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OSCE Foreign Ministers to meet this week in Budapest
VIENNA 5 December 1995
VIENNA, 5 December 1995 - Foreign Ministers of the 53 OSCE participating States will meet in Budapest on Thursday and Friday, 7-8 December. The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. It considers and decides on key issues of the Organization. The Ministerial Council meets at least once a year towards the end of every term of chairmanship. Representatives from other international organizations and from Japan, Korea, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Morocco and Tunisia have also been invited to attend the meeting.
One of the key items on the agenda is the OSCE role in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and other parts of the region. The Ministers are expected to adopt a detailed mandate for an OSCE Mission to supervise preparations and conduct of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministers will also discuss the OSCE's role in monitoring human rights and in assisting with negotiations on confidence-building measures and arms control for the region.
The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Hungarian Foreign Minister Lászlo Kóvács, will submit a progress report to the Ministers on the OSCE discussion of a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for the Twenty-First Century. Meetings on the Security Model, which have taken place on a regular basis within the OSCE since the 1994 Budapest Summit, have concentrated on risks and challenges and on operational and structural issues relevant for the security in the OSCE area. The security model discussion will continue beyond 1995, with results available to be submitted to the December 1996 OSCE Summit in Lisbon.
Ministers are also expected to hear a progress report from the Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Conference on Nagorno-Karabakh, Under Secretary of State Heikki Talvitie of Finland and Ambassador Valentin Lozinsky of Russia. The OSCE Minsk Group, the work of which will culminate in the convening of the Minsk Conference, is active in the process leading to a peaceful political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Group is also working closely with the OSCE's High Level Planning Group, which is drawing up plans for a multi-national OSCE peacekeeping force for the region.
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office will open the meeting on Thursday morning at 9:00 followed by general statements by participating Ministers. The meeting will continue on Friday at 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. The Chairman-in-Office and the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Troika (Italy and Switzerland) will hold the final press conference on Friday at 12:20 p.m.
One of the key items on the agenda is the OSCE role in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and other parts of the region. The Ministers are expected to adopt a detailed mandate for an OSCE Mission to supervise preparations and conduct of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministers will also discuss the OSCE's role in monitoring human rights and in assisting with negotiations on confidence-building measures and arms control for the region.
The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Hungarian Foreign Minister Lászlo Kóvács, will submit a progress report to the Ministers on the OSCE discussion of a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for the Twenty-First Century. Meetings on the Security Model, which have taken place on a regular basis within the OSCE since the 1994 Budapest Summit, have concentrated on risks and challenges and on operational and structural issues relevant for the security in the OSCE area. The security model discussion will continue beyond 1995, with results available to be submitted to the December 1996 OSCE Summit in Lisbon.
Ministers are also expected to hear a progress report from the Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Conference on Nagorno-Karabakh, Under Secretary of State Heikki Talvitie of Finland and Ambassador Valentin Lozinsky of Russia. The OSCE Minsk Group, the work of which will culminate in the convening of the Minsk Conference, is active in the process leading to a peaceful political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Group is also working closely with the OSCE's High Level Planning Group, which is drawing up plans for a multi-national OSCE peacekeeping force for the region.
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office will open the meeting on Thursday morning at 9:00 followed by general statements by participating Ministers. The meeting will continue on Friday at 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. The Chairman-in-Office and the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Troika (Italy and Switzerland) will hold the final press conference on Friday at 12:20 p.m.