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FOREIGN POLICY
In 2016, Germany will be Chair of the OSCE, thus affirming its commitment to the organisation
among them the UN Climate Secretariat
Germany supports the Organization for Se-
(UNFCCC).
curity and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),
another mainstay of peace and security in
In order to better help international organ-
Europe. The organisation originated in the
isations on peace-keeping missions, Ger-
Conference on Security and Co-operation
many is going to put the training and deploy-
in Europe (CSCE) and adopted its present
ment of civilian crisis response workers on
name in 1995. The core document of the
an even more professional footing. Estab-
OSCE is the Helsinki Final Act, which was
lished in 2002, the Centre for International
signed in 1975, and in which, among other
Peace Operations has a pool of 1,500 ex-
things, the inviolability of frontiers and the
perts on call, and will be strengthened still
peaceful settlement of disputes were agreed
further. It selects civilian crisis managers,
as basic principles of the European security
prepares them on training courses for mis-
order.
sions as observers and mediators in crisis
areas and post-conflict countries, and evalu-
The OSCE as the main forum for peace and
ates their experiences. In cooperation with
security in Europe
the Federal Foreign Office, by 2015 the
Centre for International Peace Operations
Today the organisation has 57 participating
had already posted 3,000 short and long-
states from Europe, North America and
term volunteers on election observation
Central Asia making it the largest regional
missions, and conducted projects in 65
organisation for collective security world-
countries.
wide. The importance of the OSCE as a