OSCE Summit Reaches Accord in Istanbul ‘Last Great Meeting of the Century’ Ends with Meaningful Results

Vol. VI No. 11/12 NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 1999 NEWSLETTER Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe IN THIS ISSUE ■ Vienna Document 1999 . 4 ■ Adapted CFE Treaty . 5 ■ Interview with Ambassador Eide . 6 ■ AlbaniaÕs path to democracy . 8 ■ ÔWay to EuropeÕ campaign in BiH . 11 ■ Staffing OSCE field activities . 13 ■ News from the field . 14 ■ Press profile . 16 ■ News from the Secretariat . 19 ■ Update from the ODIHR . 19 ■ Report from the PA . 24 ■ Report from the HCNM . 27 ■ Report from the RFOM . 28 ■ Recent OSCE Publications . 30 The OSCE Istanbul Summit meets in Plenary Session. OSCE Summit reaches accord in Istanbul ‘Last great meeting of the century’ ends with meaningful results eaders of the Organization for Summit was also addressed by the which will improve the operational capa- Security and Co-operation in United Nations Secretary-General, as bilities of the OSCE. This will strengthen LEurope, convening in Istanbul, well as the North Atlantic Treaty Orga- the Organization’s ability to prevent con- Turkey, for what was widely described nization Secretary General and the Sec- flicts as well as its capacity to settle con- as the last great Summit Meeting of the retary General of the Council of Europe. flicts and to rehabilitate societies rav- century, were able to achieve agreement The meeting, held from 18 to 19 aged by war and destruction. They com- on significant documents that will November in the Ciragan Place on the mit themselves, inter alia, to intensify co- strengthen security and stability in the banks of the Bosporus, ended in the operation with other international orga- OSCE region over the coming years. The emergence of three important documents: nizations through a new instrument, the sixth OSCE Summit Meeting brought the Charter for European Security, the Platform for Co-operative Security; to together Heads of State and Government Agreement on Adaptation of the Treaty develop the OSCE’s role in peacekeep- and Foreign Ministers from 54 of the par- on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe ing operations; to create Rapid Expert ticipating States, as well as representa- and the Istanbul Summit Declaration. Assistance and Co-operation Teams and tives from the Governments of the OSCE In the Charter for European Security, to expand OSCE police related activities. Partners for Co-operation and Mediter- the OSCE Heads of State and Govern- The Charter reaffirms the adherence of ranean Partners for Co-operation. The ment agree on a number of concrete steps the OSCE participating States to the 1 The Charter for European Security at a glance The Charter for European without exception, apply equally to each prevention, crisis management and post- Security, signed on 19 Novem- participating State. Their implementa- conflict rehabilitation, including: ber in Istanbul by 54 OSCE tion in good faith is essential for relations Heads of State and Govern- between States, between governments 1 A Platform for Co-operative Security, ment, aims at strengthening the and their peoples, as well as between the in order to further strengthen co- Organization’s ability to pre- organizations of which they are mem- operation between the OSCE and vent conflicts, to settle them and bers. Participating States are account- other international organizations and to rehabilitate societies ravaged able to their citizens and responsible to institutions on the basis of equality by war and destruction. each other for their implementation of and in a spirit of partnership; their OSCE commitments. We regard “The last decade of the twentieth cen- these commitments as our common 2 Developing the OSCE’s role in peace- tury has brought great achievements in achievement and therefore consider them keeping operations; the OSCE area, co-operation has replaced to be matters of immediate and legitimate previous confrontation, but the danger of concern to all participating States. 3 Rapid Expert Assistance and Co- conflicts between States has not been operation Teams (REACT), enabling eliminated… We are determined to learn “We reaffirm the OSCE as a regional the OSCE to rapidly respond to from the dangers of confrontation and arrangement under Chapter VIII of the requests from participating States for division between States as well as from Charter of the United Nations and as a civilian and police expertise in con- tragedies of the last decade. Security and primary organization for the peaceful flict situations. This will give the peace must be enhanced through an settlement of disputes within its region OSCE the ability to address problems approach that combines two basic ele- and as a key instrument for early warn- before they become crises and to ments; we must build confidence among ing, conflict prevention, crisis manage- deploy quickly the civilian compo- people within States and strengthen co- ment and post-conflict rehabilitation. nent of a peacekeeping operation operation between States. Therefore, we The OSCE is the inclusive