed to the strengthening of the international legal foundations of security in Europe. The most important achievement in this area is the establishment of an international legal regime for the peaceful settlement of disputes within the OSCE based on the Regulations on the OSCE Reconciliation Commission, the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE and the Regulations on Prescribed Conciliation.

The next important element of European security is the formation of a system confidence and security measures, as well as restrictions on conventional weapons(For more details on this area of ​​OSCE activity, see Chapter 24 of this textbook).

Goals early warning of conflicts, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction are entrusted to peacekeeping operations and OSCE missions, whose mandate may include a wide range of tasks: from mediation in the resolution of international disputes to the post-conflict rehabilitation of the infrastructure of the host state.

Questions economic cooperation within the OSCE from the very beginning were inextricably linked with the problems of ensuring environmental protection. The main principles and directions of economic and environmental cooperation, which were initially enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, were subsequently developed in the activities of the OSCE. In particular, the commitment of the participating states to the principles of a market economy was expressed, it was proposed to focus efforts on providing all-round support to countries in the transitional stage of their activities to create the foundations of a civilized market economy and integrate into the world economic system.

An important area of ​​OSCE activity is cooperation on the human dimension - an important component of a comprehensive approach to European security. Within the framework of the CSCE, three conferences on the human dimension were held: Paris in 1989, Copenhagen in 1990 and Moscow in 1991.

To develop cooperation on human rights, the institution of the High Commissioner for National Minorities was established. In 1997, the post of the OSCE Special Representative on Freedom of the Media was created, who oversees the development of the media in all OSCE participating States.

Name:

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, OSCE

Flag/Coat of Arms:

Status:

regional security organization

Structural units:

The main bodies of the organization are the Summit (Summit), the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Supreme Council, as well as the Permanent Council under the leadership of the Chairman (eng. Chairman-in-Office, CiO), who holds this post for a year.

The headquarters of the OSCE is located in Vienna (Austria). The organization also has offices in Copenhagen, Geneva, The Hague, Prague and Warsaw.

Activity:

arms proliferation control;
diplomatic efforts to prevent conflicts;
measures to build trust and security;
protection of human rights;
development of democratic institutions;
election monitoring;
economic and environmental security.

Official languages:

Participating countries:

Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vatican, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, USA, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia

Story:

The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was convened on the initiative of the USSR and the socialist states of Europe as a permanent international forum of representatives of 33 European states, as well as the United States and Canada, to develop measures to reduce military confrontation and strengthen security in Europe.

The meeting was held in three stages:

July 3 - 7, 1973 - Helsinki - a meeting of foreign ministers,
September 18, 1973 - July 21, 1975 - Geneva - making proposals, amendments and agreeing on the text of the Final Act,
July 30 - August 1, 1975 - Helsinki - summit. At the August 1 summit, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was signed.

final act

Interstate agreements grouped into several sections:
in the international legal field - consolidation of the political and territorial results of the Second World War, a statement of the principles of relations between the participating States, including the principle of inviolability of borders;
in the politico-military field, the coordination of confidence-building measures in the military field (prior notification of military exercises and major troop movements, the presence of observers at military exercises);
in the economic field - harmonization of the main areas of cooperation in the field of economy, science and technology and environmental protection;
in the humanitarian field, harmonization of commitments on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of movement, contacts, information, culture and education.

