Network of think tanks recommends strengthening the OSCE

BELGRADE, 1 October 2015 – The OSCE’s role in providing a common platform for mediation and conflict prevention is more important today than ever, says a new report by the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions, which was presented today at the Belgrade Security Forum 2015.

The report, Reviving Co-operative Security in Europe through the OSCE, stresses the need to enhance the OSCE’s leadership “both by strengthening the organization’s role in the foreign policy agendas of its participating States and by increasing the autonomous capacities and resources of its key institutions.”

It also underscores the importance of strengthening field missions as they are instrumental in the OSCE’s role in crisis prevention and early warning.

Due to increasing risks of military accidents and escalation, the report recommends that “the OSCE should establish a permanent dialogue between Russia and the West in order to revitalize and update the system of conventional arms control and confidence- and security-building measures”. It also notes that in the current global political situation, “the OSCE should provide the forum for a direct, non-propagandistic dialogue between Russia and the West. An independent panel of contemporary historians could help to break down ingrained interpretations and myths and, consequently, promote historical reconciliation and (peace) mediation”.

Other recommendations include stronger engagement of the OSCE in bilateral quiet diplomacy in human rights issues, strengthening of protection of national minorities as well as defining a long-term strategy towards protracted conflicts for the OSCE Chairmanships to implement.

Seventeen key research institutes and university departments from 14 countries across the OSCE region contributed to this project. The report presented in Belgrade is the third published by the Network since its foundation in June 2013. Previous studies included Threat Perceptions in the OSCE Area and The Future of OSCE Field Operations.

The Network is an autonomous group of research institutions independent of the OSCE and its position does not reflect any official views.

The report will be also submitted to the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project, which is holding a working session in Belgrade on October 2. The Panel, launched by the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship in December 2014, consists of 15 eminent personalities with long-standing practical experience in European security from all OSCE regions.