OSCE Centre in Tashkent (Closed)

1. Basic Decisions

Establishment:
Permanent Council, 16 March 1995, Journal No. 12, Point 5 PC.DEC/28.
Permanent Council, 14 December 2000, Journal No. 314, Agenda item 7, PC.DEC/397.
 

2. Tasks

In its Decision of 14 December 2000 the Permanent Council recalled its Decisions Nos. 28 of 16 March 1995, 118 of 9 May 1996, and 231 of 11 June 1998; took into account the expanded presence of the OSCE in Central Asia in line with Decisions Nos. 243, 244, 245, all of 23 July 1998; recognized the change of the focus of the activities of the OSCE Liaison Office in Central Asia (CALO); and welcomed the willingness of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to continue its intensive co-operation with the OSCE.

The Permanent Council decided:

  • To change the name of the OSCE Liaison Office in Central Asia to the OSCE Centre in Tashkent and to change the title of Head of the OSCE Liaison Office in Central Asia to Head of the OSCE Centre in Tashkent;
  • To give the OSCE Centre in Tashkent the following tasks:

- Given the OSCE's role as 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 Uzbekistan within the OSCE framework;

- 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 maintain contacts with local authorities, universities, research institutions and non governmental organizations;

- To assist in arranging OSCE events and activities, including visits by OSCE delegations;

- To liaise and co-operate closely with the OSCE presences in the region;

- To perform tasks deemed appropriate by the Chairman-in-Office or other OSCE institutions and agreed on between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the OSCE.

3. Deployment

The Office started working in Tashkent in June 1995. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary General of the OSCE and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Establishment of an OSCE Central Asian Liaison Office in Tashkent was signed on 12 July 1995 in Tashkent.

The formal basis for the operation of the OSCE Centre in Tashkent was, mutatis mutandis, the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 12 July 1995 between the Government of Uzbekistan and the Secretary General of the OSCE and the Permanent Council Decisions referred to above. The premises and assets of the CALO were carried over to the Centre in Tashkent.

4. Duration

The Office's original mandate lasted until April 1996. Subsequent prolongations were decided at:

68th Permanent Council (PC), PC.DEC/118, 9 May 1996: until 1 July 1998;
172nd PC Meeting, PC.DEC/231, 11 June 1998: until 31 December 2000.

Permanent Council Decision 661 of 3 February 2005 decided to make the mandate of the OSCE Centre in Tashkent a renewable one and approved the mandate until 31 December 2005. The Permanent Council decided to hold annual reviews of the implementation of the mandate and the activities of the Centre.

5. Composition

The original authorized strength of the Office was one member (Head of Office). In conformity with the Permanent Council Decision No. 118, 9 May 1996, the staff of the Office was increased by one Human Dimension expert, which was subsequently changed to Political Officer. Furthermore, according to Decision No. 207 of 16 December 1997, two additional posts of, respectively, Human Dimension Expert and Economic/Environmental Expert, were established effective as of 1 July 1998.

The OSCE Centre in Tashkent was led by a Head of Centre assisted by a team of three experts seconded by OSCE participating States.

The last Head of Centre was Ambassador Miroslav Jenca of Slovakia (currently the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan).