Professor Joris Voorhoeve spoke at OSCE meeting
Joris Voorhoeve, Leiden University’s professor of International Organizations and former Defence Minister, was invited to speak about restoring peace in Europe after the wars in Ukraine and Georgia at a joint meeting of the OSCE’s Forum for Security Co-operation and the Permanent Council in Vienna, 9 March.
Voorhoeve said he regretted that violations of the basic agreements on which the OSCE rests have undermined the Organization's prospects of becoming the regional security body that was envisaged in the early 1990s, despite the important work it has done. Ongoing violations of international law and deep misunderstandings about the end of the Cold War lead to strong divisions within the OSCE, according to Voorhoeve. At the same time, common challenges that participating States face such as climate change and transnational threats require restoration of trust and co-operation. “Co-operation falters where coercive policies enter,” he said, and in seeking to redress these tendencies, Voorhoeve referred to some of the recommendations by the Panel of Eminent Persons in their 2015 Report, as well as the German OSCE Chairmanship’s emphasis on revitalizing conventional arms control and confidence- and security-building measure regimes.