The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE; until 31 December 1994 CSCE) : Germany

With 54 participating states (all the European countries, the United States, Canada and the successor states of the former Soviet Union; the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been suspended from participation for the time being) the OSCE is the only forum for pan-European cooperation. The core documents of the OSCE are the Helsinki Final Act (1975) and the Charter of Paris (1990), which marked the OSCE’s entry into a new phase following the end of East-West confrontation. The participating states are committed to human rights, democracy, the rule of law, economic freedom, social justice and European unity. They have thus obligated themselves to observing high common values in their dealings with one another and in their treatment of their citizens.

The OSCE, which formerly consisted largely of a series of conferences, has grown to become an active orga-nization which can and does assume concrete political responsibilities. These include early-warning arrangements, conflict prevention and crisis management including peacekeeping measures, and the peaceful settlement of conflicts. Long-term conflict prevention and advisory missions of the OSCE have taken up their work in a number of states. Apart from giving financial support, Germany has from the beginning provided qualified personnel for these missions.