Resolution on the OSCE and the Helsinki+40 Process

The below resolution was passed at the EMI Federal Assembly 2015 and can be downloaded here.

This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, the founding document of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. In light of this anniversary, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly called (in 2012) upon the OSCE participating states to use 2015 as an occasion to renew the vision and the role of the OSCE, and set up new milestones to work towards the goal of a security community. In response, in December 2012, the OSCE Ministerial Council launched the ‘Helsinki+40’ process, which aims to provide a strong and continuous political impetus to advancing work towards a security community and further strengthening cooperation within the OSCE.

The OSCE is the only organisation that brings together all European states and successor states of the Soviet Union, as well as the US, Canada and Mongolia, to promote European security. Consequently, it is invaluable for preserving the peace and security of the European continent. The adoption of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975 has been instrumental in making respect for international human rights an important aspect of intergovernmental relations. The OSCE has also become the international standard for election monitoring. Furthermore, the OSCE Minsk Group is the main actor involved in the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and current developments on the continent, such as the crisis in Ukraine, prove the ongoing need for dialogue and cooperation among all actors that the OSCE facilitates.

The European Movement International endorses the core values of the OSCE: the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as well as conflict prevention and conflict management in order to achieve sustainable security on the European continent. The European Movement International shares the key values of the OSCE in its aim to contribute to the establishment of a democratic, peaceful Europe with respect for human rights.

At its Federal Assembly 2014, the EMI committed itself to promoting Europe’s role in conflict prevention, promoting human rights all over the world, and strengthening democratic, pluralistic societies in Eastern Europe. Sharing their key values as well as goals, the OSCE and EMI are essentially engaged in the same project, complementing each other’s perspectives. Whereas the OSCE aims to engage governments to achieve its aims, the European Movement International engages citizens and civil society organisations to work towards the same goals.

Considering the above, the European Movement International fully supports the Helsinki+40 Process.

The Movement therefore urges the OSCE participating states, Ministerial Council, Serbian Chairmanship and Parliamentary Assembly to use 2015 as an opportunity to renew the strategic vision of the OSCE and tackle important reforms. It calls upon all actors, but in particular on the Russian Federation, to participate constructively in the Helsinki+40 Process in order to ensure the relevance of the OSCE in the European continent into the future. With this in mind it looks forward to the Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Helsinki in July, and the Ministerial Council, gathering in Belgrade in December, to deliver on their earlier commitments.