From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 8/26/2005 1:13 AM
Profile: The OSCE
Wednesday, 24 August 2005, 14:56 GMT 15:56 UK
    
Members meet at Vienna's Hofburg winter palace
Flags of member nations at the OSCE HQ (Picture: OSCE)
Membership: 55 nations
Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
Budget: 168.6 million euros (2005)
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE, aims to prevent conflict and manage crises in Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia.

The organisation is based in Vienna, Austria, but many of its 3,500 staff work in the field. The OSCE is particularly active in the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the republics of the Caucasus.

The organisation's mandate is broad. It aims to promote democracy and human rights and to resolve regional conflicts. To this end it encourages political, social and media reforms.

The OSCE has no peacekeeping contingents, but may call on the resources of other international bodies, including the UN and Nato.

Background

The OSCE's forerunner, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), was set up in 1972 as a forum for dialogue between nations. It brought Nato and Warsaw Pact countries to the meeting table.

Russian weaponry being removed from breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniestr
Moldova: OSCE monitors removal of Russian arms (OSCE/Neil Brennan)
In 1975 the CSCE produced the Helsinki Final Act. The signatories - from East and West - promised to respect basic freedoms and human rights and to recognise Europe's post-war borders.

At the end of the Cold War, the CSCE became a fully-fledged organisation and provided the framework for reducing conventional armed forces in Europe.

The organisation adopted its present name in 1994 to reflect its more permanent structure.

Members, decision-making

The OSCE has 55 member states. These are drawn mainly from Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The United States and Canada are members of the OSCE.

All OSCE members have equal status within the body. Decisions are reached by consensus, except in the case of "clear, gross and uncorrected violations" of OSCE commitments by a member country.

Member states fund the running of the organisation and its missions.

Structure

# Summit Conference: Leaders of member states meet once every two or three years to map out the OSCE's priorities
# Ministerial Council: The OSCE's main governing body meets annually, except in a Summit Conference year; it comprises foreign affairs ministers of member countries
# Permanent Council: Undertakes the day-to-day running of OSCE activities; comprises permanent representatives of member states who meet once a week

Leaders

# Chairman-in-office: The position is held by the foreign affairs minister of a member state for a one-year term. The incumbent has overall responsibility for the organisation.
# Secretary-general: Responsible for managing OSCE operations, the secretary-general is the representative of the chairman-in-office.

OSCE on the ground

Albania: A substantial OSCE presence aims to promote democracy, human rights and media freedom.

Ibrahim Rugova casts his ballot in 2002 local elections
Elections in Kosovo: OSCE is committed to democracy-building
Armenia and Azerbaijan: The OSCE is working for a political settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region. It has monitored elections in both states and maintains offices in their capital cities.

Belarus: The OSCE has repeatedly clashed with President Alexander Lukashenko after it condemned as fraudulent elections which he won in 2001. The OSCE office in Minsk undertakes projects related to the body's principles.

Bosnia: An OSCE mission aims to strengthen the legal system and de-segregate the education system.

Central Asia: The OSCE maintains offices in the capitals of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The OSCE monitors elections in the region. It has warned that a failure to develop democracy will make Central Asia more vulnerable to extremism. The OSCE has criticised human rights standards in Turkmenistan.

Chechnya: The organisation has urged a political solution to the conflict and has expressed concerns about the climate of violence and the lack of independent media in the republic. In 2002 Russia refused to renew the mandate of the OSCE's mission.

Shell explodes in Macedonian village during 2001 conflict
Macedonia: 2001 conflict prompted the OSCE to boost its presence
Croatia: An OSCE mission advises on democratisation and human rights.

Georgia: The OSCE urges a political resolution to the status of the breakway Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. OSCE monitors are in place on the Georgia-Chechnya border.

Kosovo: As part of the UN Mission in Kosovo, a large OSCE presence is involved in democracy-building and human rights monitoring. The OSCE police school trained more than 6,000 officers for Kosovo's new, multi-ethnic police force.

Macedonia: Originally set up in 1992 to prevent the Balkan conflict from spreading, the OSCE mission expanded following the 2001 conflict between ethnic Albanian rebels and government forces. The organisation has trained a new multi-ethnic police force.

Moldova: The OSCE is working for a political settlement between Moldova and the breakaway Trans-Dniester region.

Serbia and Montenegro: The federation was admitted to the OSCE in 2000, eight years after the old Yugoslavia was suspended during the war in Bosnia. An OSCE mission based in Belgrade has set the promotion of democratisation, human rights and media freedom as its priorities.

Ukraine: The OSCE runs projects on media freedom, military and legal reform.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3183718.stm