Charter for European Security

The Charter for European Security is an international agreement for the preservation and safeguarding of peaceful order in Europe. It was adopted on 19 November 1999 in Istanbul as the final document of the OSCE Summit Conference by 55 European, Asian and American states. Together with the Helsinki Final Act (1975), the Charter of Paris (1990) and the subsequent Astana Summit Declaration (2010), the Charter for European Security forms the basis for a system of political commitments and a comprehensive concept of security. The concept of security encompasses politico-military aspects, economic and environmental aspects and humanitarian aspects.^[1] Following the adoption of the Charter for European Security at the OSCE Summit in Istanbul in November, the ‘Platform for Co-operative Security’ was created to strengthen co-operation between the OSCE and other international organisations/institutions in order to make better use of the resources of the international community.^[2]