Exerpt regarding Karabakh conflict from OSCE Handbook
The Conflict Dealt with by the Minsk Conference
(Nagorno-Karabakh)
(bolds and italics are mine)
The OSCE became involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on 24
March 1992. On that date, the Ministerial Council (at an "Additional
Meeting" in Helsinki) took the decision to convene, as soon as possible, a
conference under the auspices of the CSCE to provide an ongoing forum
for the negotiation of a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict that had
been raging between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 1988 over the
contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Scheduled to take place in
Minsk, the conference was supposed to include 11 participants: the direct
parties (Armenia and Azerbaijan), the CSCE Troika of the time (the
Czech and Slovak Republic, Germany, Sweden), the host country
(Belarus) and a limited number of interested States (France, Italy, Russian
Federation, Turkey and the USA). The Minsk Conference was never
held, owing to lack of agreement among the parties to the conflict.
However, its designated participants have been meeting as the "Minsk
Group" (but without Armenia and Azerbaijan) in an ongoing attempt to
hammer out a political solution on the basis of United Nations Security
Council resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884 (1993).
In 1993, following intensive efforts, the Minsk Group proposed an
"Adjusted Timetable" based on a step-by-step approach consisting of a
series of measures including withdrawal of troops from occupied
territories, restoration of all communications and transport, exchange of
hostages and prisoners of war, unimpeded access for international
humanitarian relief efforts to the region, establishment of a permanent and
comprehensive ceasefire to be monitored by the OSCE, and the formal
convening of the Minsk Conference. Those arrangements were not
accepted. However, the parties to the conflict agreed on 12 May 1994 to
observe an informal ceasefire brokered by the Russian Federation. Since
then , apart from a few incidents, the ceasefire has held.
In September 1994, encouraged by the end of armed hostilities,
participating States began to explore the possibility of organizing a
peacekeeping force within the framework of Chapter III of the Helsinki
Document 1992, which provided a general mandate for CSCE
peacekeeping operations. No consensus was reached on the question of
"third party" peacekeeping, but the December 1994 Budapest Summit
Meeting intensified the CSCE's efforts in relation to the conflict. The
Russian Federation became one of the two Co-Chairmen of the Minsk
Group, mediation efforts were stepped up, and the participating States
declared their political will to provide - on the basis of an appropriate
resolution from the United Nations Security Council - a multinational
CSCE peacekeeping force following agreement among the parties on a
cessation of the armed conflict. A high-level planning group (HLPG) was
established in Vienna to make recommendations concerning the modalities
of such a force.
In order to invigorate peacemaking efforts in the region, the
Chairman-in-Office decided, in August 1995, to appoint a "Personal
Representative of the Chairman-in-Office on the Conflict Dealt with by
the OSCE Minsk Conference". His task is to represent the
Chairman-in-Office in matters relating to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
(particularly in achieving an agreement on the cessation of the armed
conflict and in creating conditions for the deployment of an OSCE
peacekeeping operation); to assist the HLPG, to assist the parties in
implementing and developing confidence-building, humanitarian and other
measures facilitating the peace process, in particular by encouraging direct
contacts; and to report on activities in the region and co-operate, as
appropriate, with representatives of the United Nations and other
international organizations operating in the area of conflict. The Personal
Representative is based in Tbilisi (Georgia), with branch offices in Baku,
Yerevan and Stepanakert/Khankendi. He is assisted by five field
assistants. Much of their time is spent monitoring the line of contact
between the parties.
The OSCE High-Level Planning Group (HLPG) was established
on 20 December 1994. It is made up of military experts
seconded by OSCE participating States and is mandated to:
- make recommendations for the Chairman-in-Office on developing a
plan for the establishment, force structure requirements and operations
of a multinational OSCE peacekeeping force for Nagorno-Karabakh;
- make recommendations on, inter alia, the size and characteristics of
the force, command and control, logistics, allocations of units and
resources, rules of engagement and arrangements with contributing
States.
The HLPG superseded an earlier Initial Operations Planning Group
(IOPG), which was established in May 1993. After conducting
fact-finding visits to the region, the HLPG began detailed
conceptualization which resulted in the Concept for an OSCE
Multinational Peacekeeping Mission for the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, presented to the Chairman-in-Office on 14 July 1995. It
included four options, of which three were a mixture of armed
peacekeeping troops and unarmed military observers, their strength
varying from 1,500 to 4,500 personnel, the fourth being an unarmed
military observer mission.
Putting into place the peacekeeping force depends on the successful
implementation of the political settlement process and on consensus
among the OSCE participating States. At present, the HLPG is
adapting the concept to the current stage of negotiations and updating
the four options through fact-finding missions.
For more information contact the OSCE High Level Planning Group,
Kartner Ring 5-7, 5th Floor, A-1010 Vienna, Austria, tel.: (+43 1) 514
36-0 or fax: (+43 1) 514 36-22.
Efforts by the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Conference (at that time
Finland and the Russian Federation) to reconcile the views of the parties
on the principles for a peaceful settlement of the conflict have so far been
unsuccessful. However, at the 1996 Lisbon Summit the
Chairman-in-Office made a statement that was supported by all
participating States, with the exception of Armenia. The statement said
that three principles should form part of the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: the territorial integrity of the Republic of
Armenia and the Azerbaijan Republic; the definition of the legal status of
Nagorno-Karabakh in an agreement based on self-determination and
conferring on Nagorno-Karabakh the highest degree of self-rule within
Azerbaijan; and guaranteed security for Nagorno-Karabakh and its entire
population, including mutual obligations to ensure compliance by all
Parties with the provisions of the settlement.
In 1997 the Chairman-in-Office decided to enlarge the composition of the
Co-Chairmanship to include three representatives: France, the Russian
Federation, and the United States. These Co-Chairmen elaborated a new
peace initiative based on a two-stage approach. The first stage included
demilitarization of the line of contact and the return of refugees. The
second stage included a proposal on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
This initiative failed to find a consensus among the parties.
In 1998 the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Conference intensified their
efforts to draw up a proposal to which the parties could agree. So far,
however, no consensus has been reached on a basis for formal
negotiations.
Look for original in OSCE web-site
http://www.osce.org/publications/handbook/5.htm