Subsequent meetings

The development of the agreements reached was consolidated at the meetings of the participating states:
1977-1978 - Belgrade,
1980-1983 - Madrid,
1984 - Stockholm,
1986 - Vienna.
November 19-21, 1990 - Paris meeting of heads of state and government of the CSCE participating states. The Charter of Paris for a New Europe (which proclaimed the end of the Cold War) was signed here, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was concluded, a joint declaration of 22 states (NATO and Warsaw Pact members) was adopted, and the current three-stage mechanism of political consultations was created: meetings at the highest level, Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA), Committee of Senior Officials.
September 10 - October 4 - Moscow - the third final meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (the first was held in 1989 in Paris, the second - in 1990 in Copenhagen). A document was adopted, which for the first time states that issues related to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are of an international nature, and obligations in the field of the human dimension are not exclusively the internal affairs of the CSCE member states.
1992 - Helsinki Summit. The document “The Challenge of the Times of Change” was adopted, which marked the beginning of the transformation of the CSCE from a forum of predominantly political dialogue between the participating states into a trans-regional organization aimed at maintaining military-political stability and developing cooperation “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”. The CSCE received wide powers and opportunities to take practical measures to prevent and resolve local and regional conflicts.
1992 - Stockholm meeting of the Foreign Ministry Council. The post of Secretary General of the CSCE was established.
1993 - Rome meeting of the Foreign Ministry Council. A Declaration on Aggressive Nationalism, the Source of Modern Conflicts, was adopted. The Permanent Committee of the CSCE, an institution of permanent representatives of the participating states, has been created.
1994 - Budapest Summit. A decision was made to rename the CSCE from January 1, 1995 to the OSCE - the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. A political declaration “Towards a true partnership in a new era” was adopted, an agreement to start developing a model of common and comprehensive security for Europe in the 21st century, military-political agreements (“Code of Conduct Concerning Military-Political Aspects of Security”, “Principles Governing Nonproliferation " and etc.).
1995 - Budapest meeting of the Foreign Ministers.
December 2-3, 1996 - Lisbon meeting of heads of state and government of the OSCE participating States. The Declaration of the Lisbon Summit and the Declaration “On a Model of Common and Comprehensive Security for Europe in the 21st Century” were adopted, which emphasize the need to build a united, peaceful and democratic Europe without dividing lines. A document was adopted on updating the CFE Treaty (Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe). At the initiative of Russia, participating States have committed themselves to exercise restraint with regard to their military efforts, including levels of weapons and their deployment. The documents “Conceptual framework for arms control” and “Development of the agenda of the Forum for Security Cooperation” were adopted, which consolidated the role of arms control as an important tool for ensuring stability in Europe. In the work of the OSCE, the emphasis on the conflicts that exist in the space of the former USSR and Yugoslavia is becoming more and more noticeable.
1997 - Copenhagen meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE. A decision was made to start work on a Charter for European Security.
1998 - Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Oslo. A Declaration on the Role of the OSCE in the Creation of a New System of European Security was adopted. The Declaration includes provisions on OSCE police operations. At the meeting, considerable attention was paid to the problems of Kosovo and conflict situations in the CIS.
November 18-19, 1999 - Istanbul meeting of heads of state and government of the OSCE participating States. The Russian delegation was headed by Boris Yeltsin. The Charter for European Security, the agreement on the adaptation of the CFE Treaty, the final Political Declaration and the modernized Vienna Document on Confidence Building Measures were adopted as the basis for further work. Russia has committed itself to withdraw troops from Georgia and Transnistria.

XXI Century. Confrontation between Russia and the OSCE
2000 - Ministerial meeting in Vienna. The Declaration "On the Role of the OSCE in South-East Europe", the decision to strengthen the OSCE's activities in the fight against trafficking in human beings were adopted, and a document was approved to limit the illicit trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Due to fundamental differences, the ministers failed to adopt the final general political document of the meeting - the ministerial declaration.
2001 - Ministerial meeting in Bucharest. A ministerial declaration, an action plan to combat terrorism, a document on strengthening the role of the OSCE as a forum for political dialogue, statements on regional issues (Georgia, Moldova, Nagorno-Karabakh, South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia) were adopted.
June 12, 2002 - Lisbon International Conference. The final document "Preventing and Combating Terrorism" was adopted with an assessment of the role of international and regional organizations in countering terrorism.
2003 - Ministerial meeting in Maastricht (Netherlands). Decisions were approved in the field of military-political security (on the destruction of surplus conventional ammunition, on strengthening control over the proliferation of man-portable air defense systems, Guidelines on Best Practices in the Field of Small Arms and Light Weapons). Since 2003, due to the conflict between Russia and most of the OSCE member states, no political declarations have been made. In Maastricht, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said that Russia must comply with the 1999 Istanbul agreements (on the withdrawal of troops from Georgia and Transnistria) and this should be indicated in the declaration. Russia blocked the document.

Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, 2005. Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev
January 15, 2004 - meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council - Russia proposed to change the existing view of the OSCE as "a tool for serving the interests of individual states and groups" and to make efforts to achieve the main goal of the OSCE - the creation of an indivisible pan-European security space with common principles and rules for all.
2004 - Ministerial meeting in Sofia coincided with the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine. The final document was blocked.
2005 - a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Ljubljana (Slovenia) ended without the adoption of a final declaration. The confrontation continues between Russia and the rest of the OSCE members, demanding from it the withdrawal of troops from Transnistria and condemning it for the upcoming bill on non-profit organizations, according to which control over them by the state will be tightened. Russia, for its part, has lashed out at the activities of the OSCE in recent years, especially the activities of OSCE observers who monitor elections in the CIS. The Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov presented his plan - the Roadmap for OSCE Reform. Lavrov accused the OSCE observers of the lack of a single standard in assessing the elections. Recently, observers from the CIS and from the OSCE give directly opposite assessments of the elections in which they are present (presidential elections in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan). The OSCE Reform Roadmap was adopted. At the meeting, the GUAM countries - Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova acted as a united front against Russia. On the eve of the OSCE forum, the chairmanship in GUAM passed to Moldova, and it was she, who was more interested in Russia fulfilling the "Istanbul agreements" (on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia and Transnistria), who spoke at the OSCE meeting on behalf of GUAM. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Boris Tarasyuk said that the GUAM countries will continue to act together.

