OSCE Centre in Astana trains military officers on confidence- and security-building measures

ASTANA, 21 May 2013 - A regional training seminar for military officers on the practical implementation of the OSCE Vienna Document 2011 on confidence- and security-building measures began in Astana today.

The OSCE Centre in Astana is organizing the four-day event in co-operation with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defence.

The Vienna Document, adopted by all OSCE participating States, obliges States to share information on their armed forces and military activities. It also contains provisions on compliance and verification, such as conducting and hosting inspections and evaluations, as well as on risk reduction, military contacts and co-operation, and prior notification of certain military activities.

At the seminar, more than 40 military representatives from Belarus, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Turkmenistan participated, representing their national agencies that are responsible for the practical implementation of the Document's provisions in the OSCE participating States.

“The work under the Vienna Document shows once again that the OSCE is a living organism that, with the political will of its participating States, can adapt to modern reality and the current challenges and threats,” said Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana. “Given the existing protracted conflicts in the OSCE territory, the acute necessity to counteract terrorism, trafficking in human beings, drugs, and weapons, and emerging new conflicts, such mechanism for building confidence, as the Vienna document, is a positive sign.”

Major General Bagdat Maykeyev, Deputy Defence Minister of Kazakshtan, said: “The work on the further modernisation of the Vienna document in order to align it with current realities should continue.  A mechanism for its regular renewal was developed and accepted by the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, and Kazakhstan participates in its implementation at the highest level.” He added that today’s event is a part of this process.

The seminar encompassed theoretical exercises and a simulated inspection visit to the 36th Air Assault Brigade base near Astana. The participants will conduct an evaluation in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Document on compliance and verification, and produce a report containing a summary of their findings.

The OSCE Centre in Astana has been organizing seminars on the Vienna Document in Kazakhstan since 2007. The seminar is part of the Centre's long-standing effort to raise awareness about OSCE CSBMs and promote regional security.