The 2010 Astana OSCE Summit

2010-12-01

The OSCE's security agenda covered military confidence, economic and environmental policy, human rights, and the rule of law. Kazakhstan's chairmanship brought scrutiny of its compliance with those commitments. [1] [2]

Kazakhstan brought the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to Astana’s Palace of Independence in December 2010. Holding the chairmanship, it hosted the organization’s first summit since 1999 and its first east of Istanbul. Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the meeting on 1 December. [2] [1]

The OSCE linked military security to commitments on political freedom, and Clinton pressed both concerns. She urged stronger work on Afghanistan’s borders and unresolved regional conflicts, then warned that elections, constitutional guarantees, and national human rights plans meant little without implementation. The previous evening, she had met civil society representatives at Eurasian University. [2]

The participating states reaffirmed their existing commitments, including the right to choose their own security arrangements. They left a detailed action plan for future chairmanships to develop. [1] [2]

The declaration called for peaceful resolution of conflicts and reaffirmed states' freedom to choose alliances or neutrality. [1]