Charter for European Security
The Charter for European Security is an international agreement for the preservation and safeguarding of peaceful order in Europe.
It was adopted on 19 November 1999 in Istanbul as the final document of the OSCE Summit Conference by 55 European, Asian and American states.
[4] The European Security Charter of 1999 represents a continuation and extension of the regulations agreed in the previous documents.
Almost ten years after the end of the East-West conflict, a binding basis for the peaceful coexistence of the peoples of Europe was to be laid down in writing.
The measures we have agreed to take in this Charter will strengthen both the OSCE's capacity in this regard and its ability to resolve conflicts and restore normality to societies devastated by war and destruction.
They further reaffirm that the OSCE is a regional arrangement within the meaning of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations and one of the principal organisations for the peaceful settlement of disputes within their region, as well as a principal instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.
They reaffirm the inherent right of each participating State to freely choose its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, or to modify them in the course of their development.
States undertake to further strengthen and deepen cooperation with relevant organisations on the basis of equality and in a spirit of partnership through the Platform for Co-operative Security, which is adopted as an essential element of the Charter (para.
Solidarity and partnership are emphasised in the Charter: ‘The best guarantee of peace and security in our region is the willingness and ability of each participating State to uphold democracy and the rule of law and to respect human rights.
We each reaffirm our readiness to fully honour our commitments... We will, in a spirit of solidarity and partnership, work together to ensure the ongoing review of implementation’ (lfd.
These institutions are seen as essential instruments for guaranteeing respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law (No.
Under the humanitarian dimension of the Charter, States reaffirm that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are the cornerstones of the OSCE's comprehensive concept of security.
They commit themselves to resolutely oppose threats to security such as violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, and expressions of intolerance, aggressive nationalism, racism, chauvinism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism (No.
As part of the politico-military dimension of the Charter, the signatories recognise that the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) must remain a cornerstone of European security (No.
