Strengthening the OSCE's capacities in conflict prevention, crisis management and conflict resolution

Twenty years after the 1992 Helsinki Document — Challenges of Change, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) agreed at the 2011 Ministerial Council in Vilnius, Lithuania, on a decision intended to strengthen the OSCE's capacities in early warning, early action, dialogue facilitation and mediation-support as well as post-conflict rehabilitation. MC Decision 3/11 is an important one, in particular, as OSCE participating States were required to revisit the Organization's approach to conflict prevention and resolution over the last three years. The outcome was been an impressive document that demands the implementation of concrete action toward the creation of a systematic early warning and mediation-support capacity and the enhancement of early response to emerging crisis and conflict situations.