, Italian and Spanish

Former name - "Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe" (CSCE) - (CSCE: English. Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe, fr. ).

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✪ Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

✪ Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Subtitles

Story

The "Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe" was convened as a permanent international forum of representatives of 33 European states, as well as the United States and Canada, to develop measures to reduce military confrontation and strengthen security in Europe.

The meeting was held in three stages:

1. July 3 - 7, 1973 - Helsinki - meeting of ministers of foreign affairs,
2. September 18, 1973 - July 21, 1975 - Geneva - proposals, amendments and agreement on the text of the Final Act,
3. July 30 - August 1, 1975 in Helsinki, Finland, the heads of 33 states signed the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Agreements).

The development of the agreements reached was consolidated at the meetings of the participating states:

• 1977-1978 - Belgrade,
• 1980-1983 - Madrid,
• November 19-21, 1990 - Paris meeting of heads of state and government of the CSCE participating states. Here was signed Charter of Paris for a New Europe(proclaiming the end of the Cold War), concluded Treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe(CFE), adopted a joint declaration of 22 states (members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact), created the current three-stage mechanism of political consultations: summit meetings, the Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA), the Committee of Senior Officials.
• September 10 - October 4, 1991 - Moscow Third Final Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (the first was held in 1989 in Paris, the second - in 1990 in Copenhagen). A document was adopted, which for the first time states that issues related to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are of an international nature, and obligations in the field of the human dimension are not exclusively the internal affairs of the CSCE member states. Conference sur la securité et la cooperation en Europe
• 1992 - Helsinki Summit. The document " Calling a time of change”, which marked the beginning of the transformation of the CSCE from a forum of predominantly political dialogue between participating states into a trans-regional organization aimed at maintaining military-political stability and developing cooperation “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”. The CSCE received wide powers and opportunities to take practical measures to prevent and resolve local and regional conflicts.
• 1992 - Stockholm meeting of the Foreign Ministry Council. The post of Secretary General of the CSCE was established.
• 1993 - Rome meeting of the Foreign Ministry Council. Accepted Declaration on Aggressive Nationalism- the source of modern conflicts. The Permanent Committee of the CSCE, an institution of permanent representatives of the participating states, has been created.
• 1994 - Budapest Summit. A decision was made to rename the CSCE from January 1, 1995 to the OSCE - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. A political declaration was adopted Towards a true partnership in a new era”, an agreement to start developing a model of common and comprehensive security for Europe in the 21st century, military-political agreements (“Code of Conduct on Military-Political Aspects of Security”, “Principles Governing Nonproliferation”, etc.).
• 1995 - Budapest meeting of the Foreign Ministers.
• December 2-3, 1996 - Lisbon meeting of heads of state and government of the OSCE participating States. The Declaration of the Lisbon Summit and the Declaration " On the Model of Common and Comprehensive Security for Europe in the 21st Century”, which emphasizes the need to build a united, peaceful and democratic Europe without dividing lines. A document was adopted on updating the CFE Treaty (Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe). At the initiative of Russia, participating States have committed themselves to exercise restraint with regard to their military efforts, including levels of weapons and their deployment. The documents “Conceptual framework for arms control” and “Development of the agenda of the Forum for Security Cooperation” were adopted, which consolidated the role of arms control as an important tool for ensuring stability in Europe. In the work of the OSCE, the focus on the conflicts that exist in the former USSR and Yugoslavia is becoming more and more noticeable.
• 1997 - Copenhagen meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE. A decision was made to start work on a Charter for European Security.
• 1998 - OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Oslo. A Declaration on the Role of the OSCE in the Creation of a New System of European Security was adopted. The Declaration includes provisions on OSCE police operations. At the meeting, considerable attention was paid to the problems of Kosovo, conflict situations in the CIS.
• November 18-19, 1999 - Istanbul meeting of heads of state and government of the OSCE participating States. The Russian delegation was headed by Boris Yeltsin. Accepted Charter for European Security, an agreement on the adaptation of the CFE Treaty, the final Political Declaration and the modernized Vienna Document on Confidence Building Measures as a basis for further work. Russia has made political commitments to withdraw troops from Georgia and Transnistria.
• 2000 - Ministerial meeting in Vienna. The Declaration "On the Role of the OSCE in South-East Europe", the decision to strengthen the OSCE's activities in the fight against trafficking in human beings were adopted, and a document was approved to limit the illicit trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Due to fundamental differences, the ministers failed to adopt the final general political document of the meeting - the ministerial declaration.
