The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a security organization whose 55 participating states span the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok. The OSCE in this region is the primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.

The OSCE approach to security is comprehensive and co-operative. This means firstly, that the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, along with economic and environmental co-operation, are considered to be just as important for the maintenance of peace and stability as politico-military issues, and as such are an integral component of OSCE activities. Secondly, all participating states have equal status and all decisions are taken on the basis of consensus, as no state should strengthen its security at the expense of other participating states. Security has to be reached by true partnership based on mutual accountability, transparency and confidence at both the domestic and the foreign policy level.

The OSCE is dealing with a wide range of security issues, including arms control, preventive diplomacy, confidence- and security-building measures, human and minority rights, election monitoring and economic and environmental security. The OSCE deploys field missions and offices in countries that require assistance in these spheres.

The OSCE Mission to Moldova started its work on 25 April 1993. 8 international Mission members and 11 local staff employees are working in the Mission’s two offices in Chisinau and Tiraspol. The Mission’s mandate is:
1) to facilitate negotiations between the sides to the Transdniestrian conflict on a lasting political settlement of the conflict and to provide advice and expertise on the definition of a special status of the Transdniestrian region within the Republic of Moldova;
2) to facilitate the withdrawal of Russian troops, armament, ammunition and equipment from the Transdniestrian region of the Republic of Moldova; and
3) to provide advice and expertise on the effective observance of international obligations and commitments regarding human and minority rights, and democratic transformation.

In the negotiation process the OSCE through its Mission to Moldova is, together with the Russian Federation and Ukraine, one of the mediators between Chisinau and Tiraspol. It is not the task of the Mission to ascertain which of the sides carries more responsibility for the conflict and the 1992 events, but to find a concrete resolution to the existing situation and to bring the sides together to discuss proposals of the mediators and sides on a special status of Transdniestria within the Republic of Moldova. The most important issues in the talks at the moment are the delimitation and mutual delegation of powers and jurisdictions between Chisinau and Tiraspol, the establishment of a common legal, defense, economic and social space, the increase of mutual confidence and co-operation, and the determination of a mechanism of external and internal guarantees. About 50 agreements have been reached so far between Chisinau and Tiraspol in the framework of the negotiation process. Unfortunately, most of them are not or only partly implemented.

The most important agreements are the 1997 Moscow Memorandum on the Basis for Normalization of Relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transdniestria, and the 1998 Odessa Agreement on Confidence Measures and Development of Contacts between the Republic of Moldova and Transdniestria.
In the Moscow Memorandum the sides concurred to build their relations in the framework of a common state. However, both sides interpret the notion of “common state” differently. While Chisinau maintains that the “common state” is the Republic of Moldova within which the Transdniestrian region should have a special autonomous status, Tiraspol argues that there are two sovereign states on the territory of the former MSSR and that these two states have to build a common state in the form of a confederation of two sovereign states in the future. The position of the Transdniestrian side, however, is obviously not in line with the spirit of the Moscow Memorandum interpretation of territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

The Odessa Agreement, unfortunately, has not been fully implemented to this date either. In particular stipulations referring to the reduction of check points and peacekeeping posts between Transdniestria and the rest of Moldova to ensure freedom of movement of persons and goods, as well as the ones referring to the active contribution to the withdrawal of excess Russian military equipment, and to the observation and direct protection of human rights are to this date not honored by the Transdniestrian side.

With regard to activities in the military field, the OSCE Mission has the status of observer without the right to vote in the Joint Control Commission (JCC), a body that observes the situation in the Security Zone established between the sides. The Mission is putting forth active efforts to help implement the task of the JCC to promote confidence building, transparency and mutual trust between the sides. Disappointingly, the JCC mechanism proved to be inefficient to bring about confidence and mutual trust, as it works on the basis of consensus, thus giving one side the possibility to block any decision. As a result, until today the stipulations on the withdrawal of weapons and armed forces from the Security Zone of the 1992 Agreement on Principles of a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Transdniestrian Region of the Republic of Moldova are not fully implemented.

Moreover, the Transdniestrian side has so far failed to support measures to improve transparency, as e.g. the inspection of its unauthorized armed formations in the Security Zone.

In December 1999 the Mission’s mandate was expanded to include the task to ensure transparency of the removal and destruction of Russian ammunition and armaments and the coordination of financial and technical assistance offered to facilitate withdrawal and destruction. An OSCE voluntary fund to which participating states are contributing was established to help finance the Russian withdrawal. On behalf of the OSCE, the current Head of Mission, Ambassador William Hill (USA) has elaborated together with the responsible Russian authorities a plan for the use of the voluntary fund. The Head of Mission was further assigned to administer use of the voluntary fund.

In the human dimension the OSCE Mission is focusing mainly on human and minority rights issues, promoting democratization, as well as confidence building between the sides by civic diplomacy activities.

Main fields of work in this sphere include:
- handling of individual human rights complaints,
- monitoring the overall human and minority rights situation and development,
- monitoring especially language issues and ethnic relations,
- monitoring post-conflict rehabilitation in the autonomous region of Gagauzia and its relations with Chisinau,
- promoting democratization and confidence building activities of NGOs,
- cooperating with NGOs, state institutions and other international organizations in combating trafficking in human beings,
- assessing local and regional elections (for example Gagauzian elections in 1999, local and Supreme Soviet elections in Transdniestria in 2000),
- cooperating with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in observing national elections (e.g. parliamentary elections in 2001).

The human dimension is considered to be an important component of the Mission’s overall efforts to promote a sustainable political settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict, given that such a lasting conflict settlement is only possible in a democratic society where human and minority rights are respected. While there are still problems in the sphere of human and minority rights and the democratization process on the right bank of the Dniester, the observance of human rights and the process of democratization are lagging behind in the Transdniestrian region, especially with regard to the freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, the right to free and fair elections, the right to life and physical integrity, the right to property, the right to challenge arrest in the court, the right to education in the mother tongue etc.

* Note: This article was first published in "Collage" magazine, Youth Helsinki Citizens' Assembly of Moldova whom autorized CIARI to publish in this web site.