Latvia joined the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on 10 September 1991. Participation in the OSCE provides Latvia with the opportunity to defend its national interests by participating in the political and political-military decision-making process, as well as strengthens Latvia's role in international relations.
The OSCE is a 57-nation organisation dedicated to conflict prevention through so-called rapid response instruments, crisis resolution and post-conflict rehabilitation on the European continent. The organisation has the necessary toolkit and can bring high added value, but it requires the political will of the Member States.
The organization has political military, economic environmental and human security issues in its sights. The origins of the organisation are related to the Helsinki final Act of 1975, when under the Cold War the European Security and Cooperation consultations was formed as a mechanism for the US-led western and USSR bloc. In the early nineties, the consultation established and became an organisation, the OSCE. Its seat is located in Vienna, Austria, where the Permanent Mission of Latvia to the OSCE is based.
The OSCE's main decision-making body is the Permanent Council. It meets weekly in Vienna, Austria, to discuss current developments in the OSCE region and make collective decisions. The OSCE, with its institutions, expert units and network of missions, addresses issues affecting our common security, including arms control, counter-terrorism, good governance, energy security, human trafficking, democratisation, media freedom and national minorities. OSCE missions play an important role in achieving the organisation's objectives. The OSCE missions are based in the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Montenegro, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and North Macedonia. OSCE institutions such as the Office for Democratic institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the High Commissioner for national minorities (HCNM) and the Representative for Media Freedom (RFOM) also contribute greatly to the OSCE's effectiveness.
The organization's activities focus on three dimensions:
- the politico-military, cantered on arms control and confidence-building measures;
- the economic and environmental, promoting good governance, tackling corruption and raising environmental awareness;
- the human dimension, in which the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law are promoted.
All OSCE Member States shall have the same status, decisions shall be taken by consensus. Decisions are political and not legally binding. A rotating presidency takes political leadership every year. North Macedonia holds the OSCE Presidency in 2023. Malta has been confirmed as the OSCE Presidency for 2024. The decision on the OSCE Presidency shall be taken by consensus. OSCE Member States may nominate themselves for the presidency. Latvia has not presided over the OSCE, nor has it applied for an OSCE presidency in the future.
At the request of Latvia, in the first half of the 1990s, the OSCE engaged in the implementation of the agreement to withdraw the Russian army from the territory of Latvia and in the closure and liquidation of the Skrunda radar station. The OSCE continues to monitor the implementation of the agreement on the social protection of Russian military pensioners in Latvia. at the end of 1993, an OSCE mission in Latvia was established. The mission mandate required it to address citizenship and related issues. Since 1993, regular visits to Latvia by the OSCE High Commissioner for national minorities and experts have taken place, as well as regular correspondence with Latvian officials regarding the fulfilment of the issues included in the mandate. Latvia has complied with practically all OSCE recommendations on citizenship and language issues, so the OSCE Standing Council decided to close the mission on 31 December 2001.
The most current topic on the OSCE agenda is Russia's large-scale aggression against Ukraine. Other topics on agenda include the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as well as the security situation in Georgia, Moldova and the OSCE region as a whole.