StateSec Ciamba reconfirms Romania's commitment towards principles and norms of OSCE Code of Conduct

Secretary of State for Euro-Atlantic Bilateral and Strategic Affairs with the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) George Ciamba, who participated on Tuesday at the opening of the regional seminal on the Code of Conduct of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) regarding the political-military aspects of security, organised in Bucharest, reconfirmed Romania's commitment towards the principles and norms included in this document, as well as the indivisibility of security, the equal sovereignty of states, the democratic control of armed and security forces or the observance for human rights and the rule of law, a release of the MAE sent to AGERPRES informs. 

"Secretary of State George Ciamba underscored the continuous relevance of the Code of Conduct, especially in the current security context and highlighted the active contribution of the Code as a normative instrument in ensuring security in the OSCE space. To conclude, the Romanian official voiced hope that the event hosted in Bucharest further contributes to promoting the Code among the participating states and facilitate the exchange of experience in terms of its implementation, especially from a regional outlook," the release mentions. 

According to the quoted source, the Code of Conduct (CoC) regarding the political-military aspects of security, adopted in 1994, represents one of the most important normative documents at the OSCE level, through which the participating states committed to observe the principle of the democratic control over armed forces and ensure that their defence doctrine or policy in case of the use of force, including in armed conflicts, observes the provisions of the international law. 

As of 2008, the Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC) of the OSCE is annually organising at least one seminar or specialised workshop in order to facilitate the dialogue among states regarding the new challenges that emerge while implementing the Code, including from a regional outlook, the MAE release mentions. 

The seminar hosted by Romania, which will end on 18 May, will be tackling aspects regarding the relevance of the Code for Romania and its neighbors, the importance of granting human rights for armed forces personnel, good practices in respect to implementing the international humanitarian law, the democratic control of armed and security forces, challenges of the migration phenomenon. 

The event is attended by representatives of the OSCE institutions and participating states, including representatives of Romania's institutions in charge of implementing the Code, representatives of national parliaments and academia, and civil society, the release added.