Conflict prevention at the core of the OSCE’s work, but must be further strengthened to face another decade, say participants at Ministerial Council side event

The OSCE has played a vital role in preventing conflict and responding to crises over the last decade, but further steps must be taken to strengthen and make better use of the OSCE’s unique toolbox in relation to early warning, early action, dialogue facilitation, mediation support and post-conflict rehabilitation.

This was the main message to come from an event held on 3 December 2021 on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Stockholm to mark the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Ministerial Council Decision on "Elements of the Conflict Cycle".

OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid said in her opening remarks that this Ministerial Council Decision was an innovative and forward-looking decision and that “our work over the last decade demonstrates the Secretariat’s commitment to its implementation”. Pointing to early warning as an essential part of conflict prevention, the Secretary General stressed that “looking forward, we must ensure our conflict cycle instruments remain robust and adequate to tackle contemporary security challenges”.

Moderated by Tuula Yrjölä, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, the event featured contributions from Audronius Ažubalis, former Lithuanian Foreign Minister and the 2011 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office; former OSCE Secretaries General Lamberto Zannier and Thomas Greminger; former CPC Directors Adam Kobieracki and Marcel Pesko; as well as Annika Söder, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus. These high-level speakers shared their views on how best to make full use of existing instruments to address the different phases of the conflict cycle.

Since the adoption of the "Elements of the Conflict Cycle" Decision, much effort has been put into improving the OSCE’s conflict cycle toolbox. Most recently, the first OSCE Peacebuilding Course was organized in September 2021. Notably, efforts to gender-mainstream conflict cycle instruments are a key component of the OSCE’s work, as demonstrated by the creation of the 2019 toolkit on ‘Inclusion of Women and Effective Peace Processes’.