TIRANA, June 19 /ATA/ 33 years ago, at the meeting of foreign ministers in Berlin, Albania was accepted as a member of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSBE), now OSCE.
The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Igli Hasani, stated that between old and new challenges, Albania’s role remains essential and its commitment unwavering.
“Today, 33 years since Albania’s membership in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSBE), now the OSCE. Among the old and new challenges, the role of Albania remains essential and our commitment is unwavering,” Minister Hasani writes in a post on social media, also sharing photos of the correspondence of the time between the leading authorities of the CSBE, today the OSCE, with the Albanian government.
Albania joined the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE – at that time CSCE) during the Berlin Ministerial Council process (June 19-20, 1991).
The Helsinki Final Act was signed by the Albanian authorities on September 16, 1991, followed by the signing of the Paris Charter for a New Europe on September 17, 1991. This moment marked a fundamental change in the course of Albanian foreign policy, which would free Albania from international isolation and would bring it closer to the Euro-Atlantic community, sharing the principles and values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
Albania’s accession to the OSCE was associated with profound legal reforms in human rights.
The circumstances that enabled Albania to join the OSCE included the democratic movement of December 1990, the first pluralist elections and the adoption of the Interim Constitutional Package on April 29, 1991. This Package included provisions that recognized political pluralism and respect for human rights.
Today, the OSCE presence in Albania supports legal, judicial and administrative reforms and assists the Albanian authorities in building parliamentary capacities, fighting corruption and promoting good governance, strengthening civil society, strengthening media freedom, etc.
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