OSCE Centre in Dushanbe

1. Basic decisions

Establishment:

• 4th Meeting of the Council, Rome, 1 December 1993, Decision I.4

Terms of Reference: ibid.

• Permanent Council Decision No. 500, 31 October 2002 (PC.DEC/400/Corr.1)

2. Tasks

2.1. At its 418th Plenary Meeting on 31 October 2002, the Permanent Council decided:

1. To change the name of the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan*, including its field offices, to the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and to change the title of the Head of Mission of the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan to Head of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe;

* Cf. 2.2. former Mandate of the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan

2. To give the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe the following tasks:

• Given the OSCE role as a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, to promote the implementation of OSCE principles and commitments as well as the co-operation of the Republic of Tajikistan within the OSCE framework, with special emphasis on the regional context, in all OSCE dimensions, including the economic, environmental, human and political aspects of security and stability;
• To promote ways and means for the OSCE to assist in the development of a legal framework and democratic political institutions and processes including the respect for human rights;
• To facilitate contacts and promote information exchange with the Chairman-in-Office, OSCE bodies and the OSCE participating States in Central Asia as well as co-operation with international organizations and institutions;
• To establish and maintain contacts with local authorities, universities, research institutions and NGOs;
• To assist in arranging OSCE regional events, inter alia, regional seminars and visits to the area by OSCE delegations as well as other events with OSCE participation;
• To perform these tasks, and others agreed on by the Republic of Tajikistan and the OSCE within its current mandate, in close co-operation and consultation with the authorities of the Republic of Tajikistan and with full respect for its national laws and regulations;

3. To task the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, with regard to existing economic, social and environmental threats to the security in Tajikistan, to develop further - in co-operation with the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan - the Centre's activities in the economic and environmental dimension. In each field office one officer will be responsible for economic and environmental issues. The economic and environmental officer in the Centre in Dushanbe, who will occupy a senior management position, will be tasked to co-ordinate these activities;

4. To promote the implementation of decisions of the Bucharest Ministerial Council and the "Bishkek International Conference on Enhancing Security and Stability in Central Asia: Strengthening Comprehensive Efforts to Counter Terrorism", in the areas of police-related activities, border control and anti-trafficking;

5. To instruct the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe to liaise and co-operate closely with the other OSCE Centres in the region in order to maintain the coherence of the regional approach of the OSCE;

Furthermore, it was decided that:

6. The personnel, present premises and assets of the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan will be carried over to the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe.

2.2. The mandate of the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan, outlined in the Rome Council Decisions consisted of the following elements:

• maintain contact with and facilitate dialogue and confidence-building between regionalist and political forces in the country;
• actively promote respect for human rights;
• promote and monitor adherence to CSCE norms and principles;
• promote ways and means for the CSCE to assist in the development of legal and democratic political institutions and processes;
• keep the CSCE informed about further developments.

On the basis of the above mandate, the Permanent Council at its 28th Plenary Meeting on 6 July 1995 decided** to request the Mission to follow the human rights situation of returning refugees and internally displaced persons in Tajikistan, to draw the attention of the Tajik authorities to problems affecting these groups with a view to facilitating their reintegration into Tajik society, and to report on this matter on a regular basis.

** Subject to a silence procedure which expired on 10 July 1995, at 5 pm, without an objection.

At its 60th Plenary Meeting on 29 February 1996, the Permanent Council tasked:

• the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan with offering assistance and advice to the independent Ombudsman institution and with reporting regularly on its activities;
• the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, with the assistance of the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan, with conducting a comprehensive review of the institution's accomplishments after the first year of operation of the independent Ombudsman institution and submitting a written report to the Permanent Council.

3. Deployment

The Head of Mission and one Mission member started work in Dushanbe on 19 February 1994.

The Permanent Council Decision of 6 July 1995 (PC.DEC/59) provided for the opening of three branch offices, initially for a six-month period, in Kurgan-Turbe, Shartuz and Dusti. These branches opened officially on 1 October 1995.

The Permanent Council Decision of 5 June 1997 (PC.DEC/170) provided for the opening of two additional branch offices. The field office in Garm began operating in May 1998. A field office in Khujand began operating in February 2000.

In the current mandate of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, it is stated that:

• The OSCE Centre in Dushanbe will have five field offices in Khujand, Kurgan-Tyube, Garm, Kulyab and Shartuz;

4. Duration

Initially foreseen until the end of the first budget (30 June 1994). Subsequent prolongations of the mandate were decided at:

• 26th Permanent Committee Meeting, 30 June 1994: until 31 July 1994;
• 28th Permanent Committee Meeting, 14 July 1994: until 31 December 1994;
• 41st Permanent Committee Meeting, 14 November 1994: until 30 June 1995;
• 23rd Permanent Council (PC), PC.DEC/47, 1 June 1995: until 31 December 1995;
• 45th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/86, 16 November 1995: until 30 June 1996;
• 74th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/126, 20 June 1996: until 31 December 1996;
• 91st PC Meeting, PC.DEC/141, 7 November 1996: until 30 June 1997;
• 119th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/171, 10 June 1997: until 31 December 1997;
• 141st PC Meeting, PC.DEC/198, 27 November 1997: until 30 June 1998;
• 173rd PC Meeting, PC.DEC/235, 17 June 1998: until 31 December 1998;
• 199th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/269, 19 November 1998: until 30 June 1999;
• 236th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/301, 24 June 1999: until 31 December 1999;
• 260th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/323, 2 December 1999: until 30 June 2000;
• 288th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/361, 22 June 2000: until 31 December 2000;
• 313th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/389,7 December 2000: until 30 June 2001;
• 345th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/422, 28 June 2001: until 31 December 2001;
• 375th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/459, 21 December 2001: until 30 June 2002***;
• 399th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/482, 27 June 2002: until 31 October 2002****;
• 418th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/500Corr1, 31 October 2002: until 31 December 2003;
• 488th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/580, 18 December 2003: until 31 December 2004;
• 538th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/649, 16 December 2004: until 31 December 2005;
• 580th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/703, 17 November 2005: until 31 December 2006.

*** The Permanent Council requests its Chairman to undertake consultations on the form of co-operation between the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan and the Tajik authorities and to report to the Permanent Council the results of these consultations by 31 May 2002.

**** The Permanent Council requests its Chairman to undertake consultations on the form of co-operation between the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan and the Tajik authorities and to report to the Permanent Council the results of these consultations by 31 May 2002.

5. Composition

The original authorized strength of the Mission was 4 members. By a Permanent Council Decision of 6 July 1995, the authorized strength was temporarily increased to 7 members. The Unified OSCE Budget for 1996 assumed the strength of the Mission to be 8 members.

At its 118th Plenary Meeting on 5 June 1997 the Permanent Council approved the augmentation of the Mission by 3 international staff members, bringing the total authorized strength to 11. At its 314th Plenary Meeting on 14 December 2000 the Permanent Council approved the augmentation of the Mission by 4 international staff members (3 seconded and 1 contracted) and to bring the total authorized strength to 15. In 2002, PC.DEC/469 brought the authorized strength of the Mission to 16. In 2003, PC.DEC/590 increased the strength of the Mission to 17. The total number of authorized international staff is currently 17 (as of September 2006).

The post of Head of Centre is currently vacant (as of September 2006).

6. Financial implications

The OSCE Unified Budget for 2006, adopted on 20 December 2005, PC.DEC/712, established the budget of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe at EUR 3,936,700.