OSCE Parliamentary Assembly launches Helsinki +40 Project: Seminars at top think-tanks and final colloquium to mark 40th anniversary of Helsinki Final Act; consider past, present and future of OSCE

COPENHAGEN, 30 January 2014 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today officially launched its Helsinki +40 Project, an initiative that will bring together security and human rights experts, politicians, academia, civil society and the public to evaluate the OSCE’s past and chart concrete lines of action for the future.

Consisting of three seminars at top think-tanks in the United States, Russia and Sweden over the next two years, the Project will culminate in a final colloquium on the site of the signing of the OSCE’s founding document, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) will host the first leg of the Helsinki +40 Project in Washington in early summer 2014; the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) will host the second leg in Moscow in autumn 2014; and the International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) will host the third leg of the Project in Stockholm in early spring 2015.

The Project’s final colloquium will be held in Helsinki in July 2015, in parallel with the 24^th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Each Helsinki +40 seminar will produce discussion papers and articles that will be synthesized in a Final Report and presented at the 2015 Annual Session.

The Project’s leaders include former OSCE PA President Joao Soares (Portugal); Chair of the OSCE PA Committee on Transparency and Reform of the OSCE François-Xavier de Donnea (Belgium); and OSCE Special Co-ordinator for the Helsinki +40 Process Ilkka Kanerva (Finland).

The Project will be co-ordinated by the leadership of the participating think-tanks and experts at the OSCE PA International Secretariat in Copenhagen, led by PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver:

“The Helsinki +40 Project provides a crucial opportunity for us to reinvigorate our mission as an organization. Drawing on a rich cross-section of the OSCE’s many interlocutors, this initiative will help us reflect on what we’ve accomplished and identify where we must reform in order to stay relevant and effective. As the OSCE’s democratic backbone, the Parliamentary Assembly is particularly suited to take on this ambitious initiative. I see no more fitting way to mark the 40^th anniversary of the Final Act,” Oliver said.

“I am grateful to our parliamentarians and the national parliaments of our host countries for their support. I’d also like to express deep appreciation to our participating think-tanks for lending their vision and resources to this project,” he added.

The OSCE PA previously organized a colloquium to consider the status of the OSCE and its future in 2005.
 

Participating think-tanks on the Helsinki +40 Project:

SIPRI:

“The OSCE concept has now proven itself, and its contribution to European security has been validated by experience. The 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act provides a great opportunity to take a forward- and outward-looking perspective on the future development of the OSCE and the vital role of its parliamentary branch. It is a privilege for SIPRI to take part in this important project.”

-- Goran Lennmarker, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and former President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

RIAC:

“I strongly believe that the OSCE and its Parliamentary Assembly hold great potential for strengthening security and enhancing cooperation in the Euro-Atlantic region. RIAC is most honoured to participate in the drafting of recommendations and proposals to foster increased trust and cooperation within the OSCE in the years to come.”

-- Igor Ivanov, President of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

GMF:

“The German Marshall Fund of the United States is pleased to join SIPRI, RIAC and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on this keynote Helsinki +40 Project. The OSCE continues to play a vital role in upholding the values and rights enshrined in the Final Act of 1975 and contributes to the stability of the global international order. New challenges for the organization are also new opportunities.”

--Ivan Vejvoda, Vice President for Programs at The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)

 For more information, please contact:
OSCE PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver at spencer@oscepa.dk;
Programme Office Maria Chepurina at maria@oscepa.dk;
Communications Director Richard Solash at richard@oscepa.dk;
or call +45 33 37 80 40.

This is a press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The views expressed in this press release do not necessarily reflect those of the OSCE Chairmanship, nor of all OSCE participating States.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 57 countries spanning, Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international cooperation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.