Functional structures

Chairmanship

A different participating State holds the OSCE Chairmanship each year with that country's foreign minister acting as Chairperson-in-Office. The Chairmanship holds overall responsibility for OSCE operations. The Chairperson-in-Office represents the Organization, coordinates its tasks and monitors actions related to conflict prevention, crisis management and mediation, among others. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office also appoints a number of special representatives for issues requiring specific attention.

Secretary General

Elected to a three-year term by the Ministerial Council, the Secretary General heads the OSCE Secretariat, acting under the guidance of the Chairperson-in-Office The OSCE Secretariat operates under the supervision of the Secretary General that includes a number of different departments and units focusing on the different sectors of OSCE’s wide-ranging agenda.  

Institutions

  1. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) promotes democratic elections, respect for human rights, the rule of law, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rights of Roma and Sinti communities. ODIHR’s tasks include, e.g. election monitoring and supporting Participating States in implementing human dimension commitments. The ODIHR is located in Warsaw. Further information(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window).
  2. The task of the High Commissioner on National Minorities is to identify ethnic tensions that can threaten peace and stability in the OSCE region and to seek resolutions for these. The office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities is located in The Hague. Further information(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window).
  3. The task of the Representative on Freedom of the Media is to monitor developments related to the freedom of the media and to promote the implementation of related OSCE principles and commitments. The Representative on Freedom of the Media is based in Vienna. Further information(Link to another website.).

OSCE Field Operations

The OSCE has a number of field operations in Central Asia, South Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Western Balkans. The mandates and sizes of operations vary, and the budgets and mandates for these are agreed on an annual basis.

Parliamentary Assembly

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly promotes dialogue between parliamentarians of the participating States. Further information about the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE.