The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is an important partner of NATO. Allies attach great importance to the role of the OSCE in promoting dialogue, building confidence and maintaining a rules-based international order. The OSCE establishes the principles that govern international relations in the Euro-Atlantic area and embodies a comprehensive approach to human security. The two organizations play complementary roles in strengthening security and maintaining stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. Both support the principles that underpin the European security order. Both also recognize the need for a coherent and comprehensive approach to crisis management, which requires the effective application of military and civilian means.
- NATO and the OSCE cooperate at political and operational levels in a range of areas, including: conflict prevention and resolution; post-conflict rehabilitation; arms control and fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons; fight against terrorism ; promote the Women, Peace and Security program; fight against human trafficking; and address emerging security challenges, including climate change and security.
- At the political level, NATO and the OSCE exchange views on thematic and regional security issues of common interest through senior leadership exchanges, direct cooperation and regular inter-service talks.
- The efforts of the two organizations complement each other in this area: NATO initiatives aimed at supporting defense reform, demining and the destruction of stockpiles of weapons and munitions are linked with OSCE efforts aimed at to build peace and stability (successful examples of such cooperation include the Western Balkans and South Caucasus).
- During recent summits and NATO Strategic Concept 2022 – NATO’s main political document, which sets out the Alliance’s strategic direction for the years to come – Allies reiterated the importance of the OSCE’s role in regional security and as a forum for dialogue on issues related to Euro-Atlantic security, particularly arms control. and disarmament.
- NATO Allies fully support the promotion of arms control, military transparency and confidence and security building measures through the modernization of all politico-military tools in the OSCE toolbox, in particular the Vienna Document.
- The Alliance aims to further strengthen NATO’s cooperation with the OSCE, as decided at the 2016 Warsaw Summit. A permanent liaison presence has been established for this purpose in Vienna.
Political dialogue
NATO and the OSCE regularly conduct dialogues and meetings at all levels. This includes meetings between the Secretaries General of the two organizations, meetings with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, participation in OSCE Ministerial Councils, participation in the Annual Security Review Conference of the OSCE and other events. By invitation, the OSCE participates in NATO programs, policies and plans. In addition, OSCE staff have been periodically invited to brief the NATO Political Committee and other relevant NATO bodies.
Since 1998, the NATO and OSCE secretariats have organized regular meetings between their services every year. These talks provide an opportunity to deepen and further develop contacts between services, as well as to exchange views and information on security-related issues of common interest, such as security sector reform. security, climate change and security, counter-terrorism, the role of women in armed conflict, human security, emerging security challenges, combating human trafficking, non-proliferation, disarmament, arms control and control of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
Arms control
NATO attaches great importance to control of conventional arms and constitutes an essential consultative and decision-making forum for its members on all aspects of arms control and disarmament. The OSCE plays a vital role in arms control in Europe, as key international arms control agreements – notably the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) and the Vienna Document – were concluded by the OSCE. through OSCE processes and channels.
Cooperation in the Western Balkans
Practical cooperation between the OSCE and NATO is best illustrated by the complementary missions undertaken by the two organizations in the Western Balkans.
As part of operations in the Western Balkans region, representatives of the two organizations on the ground met regularly to share information and discuss various aspects of their cooperation.
Kosovo
Between January 1998 and March 1999, the OSCE mounted a verification mission in Kosovo to monitor compliance on the ground with the Holbrooke-Milosevic ceasefire agreement. NATO conducted a parallel aerial surveillance mission. Following a deterioration in the security situation, the verification mission was forced to withdraw in March 1999.
Since the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 in June 1999, a new OSCE mission in Kosovo has been established within the framework of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). It is responsible, among other things, for overseeing the progress of democratization, the building of institutions and the protection of human rights. The mission – the largest of the OSCE field operations – maintains close relations with the Kosovo Force (KFOR), which has a United Nations mandate to ensure a secure environment for the work of the international community .
Bosnia Herzegovina
In 1996, following the Dayton Accords and the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1031 in December 1995, NATO and the OSCE developed a joint action program in Bosnia -Herzegovina. The NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) and its successor, the Stabilization Force (SFOR), provided vital support to the implementation of the civilian aspects of the peace agreements.
NATO helped Bosnia and Herzegovina support the OSCE’s work on arms control, confidence and security building measures, as well as combating small arms and light weapons and mines in the country. This includes supporting the implementation of the Dayton Accords and the Vienna Document. Furthermore, by ensuring the security of OSCE personnel and providing humanitarian assistance, NATO contributed to the free and fair conduct of elections within the OSCE framework.
The Republic of North Macedonia
NATO continued close cooperation with the OSCE in the country then known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where a NATO task force provided additional security for international observers at the start of the year 2000.
Border security
NATO and the OSCE have cooperated on border management and security in the Western Balkans. At a high-level conference in Ohrid in May 2003, five Western Balkan countries approved a common platform developed by the European Union, NATO, OSCE and the Stability Pact for Europe of the South-East aimed at strengthening border security in the region. Each organization supported the actors involved in the areas falling within its competence.
Fight against terrorism
NATO is cooperating with the OSCE to ensure that views and information are shared and that appropriate action can be taken more effectively in the fight against terrorism. The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols, and relevant United Nations resolutions provide a common framework for counter-terrorism efforts.
In this context, NATO maintains close relations with the Counter-Terrorism Action Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, including through regular personnel exchanges covering areas of partner capacity building. , critical infrastructure protection, gender equality and terrorism and countering the financing of terrorism, as well as with the Border Security and Management Unit, to help improve the capacity of partners to secure the borders. The OSCE also participates in relevant NATO meetings and contributes to NATO counter-terrorism education and training. NATO staff also contributed to the OSCE Counter-Terrorism Network newsletter, sharing information on relevant Alliance counter-terrorism lines of action with a wider audience.
Women, peace and security (UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and associated resolutions)
NATO recognizes the disproportionate impact of conflict and post-conflict situations on women and girls, as highlighted in UN Security Council resolutions on Women, peace and security (WPS). NATO and its partners are committed to removing obstacles to women’s participation in conflict prevention, management and resolution, as well as post-conflict efforts and cooperation. Furthermore, NATO is committed to meeting the protection and security needs of women and girls, including by preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence.
In this context, NATO cooperates with the OSCE on the WPS programme. Consultation and collaboration with international organizations, such as the OSCE, offers considerable potential to advance this agenda. NATO-OSCE cooperation is part of, among other things, the regional acceleration of Resolution 1325, which was created as a forum to strengthen the implementation of the WPS agenda and share best practices between experts on gender equality.
Fight against human trafficking
All NATO Allies are signatories to the United Nations (UN) Trafficking in Persons Protocol. Allies are acutely aware that human trafficking fuels corruption and organized crime and is an obstacle to peace and security. NATO is not the main organization combating human trafficking, but it supports the efforts of the international community and has developed a policy in this area – first in 2004, then an updated policy in 2023. This policy strengthens collaboration between Allies, international organizations and civil society, particularly in terms of information sharing and support for victims and survivors.
NATO and the OSCE have maintained substantial cooperation on fight against human trafficking during the last years. The cooperation included briefings and advice on various related aspects.
Climate change and security
NATO has been tackling environmental security challenges for many years. Climate change and security has been identified as a potential area of cooperation between the OSCE and NATO. OSCE staff participated in the NATO Science for Peace and Security Workshop on “Green Defence” in 2021 and NATO staff participated in the High Level Conference of the OSCE on climate change in 2023. Both organizations continue to engage in this area.