• 2001 - Ministerial meeting in Bucharest. A ministerial declaration, an action plan to combat terrorism, a document on strengthening the role of the OSCE as a forum for political dialogue, statements on regional issues (Georgia, Moldova, Nagorno-Karabakh, South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia) were adopted.
• June 12, 2002 - Lisbon International Conference. The final document "Preventing and Combating Terrorism" was adopted with an assessment of the role of international and regional organizations in countering terrorism.
• 2003 - Ministerial meeting in Maastricht (Netherlands). Decisions were approved in the field of military-political security (on the destruction of surplus conventional ammunition, on strengthening control over the proliferation of man-portable air defense systems, Guidelines on Best Practices in the Field of Small Arms and Light Weapons). Since 2003, in connection with the conflict between Russia and a number of OSCE member states, political declarations have not been adopted. In Maastricht, US Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that Russia must comply with the 1999 Istanbul agreements (on the withdrawal of troops from Georgia and Transnistria) and this should be indicated in the declaration. Russia blocked the document.
• January 15, 2004 - meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council - Russia proposed to change the existing view of the OSCE as "a tool for serving the interests of individual states and groups" and to make efforts to achieve the main goal of the OSCE - the creation of an indivisible, common European, security space with common principles and rules for all.
• 2004 - Ministerial meeting in Sofia coincided with the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine. The final document was blocked.
• July 3, 2004 - a statement of the CIS countries was adopted in Moscow, accusing the OSCE of "double standards practice" and "unwillingness to take into account the realities and peculiarities of individual states." Russia called for the reorganization of the OSCE and "returning it to its original principles." Russia blocked the adoption of the OSCE budget for 2005 for three months, demanding a reduction in its share in it, and declared its unwillingness to finance projects contrary to Russian interests. As a result, the share of the Russian Federation remained at the level of 9%.
• 2005 - a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Ljubljana (Slovenia) ended without the adoption of a final declaration. The confrontation between Russia and some OSCE members continues, demanding from it the withdrawal of troops from Transnistria and condemning it for the upcoming bill on non-profit organizations, according to which state control over them will be tightened. Russia, for its part, has lashed out at the activities of the OSCE in recent years, especially the activities of OSCE observers who monitor elections in the CIS. The Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov presented his plan - the "Roadmap for OSCE Reform". Lavrov accused the OSCE observers of the lack of a single standard in assessing the elections. Recently, observers from the CIS and from the OSCE give directly opposite assessments of the elections in which they are present (presidential elections in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan). The OSCE Reform Roadmap was adopted. At the meeting, the GUAM countries - Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova spoke out against Russia. On the eve of the OSCE forum, the chairmanship in GUAM passed to Moldova, and it was she, who was more interested in Russia fulfilling the "Istanbul agreements" (on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia and Transnistria), who spoke at the OSCE meeting on behalf of GUAM. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Boris Tarasyuk said that the GUAM countries will continue to act together.
• December 5, 2006 - at a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council Sergei Lavrov for the first time announced the possibility of the Russian Federation leaving the OSCE if it does not shift the focus of its activities from monitoring human rights to military-political cooperation and the economy.
• October 26, 2007 - Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan submitted to the OSCE a draft resolution restricting the work of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. On November 30, at the summit of the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE countries, the resolution was rejected.
• November 16, 2007 - refused to send its observers to the parliamentary elections in Russia.
• February 7, 2008 - refused to send their observers to the presidential elections in Russia.
• July 3, 2009 - the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution "On the reunification of a divided Europe: the promotion of human rights and civil liberties in the OSCE region in the XXI century".
• December 1, 2010 - in the city of Astana (Kazakhstan), after an 11-year break, the OSCE summit was held.

Structure

The main organs of the organization are:

• Summit (Summit) - periodically held meeting of the heads of state and government of the OSCE countries.
• The Council of Foreign Ministers is an annual (except for the year of summit meetings) meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE participating States.
• Permanent Council under the leadership of the current chairman (Eng. Chairperson-in-Office, CiO), who holds this post for a year. Conducts regular political consultations and makes decisions (meets weekly in Vienna).
• Forum for Security Cooperation - regularly discusses arms control and CSBMs (meets weekly in Vienna).
• High Commissioner for National Minorities
• The Representative on Freedom of the Media - oversees media developments in the 57 OSCE participating States.

Management

Current Chairman

General Secretary

Secretary General - Heads the Secretariat. Appointed by the Council of Ministers for a period of 3 years:

• Wilhelm Hoyink (1993-1996)
• Giancarlo Aragon (1996-1999)
• Jan Kubish (1999-2005)
• Marc Perrin de  Brichambaut (2005-2011)
• Lamberto Zanier (2011-2017)
• Thomas Greminger

Member States

OSCE participants