OSCE releases Annual Report on a "challenging" 2008

VIENNA, 1 April 2009 - The OSCE, the world's largest regional security organization, released its 2008 Annual Report today.

The Report highlights the OSCE's pre-eminent regional role as a forum for dialogue and a platform for action, and the 2008 Finnish Chairmanship's work to celebrate and reinvigorate the spirit of the Helsinki Final Act by advancing the agenda of the Organization's shared values over the year.

OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut described the year as challenging, particularly because of the August hostilities in Georgia. This crisis was shocking, but it highlighted "the rich role of the OSCE - its institutions, field operations and the Secretariat - in carrying out concrete practical work as a complement to the OSCE's political dialogue," he writes in his foreword.

The Annual Report includes coverage of the OSCE's work in all its field operations, institutions and Secretariat units, and gives an overview of its co-operation with other international organizations.

The Annual Report can be viewed at: OSCE Annual Report 2008