OSCE Mission to Skopje

The OSCE Mission to Skopje is the organization’s longest-serving field mission. It has nearly quadrupled in size since the internationally brokered Ohrid Framework Agreement put an end to a seven-month-long conflict in 2001 by establishing guarantees to protect the rights of all ethnic communities in the country. 

One of the Mission’s key priorities is to monitor and support implementation of the Framework Agreement, especially in its key areas: education, decentralization, equitable representation, language, and non-discrimination. In addition, the Mission works with other organizations, both local and international, on long-term reform processes in areas such as the judiciary, professionalization of the police, and public administration.

As of 2013, the Mission’s activities are conducted under two internal departments:  Human Dimension and Public Safety and Community Outreach. The Human Dimension Department is further divided into three units: Democratic Governance, Rule of Law, and the Co-ordination Unit Inter-ethnic Relations.

The Public Safety and Community Outreach Department is responsible for fulfilling the Mission’s early-warning function. As such, it includes the Monitoring Unit and the Police Development Unit, the two Mission components that have traditionally dealt with field developments related to security, inter-community issues, and local trends that could have an impact on stability in the country.

The Mission employs 159 staff members, including  50 internationals from 22 countries who work side by side with 109 national staff members.

Further information on the mandate, staffing and budget can be found in the annual Survey of OSCE Field Operations.