20th anniversary of OSCE Copenhagen Document

Kazakhstan fully recognizes the important role of the so-called "Copenhagen Process". Therefore, at the ceremony of taking over the OSCE Chairmanship from Greece on January 14, 2010 Kazakhstan declared the "conference to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Copenhagen Document" to be of crucial importance. On June 10-11, 2010 more than 260 representatives from the OSCE member states, civil society and expert groups participated in the two-day Copenhagen Conference organized by Kazakhstan's OSCE Chairmanship, Danish Foreign Ministry, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). In five working sessions - on elections and human rights; rule of law; national minorities; freedom of movement, and implementation - participants reviewed overall compliance with the commitments taken in Copenhagen. They also looked at how to ensure more effective implementation and further compliance with the commitments since individual rights continue to be under pressure.

The conference was opened by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's State Secretary and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev as well as Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen. "Twenty years ago, ministers from the countries participating in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe adopted a code of standards on human rights, democracy and rule of law. This code was unprecedented in its depth and scale and it has not lost its significance... (Since then) the tectonic changes in the OSCE area's geopolitical landscape and the differences in advancing to the ideals of democracy in various countries should not overshadow the lasting historic values of the Copenhagen Document," Secretary Saudabayev said.

He stressed that "the lesson from our success in the past 20 years should not seduce us into believing that progress will continue automatically and that Europe will remain peaceful and prosperous without attentive care from our side. We still have a lot of work to do throughout the OSCE-region in strengthening the implementation of commitments reached 20 years ago. This is our common responsibility. Kazakhstan is one of the countries, which in the past 19 years has undergone significant change with respect to democracy and human rights. Therefore, we can be seen as a symbol of the OSCE-cooperation aimed at strengthening democracy, human rights and the free media." He underlined that the cooperation on democracy and human rights knows no territorial borders but is a global work and noted that the Kazakh Chairmanship pays specific attention for future implementation of the Copenhagen Document as this is the first time in the Organization's history when an Asian and post-Soviet nation is chairing the OSCE.

Saudabayev highlighted that active participation of the civil society is crucial for the work of the OSCE, "Respect for and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of people, the development of democracy, combating intolerance and discrimination are indispensible elements of indivisible security. This is why OSCE's human dimension is a priority for the Kazakhstan's OSCE Chairmanship." "Cooperation on the Copenhagen Document's most important themes is a process, which had its beginning but knows no end", Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev concluded.

In his opening remarks Foreign Minister Espersen stated: "Much has changed since 1990 when the Copenhagen Document was adopted. At that time, Kazakhstan did not take part in the CSCE process as an independent state. Today, Kazakhstan is chairing the OSCE. This provides us with an excellent illustration of how far we have come. In part, I believe, it is thanks to the commitments agreed upon in Copenhagen that we have managed to come this far and have made this incredible journey over a 20-year period."

Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said that the key concept developed in Copenhagen - the intrinsic link between democracy, human rights and the rule of law - is now widely accepted across the region. But he stressed that there is no room for complacency: "Democratic institutions and governance are practices that go far beyond liberal-sounding constitutions and formally elected assemblies." The Copenhagen Document remains a highly relevant guide and a powerful source of inspiration in efforts to turn the promises made at the end of the Cold War into concrete reality for all of the more than 1 billion people in the OSCE region, Lenarcic said. On the margins of the conference, ODIHR launched the sixth edition of its Election Observation Handbook. The systematic monitoring of national elections by international observers was one of the innovations introduced by the 1990 Copenhagen Document.

"The Copenhagen Document served as a blueprint for the creation and fostering of democratic societies in the region", stated Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, who represented the Kazakh OSCE Chairmanship at the conference. "We all agree that the implementation of our commitments is an ongoing process and we must redouble our efforts to reach our common goals."

The results of the conference will contribute to the Corfu process, the ongoing dialogue within the OSCE on wider European security issues. To further discuss development and implementation of the human dimension commitments, Kazakhstan's Chairmanship will organize a series of events, the key one being an OSCE High-Level Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination on 29-30 June in Astana, Saudabayev said. The Chairmanship's initiative to hold an OSCE Summit this year would also "reiterate the democratic and human rights basis of the Organization," he added. A consensus decision of all member-states is required for an OSCE Summit to be held.

As part of his official visit to Denmark, Kanat Saudabayev held talks with his Danish counterpart Lene Espersen. Minister Espersen praised the Kazakh OSCE chairmanship, including Astana's contribution to the settlement of the crisis in the neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Espersen supported the idea of holding an OSCE Summit this year, noting the Afghan problem should become one of the key aspects in the Summit's agenda. Given the occasion, Saudabayev and Espersen also noted examples of positive cooperation between Kazakhstan and Denmark, including active participation of the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) in establishing and developing respective offices in Kazakhstan. The parties also discussed future prospects of developing bilateral ties between the two states and agreed that the volume of trade-economic cooperation did not do justice to its real potential. Following the talks, the two Foreign Ministries exchanged Diplomatic Notes introducing a visa free regime for holders of diplomatic passports between Denmark and Kazakhstan. The cancellation of visa requirements for diplomats will promote more intense cooperation between the two countries in political, economic, scientific and cultural spheres, they said, Kazinform refers to Special Issue No27 of the Kazakhstan Embassy in the U.S.A.