Report on the international academic conference on ‘Helsinki plus 40 : the Mediterranean chapter of the Helsinki Final Act and the future of Mediterranean co-operation’

Abstract

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world’s largest regional security organisation, encompassing 57 Participating States from Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and North America, as well as 11 Partners for Co-operation from North Africa and Asia. It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, and maintains a presence on the ground through a unique network of field missions. The OSCE also advocates arms control disarmament, confidence-and security-building measures, policing strategies, counter-terrorism, as well as human rights issues. In this regard, the OSCE champions a comprehensive approach to security, including its politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. The founding document of the CSCE – the Helsinki Final Act – which in itself was a mechanism of conflict prevention, is still as valid today, even in the wake of the new risks and challenges that the Organisation faces. Its three facets of security: politico-military, economic and environmental as well as human dimensions are interlinked, and therefore comprehensive.