16th OSCE Ministerial Council
When
4 December 2008 (All day) - 5 December 2008 (All day)
Where
Helsinki, Finland
Organized by
Finnish OSCE Chairmanship
Ministers pose for a family photo at the 16th OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki, 4 December 2008. (OSCE/Mikhail Evstafiev) Photo details
The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the Foreign Ministers of the 57 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization’s activities and strengthen the dialogue on security issues in the OSCE area.
Final Decisions and Declarations
The following final decisions and declarations were adopted at the 16th OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki:
- Decision on the appointment of the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
- Decision on the reappointment of the OSCE Secretary General
- Decision on the periods of service of the OSCE Secretary General
- Decision on the strengthening the legal framework of the OSCE
- Decision on enhancing criminal justice responses to trafficking in human beings through a comprehensive approach
- Decision on enhancing OSCE efforts to implement the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area
- Decision on further strengthening the rule of law in the OSCE area
- Decision on the OSCE contribution to the implementation phase of the Alliance of Civilizations initiative
- Decision on the follow-up to the Sixteenth Economic and Environmental Forum on Maritime and Inland Waterways Co-operation
- Decision on further promoting the OSCE’S action in countering terrorism
- Decision on small arms and light weapons and stockpiles of conventional ammunition
- Decision on the time and place of the next meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council
- Decision on issues relevant to the Forum for Security Co-operation
- Decision on Forwarding of a Draft Agenda to the Ministerial Council
- Decision on the Recommendation to the Ministerial Council to Adopt a Decision on the Periods of Service of the OSCE Secretary General
- Decision on Forwarding of Draft of Documents to the Ministerial Council
- Ministerial Declaration on the Occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Ministerial Declaration on the 60th Anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
- Ministerial Statement
- Joint declaration of the Foreign Ministers and Deputy Minister of France, Russia and the United States on Nagorno-Karabakh
News releases
- OSCE 'revitalized' at Helsinki Ministerial Council, high-level talks on European security to continue
- Finnish Chairman calls on OSCE ministers to strengthen Organization
- European security, Georgia top agenda of Helsinki Ministerial Council, says OSCE Chairman-in-Office