Report on the regional conference on the OSCE code of conduct on politico-military aspects of security for the Mediterranean region

Abstract

From 11-13 September 2013, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Conflict Prevention Centre, in partnership with the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta (MEDAC), organized a conference on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security (CoC). The conference was hosted by the Government of Malta and cosponsored by the OSCE participating States Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The conference was the sixth regional seminar on the Code of Conduct mandated by the OSCE’s Forum for Security Co-operation, with previous seminars being held in Kazakhstan (2008), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2009), Belarus (2010), Ukraine (2011) and Latvia (2012). The Malta Conference was the first ever conference on the Code of Conduct destined specifically for the Mediterranean region and involving regional OSCE participating States as well as the majority of the OSCE’s Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. An important step in facilitating regional discussions on the CoC in the Mediterranean area has been the translation of the Code of Conduct into Arabic in 2013, upon the request of the Secretary General of the League of the Arab States, which was realized and co-sponsored by Germany and Switzerland.