The Charter of Paris in Perspective

This article is part of the Special Issue on “The OSCE at 50: Reflections on security, cooperation and human rights”, published on a rolling basis between July and November 2025. The Special Issue was curated and edited Walter Kemp and Christian Strohal, Security and Human Rights Monitor Editorial Board members and guest editors-in chief.

Abstract

Initiated by the Soviet Union, the negotiations among the 35 signatories of the Helsinki Final Act led to the adoption of the Charter of Paris in November of 1990, in the context of multiple negotiations across greater Europe. It asserts that the era of confrontation and division in Europe has ended , based on an ambitious set of principles grounded in human values and in multidimensional cooperation in the fields of security , economics and relationships with other regions. It represents both a conclusion of the cold war period in Europe and the start of a complex period of building a new set of cooperative arrangements across the continent, including the strengthening of the CSCE.

DOI: 10.58866/BIHD5746