ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE
Central Asian officers received training on a program designed to increase military transparency and defuse potential conflicts in the region.
A regional training seminar on the practical implementation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Vienna Document 2011 on confidence- and security-building measures was held in May 2015 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The OSCE Program Office in Astana organized the four-day event in cooperation with Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry for 50 military officers from Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Participants discussed how to ensure the document’s provisions are implemented in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, the role of the OSCE in promoting regional security, and the challenges it faces.
Military and civilian experts from Belarus, France, Germany and Hungary as well as representatives from the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia shared their expertise.
“The Vienna Document is one of the most important instruments of the OSCE Politico-Military Dimension, and it is based on cooperation, transparency, confidence building and a system of verification,” said Maj. Gen. Askhat Ryspayev, head of the National University of Defense. “Although the main goal of our annual seminars is to learn the letter and word of the Vienna Document, it is equally vital that the participants come to understand the spirit of the document, too.”
The participants conducted a simulated inspection visit to the 36th Air Assault Brigade base near Astana and discussed their findings in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Document on compliance and verification. The Vienna Document 2011 encourages OSCE participating 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 risk reduction, military contacts and cooperation, and prior notification of certain military activities.
The regional seminars on the Vienna Document in Kazakhstan have been conducted with the support of OSCE Field Operation in Astana since 2007. This event is part of the office’s long-standing effort to raise awareness about OSCE confidence- and security-building measures and promote regional security.