and compre- when needed; will strengthen existing instruments and hensive organization for consultation, develop new ones to provide assistance decision-making and co-operation in its 4 Expanding the OSCE’s ability to carry and advice... region.” out police related activities. This includes police monitoring, police train- “We reaffirm our full adherence to In the Charter the participating States ing and promoting respect for human the Charter of the United Nations, and recognize the common challenges they rights and fundamental freedoms in to the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of face – including international terrorism, general; Paris and all other OSCE documents to violent extremism, organized crime and which we have agreed. These documents drug trafficking, economic problems and 5 An Operation Centre at the OSCE represent our common commitments and environmental degradation – and reaf- Secretariat in Vienna in order to facil- are the foundation for our work. They firm their commitment to OSCE princi- itate effective preparation and plan- have helped us to bring about an end to ples as the foundations for a common ning of rapid deployment of OSCE the old confrontation in Europe and to security space. field operations; foster a new era of democracy, peace and solidarity throughout the OSCE area. In order to address these challenges 6 Establishing a Preparatory Committee They established clear standards for and uphold OSCE commitments, the under the direction of the OSCE Per- participating States’ treatment of each Charter introduces specific measures to manent Council in order to strengthen other and of all individuals within their enhance the role of the OSCE as a key the consultation process within the territories. All OSCE commitments, instrument for early warning, conflict OSCE. NEWSLETTER 2 Vol. 6 No. 11/12 Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris and all other OSCE documents that they have agreed to. These documents represent their common commitments and the foundation for their work. The agreement on adaptation of the CFE Treaty of 1990 adjusts this disar- mament agreement to post-Cold War realities and at the same time reduces armaments in Europe by a further 10 per cent (see separate box). In the Istanbul Summit Declaration, the OSCE leaders commit themselves to intensify efforts to prevent conflicts in the OSCE area and to resolve existing conflicts peacefully: “We need the con- tribution of a strengthened OSCE to meet the risks and challenges facing the OSCE area, to improve human security and thereby to make a difference in the life of the individual, which is the aim of all our efforts,” it states (all Summit documents can be viewed on the OSCE website: www.osce.org). The leaders also reaffirmed the human dimension as one of the foremost areas of responsibility for the OSCE: respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. This includes the protection and promotion of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, chil- dren’s rights and full equality between men and women. The leaders also com- mitted themselves to ensure the freedom of media, as well as free and fair elec- tions in accordance with OSCE princi- ples and commitments. Finally, the Summit Declaration lists a number of issues of concern to the OSCE, including the situation in Kosovo, the democratic shortcomings in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Top: Presidents Bill Clinton of the USA, Suleyman Demirel of Turkey and Eduard search for a solution to the conflict in Shevardnaze of Georgia. Center: Presidents Jacques Chirac of France, Boris Yeltsin Abkhazia, Georgia, and the necessity of of Russia and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, meeting during the Istan- removing the obstacles to a political dia- bul Summit. Bottom: Chairman in Office, Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek of Nor- logue in Belarus. In the Declaration, the way (centre) chairs a press conference. NEWSLETTER Vol. 6 No. 11/12 3 OSCE leaders also applaud the intensi- fied dialogue between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has cre- ated opportunities to dynamize the process of finding a lasting and compre- hensive solution to the Nagorno-Kara- bakh conflict, and confirm that the OSCE Minsk Group stands ready to further advance the peace process. With regard to the conflict in North Caucasus, the Summit Declaration reaffirms the territorial integrity of the Russian Fed- eration and condemns terrorism in all its forms. It also underscores the need to respect OSCE norms, states that a political solution to the conflict is essential The Summit attracted intense media coverage. and welcomes the agreement of the Rus- sian Federation to a visit of the OSCE There was also a meeting between the the Government of Turkey in organizing Chairman-in-Office to the region. OSCE Chairman-in-Office and leaders a meeting on such a scale, only three The Istanbul Summit Meeting was of Opposition parties in the Federal months after a devastating earthquake.

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