40 years Helsinki Final Act: Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter to attend the anniversary of the OSCE founding document in Finland
Bern, 08.07.2015 - On 10 July 2015, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), will make a speech at the ceremony in Helsinki to mark the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, and take part in a meeting with the Troika of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which supports the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ivica Dačić, in his work. As part of the Troika he also will meet the Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö, in Helsinki. And he will conduct bilateral talks with the Finnish Foreign Minister, Timo Soini, on the margins of the OSCE event.
The Helsinki Final Act has been in existence for 40 years. It was signed by the participating States of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) on 1 August 1975 in the Finnish capital and was the result of two years of negotiations to create an intergovernmental platform to facilitate dialogue and negotiation during the Cold War period. The Helsinki Final Act encompasses ten fundamental principles, known as the Helsinki Decalogue, governing the behaviour of states towards their citizens and towards each other. Although the document is not an international treaty, the political declarations made in Helsinki have become a benchmark for the process of détente, rapprochement and cooperation in Europe. In 1994 the CSCE was renamed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) while the objectives remained unchanged: to resolve conflicts by peaceful means, and reconstruction, economic and social progress for the benefit of all, together with the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Accordingly the Helsinki Final Act became the founding document of the OSCE.
The current relevance of the founding principles of the Helsinki Final Act for present and future security in Europe will be the focal point of the anniversary event at which Mr Burkhalter will take part in the Finnish capital tomorrow. As a member of the OSCE Troika, he will give a speech at the official event where, in the hall where the Final Act was signed in 1975, he will discuss the relevance of the OSCE. This document provides the 57 participating States with a platform for developing together solutions to improve the security of the population of the OSCE area. The OSCE Troika, comprising the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (Serbia) and those of the previous (Switzerland) and coming years (Germany), supports the Serbian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ivica Dačić, in his work. At a meeting in Helsinki, their representatives will talk about the situation in Ukraine and possibilities for strengthening the OSCE's scope for action. In addition, Mr Burkhalter and the other members of the Troika will meet the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, to discuss re-establishing security in Europe.
Following the anniversary ceremony Switzerland will be represented at a high-level event of OSCE participating States at which the future of European security will be the focal point of the debate.
Meeting with the Finnish Foreign Minister
During his stay in Helsinki Mr Burkhalter will take the opportunity to meet the Finnish Foreign Minister, Timo Soini, for bilateral talks in which they will discuss bilateral matters, security issues including the crisis in Ukraine and possibilities for de-escalating the conflict, and other questions.
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