EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ACTION / Alla Tymofeyeva (ed.)

2. HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS IN EUROPE

2.1 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the largest regional security institution in the world. Headquartered in Vienna (Austria), the OSCE was formerly known as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE); it was renamed OSCE in 1994. The CSCE was created by the Helsinki Final Act in 1975. The OSCE deals with conflict warning, prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict rehabilitation. Tasks of the OSCE include arms control, preventive diplomacy, democratization and promotion of human rights. The OSCE members now include all European nations, as well as Canada and the United States (who were both members from the original inception), and members fromCentral Asia. All members have equal status and decisions are based on consensus. The 57 member states are: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, the Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan. Several institutions make up the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Permanent Council is the main decision-making body of the OSCE. It convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss issues and formulate decisions. The Chairman-in-Office is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of an OSCE member state. The Chairman is selected annually, and is responsible for executive action on behalf of the member states. The Ministerial Troika and the Secretary- General assist the Chairman. The Parliamentary Assembly consists of over 300 Members of Parliament from member states. Its purpose is to promote the OSCE agenda and the OSCE in general in national parliaments. The Secretariat provides organizational support to the OSCE. The Secretariat is under the supervision of the Secretary-General. The responsibilities of the Secretariat include: supporting field activities, maintaining contacts with NGOs, coordinating economic and environmental activities, administrative, financial, personnel services, and coordinating military events, conference and language services, public information, technology, and press. In addition, the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration settles disputes between member states that are parties to the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE. The Arms Control and Confidence and Security Building Measures is headed by people personally appointed by the Chairman-in-Office and oversees military threats to member states. The OSCE has adopted a number of human rights treaties together with the establishment of special human rights bodies. The first is the Helsinki Final Act , which linked human rights concerns with securities concerns. It was signed in 1975 by 33 states, including Canada, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Since the end of the Cold War, over fifty states have joined the Act. Because the Helsinki Final Act is not an actual treaty, it is not binding on states, and failure to comply with it has political, not legal, consequences. Two of the ten Guiding Principles of the Helsinki Final Act address human rights. The first one, Principle VII, calls for respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. The last paragraph of Principle VII confirms that member states of the OSCE should act in accordance with the United Nations Charter (1945) as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). It states, “In the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the participating States will act in conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They will also fulfil their obligations as set forth in the international declarations and agreements in this

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EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ACTION