OSCE PA Annual Session: confidence-building in military sphere the focus of First Committee resolution

COPENHAGEN, 13 June 2014 – Enhanced confidence-building measures in the military sphere, democratic control of countries’ armed forces and a comprehensive assessment of cyber threats are among key recommendations made by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Political Affairs and Security (First Committee) in its draft resolution for the PA’s upcoming Annual Session.

The resolution, which is expected to undergo several amendments, will be a core element of the Baku Declaration adopted at the PA’s 23rd Annual Session in the Azerbaijani capital. The Session, which runs from 28 June to 2 July, will be held under the theme “Helsinki +40: Towards Human Security for All.” 

Nearly 300 MPs will be present to vote on the Declaration, which will contain policy recommendations for the OSCE and its 57 participating States in the field of political affairs and security, as well as economics, the environment and human rights.

The First Committee’s draft resolution “stresses the importance of adapting arrangements for conventional arms control to today’s politico-military reality, building upon the existing foundation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the Open Skies Treaty and the Vienna Document as well as the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security.”

In particular, the draft resolution calls for “strong commitment” to the OSCE’s Vienna Document, which requires all participating States to share information on their military forces, equipment and defence planning and provides for inspections and evaluation visits.

The draft resolution also “expresses support” for the process of updating and modernizing the Vienna Document and “encourages bilateral agreements in [its] spirit.”

“The Vienna Document remains vital for building confidence among many of the world’s armed forces. We saw proof of that in March, when the OSCE sent military monitors to Ukraine under a mechanism of the Document that had never before been activated,” noted First Committee Rapporteur Pia Kauma (MP, Finland).

“I hope that my fellow parliamentarians will send a strong signal through their votes in support of an updated Vienna Document that takes into account today’s rapidly changing security landscape. Moreover, support for other measures, such as the democratic control of armed forces, goes hand-in-hand with this,” Kauma said.

In its more than two dozen clauses, the draft resolution also “encourages participating States to adopt an appropriate legislative basis for the democratic control of the armed forces based on the principles of constitutionality, legality and accountability.”

It also calls for a “comprehensive assessment of cyber threats” and the “creation of a reporting and classification system to counter cyber warfare.”

New measures to limit the illegal trade of small arms and a “more regulated legal framework for national referendums to avoid their misuse” are among other recommendations.

The draft resolution also refers to several current politico-military conflicts, as it expresses concern about the situation in Ukraine, welcomes active OSCE engagement towards resolving the crisis and strongly urges all parties to commit to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria.

The Baku Declaration will also feature resolutions from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment (Second Committee) and the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions (Third Committee), as well as more than a dozen supplementary items.

The full text of all draft resolutions and supplementary items, as well as a draft programme for the Annual Session, are available here. 

At the close of the Session, the Assembly will hold elections to choose its President, several Vice-Presidents and committee officers.

The Session will be live-streamed on the OSCE PA homepage, www.oscepa.org.

Follow news from the Session on Twitter using the hashtag #BakuAS.

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 56 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.