Secretariat - External Co-operation

The OSCE recognizes that the United Nations Security Council bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Thus, the United Nations is the OSCE's primary partner organization. In 1992, the participating States declared the OSCE (at that time CSCE) to be "a regional arrangement in the sense of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations". In 1993, a Framework for Co-operation and Co-ordination between the United Nations Secretariat and the CSCE was agreed upon, and in the same year the UN granted the CSCE observer status.

After 11 September 2001, co-operation has been further enhanced to include active OSCE support for the work of the United Nations and its specialized bodies in the global efforts against terrorism. The shared UN-OSCE agenda includes:

• Ratification and implementation of the 12 Universal Anti-terrorism Instruments and other initiatives to combat terrorism 
• Conflict settlement and peace-building 
• Early warning and conflict prevention 
• Small arms and light weapons 
• Border management 
• Environmental and economic aspects of security 
• Anti-trafficking 
• Democratization and human rights 
• Freedom of the media

The 2005 World Summit called on the United Nations to expand consultation and co-operation with regional organizations. On 17 October 2005, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution (S/RES/1631) which provided for further enhancing co-operation between regional organizations and the Security Council.

Framework for co-operation

The two organizations maintain close contacts and co-operation through elaborate mechanisms of high-level dialogue, as well as co-ordination and information-sharing at staff-level:

• High-level tripartite meetings between the respective Chairpersons and Secretaries General of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, as well as the Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, and others, have been held annually since 1993.
• Target-oriented meetings at staff level precede each high-level tripartite meeting.
• High-level meetings between the UN and regional organizations, to strengthen co-operation in facing challenges to international peace and security, held regularly since 1994.
• UN Security Council meetings with regional organizations on thematic issues related to peace and security, have been held annually since 2003.
• The OSCE has observer status in the UN General Assembly, while the UN is invited to participate in OSCE Ministerial Council and Summit meetings. UN representatives are frequently invited to address the OSCE Permanent Council. 
• Representatives of relevant United Nations entities are invited to participate in the main annual OSCE events, including the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, the Economic Forum and the Annual Security Review Conference.
• Annual UN-OSCE staff-level meetings serve as an important venue for exchange of information and co-ordination of activities.

OSCE field operations co-operate closely with UN agencies and missions. For example, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo is an integral part of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and the OSCE Mission to Georgia supports the United Nations conflict settlement efforts in Abkhazia, Georgia.