Austria holds last meeting as Chair of OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation

VIENNA, 15 December 2021 – Building trust, improving military transparency, countering the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, and improving the participation of women in the armed forces were at the centre of Austria’s Chairpersonship of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC). This was the message emphasized by Dieter Kandlhofer, Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Defence, at the last meeting held under the Austrian FSC Chair.

“Our aim was to continue using the Forum as a crucial platform for dialogue that takes into account cross-cutting issues,” said Kandlhofer in his opening remarks. “With its mandate to promote politico-military security in the OSCE area, the FSC serves the purpose to help build trust among the 57 participating States. As such, consistent efforts to rebuild trust were the main priority during our period as chair.”

Kandlhofer also highlighted the efforts made by the Austrian FSC Chair over the previous four months. “The strengthening and intensification of military contacts was one of the key topics of the Austrian FSC Chair in recent months,” he said. “Other priorities were regional conventional arms control, small arms or light weapons and ammunition storage security as well as the OSCE Code of Conduct. We brought these topics to life by putting them at the centre of six security dialogues and additional events.”

He also highlighted the efforts made by the Austrian FSC Chair to build consensus in the lead-up to the December 2021 Ministerial Council. These proposals focused on arms control, improving military contacts between states, countering the illegal proliferation of small arms and light weapons and their associated ammunition. In addition, the Austrian FSC Chair and the Swedish OSCE Chairpersonship introduced a document on promoting equal opportunities for full and meaningful participation of all armed forces personnel with a particular focus on women.

“While consensus could not be reached, we have succeeded in ensuring continued, meaningful exchanges among states on these themes. In difficult times, maintaining dialogue on these important issues is a success. I hope that these topics, which are so essential to European security, will continue to be part of the FSC’s efforts in 2022,” he concluded.

The Forum meeting also featured an intervention by OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, who emphasized the importance of reviving conventional arms control and updating the OSCE’s confidence- and security-building measures.

Following the close of its FSC Chairpersonship, Austria will continue its work at the FSC Troika, which consists of the incoming and outgoing FSC Chairs. On 8 January 2022, Azerbaijan takes over the Chairpersonship of the FSC, and Belarus will join the FSC troika.