Paris Summit
When
19 November 1990 (All day)
Where
Paris
Heads of State or Government of CSCE participating States stand for a group photo at the Paris Summit, Palais de L'Elysee, 19 November 1990. (George Bush Presidential Library)
The Summit marked a turning point in the history of the CSCE in the post-Cold War era. The participating States signed the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, adding an active operational structure to the OSCE role as a forum for negotiation and dialogue.
To cope with the new challenges of the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, the process of CSCE institutionalization was accelerated.
The participating States decided that political consultations at the level of Heads of State (Summits) would be held every two years, and that Ministerial-level councils would meet at least once a year. They agreed that high officials would meet occasionally as a Committee of Senior Officials.
To support these bodies, they called for the creation of a Secretariat, a Conflict Prevention Centre and an Office for Free Elections (later renamed the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights).