OSCE releases 2011 Annual Report

On 30 March 2012 the OSCE published its Annual Report, giving an overview of the Organization’s work and activities in 2011.

In 2011 the OSCE succeeded in getting the Transdniestrian settlement process back on a formal track, creating the Vilnius Recommendations on the Safety of Journalists, enhancing its capacity to manage the conflict cycle and combat human trafficking, strengthening co-operation with its Partners for Co-operation and fulfilling the mandate of the OSCE Office in Zagreb.

Last year the OSCE welcomed as Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, who brought with him fresh ideas to adapt the Organization to current realities. “The Organization must keep up with the pace of change and be prepared to address security challenges new and old, across the three dimensions, emanating from within our region and from our immediate neighbourhood,” Zannier writes in his foreword.

The 56 OSCE participating States gave the Organization a new task to deal with security threats emerging from beyond national borders. At the Vilnius Ministerial Council, they agreed to create a new department to address transnational threats. “This department will strengthen co-ordination and coherence in the Organization’s efforts to confront terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and other cross-border security threats,” Zannier said.

Efforts were made to increase the visibility of the Organization, promote outreach to civil society and the academic community and strengthen the OSCE’s relationships with its Partners for Co-operation and international and regional organizations.

The Annual Report includes the activities of the OSCE’s field operations, Institutions, Secretariat and Parliamentary Assembly, as well as the 2011 Lithuanian Chairmanship and the Organization’s work with the Asian and Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation and international and regional organizations.

The OSCE Annual Report can be downloaded here: //www.osce.org/sg/89356