Event held to commemorate 20th Anniversary of the signing of the Open Skies Treaty

VIENNA, 27 March 2012 – The Permanent Mission of Hungary to the OSCE and the Delegation of Canada to the OSCE co-hosted a commemorative event today to mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Open Skies and the 10th anniversary of its entry into force.

The commemorative event was attended by all States Parties to the Treaty, the Observers to the Treaty and OSCE Partners as well as special guest Rose Gottemoeller, US Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, who was the keynote speaker.

The Open Skies Treaty and its implementation establish a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants, from “Vancouver to Vladivostok”. It significantly contributes to the goals and objectives of the OSCE, in particular the promotion of confidence, stability and security in Europe.

The idea for such a Treaty is rooted in the “Open Skies for peace” initiative proposed by US President Dwight Eisenhower in 1955. The concept was resurrected by President George Bush in 1989, than was carried forward by the Ottawa Open Skies Conference in 1990, which finally led to the signing of the Treaty by 25 states on 24 March 1992 in Helsinki.  It was considered one of the most important achievements in the field of confidence and security building and arms control in the modern era.

The current 34 State Parties to the Treaty on Open Skies have flown more than 840 missions since the Treaty’s entry into force on 1 January 2002.