OSCE

The OSCE (Organization For Security And Cooperation In Europe) was established in 1973 as the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). Talks had been mooted about a European security grouping since the 1950s but the Cold War prevented any substantial progress until the talks in Helsinki began in November 1972. The recommendations of the meeting led to series of conferences, the so-called Helsinki process. In August 1975, the Helsinki Final Act which was signed by the 35 participating nations.

The collapse of Communism required a change of role for the CSCE. The Paris Charter for a New Europe which was signed on 21 November 1990 marked the beginning of this change. In 1995, a permanent body was created under the name OSCE.

Today, most European and central Asian countries as well as Canada and the United States are members of the OSCE. The organization mainly deals with human rights and democracy issue, notably by veiling on freedom of the press and by monitoring elections. The OSCE presidency rotates every year; currently, the foreign minister of Slovenia is in the chair. The OSCE headquarters are located in Vienna (Austria). The organization also has offices in Copenhagen, Geneva, The Hague, Prague and Warsaw. It employs around 440 persons in its various institutions and has about 750 international and 2,370 local field-workers.

The OSCE has recently held a series of conferences on anti-Semitism