The Astana Commemorative Declaration “Towards a Security Community” of 3 December 2010, tasked the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship with organizing a follow-up process to the preparations for the Astana Summit, and the earlier Corfu Process, in enhancing the OSCE’s security dialogue.

The Chairmanship is relying primarily on existing OSCE structures and mechanisms to take this work forward. To fulfil the commitment, the Chairmanship has initiated a robust, informal dialogue on Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security. This dialogue includes informal ambassadorial discussions in the style and spirit of the Corfu Process, called the V to V Dialogues (Vancouver to Vladivostok via Vienna and Vilnius).

Some of the V to V Dialogues are followed by events hosted by think-tanks, academic and NGO experts, co-sponsored by willing participating States on similar or closely-related topics. The International Peace Institute, in co-operation with the Chairmanship, has already organized a number of workshops.

The Chairmanship intends for the V to V Dialogues and the associated events to lay the ground for the discussion and adoption of decisions at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vilnius on 6-7 December 2011, among other outcomes.

The Conflict Cycle

Participating States agreed at the Astana Summit that the ‘conflict cycle’ (early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation) remains one of the priorities of the Organization. The purposes of the series of V to V Dialogue meetings on the conflict cycle are to take stock of the debates over the last two years and, building on work that was carried out under the Corfu Process and in the lead up to the Astana Summit, to generate concrete, operational ‘deliverables’ and an actionable way forward to the 2011 Vilnius Ministerial Council and beyond.

• March 15: Informal Ambassadorial Meeting “Advancing the ‘V to V’ Dialogue on the Conflict Cycle”;
• April 15: Expert Meeting on Enhancing the OSCE Early Warning and Analytical Capacities;
• May 2-3: Workshop on Post- Conflict Rehabilitation: Stabilisation, Reconstruction and Peace-building;
• May 20: Informal Ambassadorial Meeting on Challenges Posed by Natural and Man-Made Disasters and the Co-ordinated Response of the International Community;
• July 12: Expert Meeting on Strengthening the Mediation-Support Capacity within the OSCE;
• September 20: Ambassadorial Workshop "Early Response to Crises and Emerging Conflicts"