OSCE marks 50th anniversary of Helsinki Final Act with renewed call for dialogue, cooperation

Helsinki, Aug 1 (IANS) Senior officials, civil society leaders, and international organisations gathered in Helsinki to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, renewing calls for dialogue, cooperation, and shared security amid geopolitical tensions.

Also known as Helsinki+50, the event was organised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and was hosted at Finlandia Hall by Finland, which holds the OSCE chairmanship for 2025.

In opening remarks, Finnish President Alexander Stubb reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the pact.

“In Finland, the choice is crystal clear. We want to continue building a Europe based on common rules and principles, through dialogue and cooperation,” he said. Under shifting global dynamics, the Helsinki Final Act’s principles – comprehensive security and peaceful conflict resolution – are “under serious threat” but remain “more important than ever,” he added.

OSCE Secretary-General Feridun H. Sinirlioglu emphasised that military deterrence alone cannot ensure peace, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Military deterrence alone can lead to an arms race and be destabilising,” he said. “Security must be ensured through cooperation, which requires dialogue. That is the living legacy of the Helsinki Final Act.”

Sinirlioglu warned that the current international order is under visible strain and called for “an honest discussion of what went wrong.”

“The choices we make in the coming weeks and months will determine what the world of our future generations will look like,” he said. “We need to recommit to the fundamentals and work together.”

In a video address, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres referred to the Helsinki Final Act as the crystallisation of Cold War diplomacy wisdom and a lasting framework for peace.

He cited the war in Ukraine, rising regional tensions, and weakening multilateralism as threats to the international order anchored in the UN Charter and international law. “We cannot allow the rules-based order to collapse in our time,” he said. “We must uphold the shared values of peaceful coexistence, mutual trust, cooperation, and human rights.”

“We need the principles embodied in the Helsinki Final Act more than ever,” Guterres said.

At a dedicated session during the conference, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen announced the launch of the Helsinki+50 Fund, intended to bolster the OSCE’s operational capacity and improve the management of voluntary contributions.

“The Fund helps to improve the use of voluntary funding for the OSCE to deliver on its mandate, rooted in our shared principles and commitments,” Valtonen said.

A total of 16 OSCE participating states have so far pledged support for the fund with a contribution of nearly 16.5 million euros ($18.83 million).

Signed on August 1, 1975, by 35 countries including the United States, Canada, and most European nations, the Helsinki Final Act marked a Cold War-era agreement that helped reduce East-West tensions and promote cooperation on security, economic development, and human rights. The agreement laid the foundation for the current OSCE. (1 euro = 1.14 US dollar)

–IANS

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