Seminar on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security for the Baltic Sea region

This year’s seminar will be hosted by Latvia and be opened by the Latvian Minister of Defence, Dr. Artis Pabriks. Around 45 high-ranking officials from the Armed Forces, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, academia and members of Parliament from nine States of the Baltic Sea region will participate in this event.

This is the 5th regional seminar that the Conflict Prevention Centre has organized, in pursuant to Decision No. 1/08 of the Forum for Security Co-operation. Previous regional seminars were held in Kazakhstan (2008), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2009), Belarus (2010) and Ukraine (2011).

The seminar will focus on issues such as the parliamentary oversight and control of armed forces, security sector reform and related aspects pertaining to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. The seminar will also touch upon the respect for international humanitarian and human rights law in the context of internal security missions and international peace operations, as well as the rights of armed forces personnel. In addition, the seminar will address security and co-operation in the Baltic Sea region, including the principle of the indivisibility of security, and it will allow sharing national and regional experiences made in implementing the Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct, adopted in 1994, is a landmark document in security sector governance. Through the Code of Conduct, OSCE participating States commit themselves to provide for the democratic control and oversight of their armed forces and to respect important inter-state principles such as the indivisibility of security. The Code of Conduct is implemented in the OSCE by a yearly information exchange, based on a questionnaire.

The seminar is funded by Germany and Switzerland.

For further information, please contact Mr Fabian Grass (fabian.grass@osce.org).