OSCE
Difficulty: Intermediate
Topic: The Forgotten Part of the World? Revisiting the OSCE Mission in Central Asia
Number of Countries: 25
COMMITTEE
The Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe has its roots in Cold War-era Europe, when in 1975 this organisation was created to serve as a forum for discussion between the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. Most participating countries are in Europe, with a few exceptions in North America and Asia. The OSCE is tasked with the promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, arms, control, as well as free and fair elections. It is also an organisation that works, from a geopolitical perspective, on providing early warning, preventing conflict, crisis management, and post-conflict rehabilitation. With Europe facing some of its most contemporarily challenging times, the OSCE could serve as an organisation to chart Europe’s path to stability. At MaltMUN 2024, this will serve as an intermediate-level committee.
TOPIC
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, five new countries were birthed in Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. These countries having ascended into the remit of the OSCE – the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe. After joining in the 90s, the cooperation of the five states with the OSCE varied through the years. While publicly aligning themselves with the values of the OSCE, they have nevertheless held the sovereignty and non-interference cards close to their chests and have only implemented their commitments when it suited them. Democratisation efforts in the region have yielded sparse results, with a majority of the states still remaining autocracies or failed democracies. With that, there is also a lack of civil liberties and rights. The “Five Stans” have so far worked more closely with the OSCE on matters relating to security, economy and ecology. It is time for the OSCE to revisit this oftentimes neglected region of the world and examine what its mission can do for Central Asia to thrive, be it as a change towards democracy or a cementing of the mistakes of the past.
Chair - Tomás Branco
Greetings everyone. My name is Tomás and I am a 20-year-old law student from Lisbon where I was born and raised for most of my life. I am currently a member of both LisboMUN and the Lisbon School of Law MUN Society. I started doing MUNs in 2021, but in that short period I have done over a dozen MUNs, as either delegate, chair or organizer. The people I’ve met from MaltMUN have made me fall in love with the conference and so I come as chair this year, focused on making MaltMUN 2024 live up to its name.
Chair - Miha Persyn
My name is Miha Persyn and I am a student of international relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana. I am Half Belgian and half Slovene. Growing up in an international environment allowed me to meet lots of interesting people from all around the world through the work of my parents, something which I continue to do through the world of MUN. I discovered MUN in the last year of high school and fell in love with it as soon as I started. Having already enjoyed Maltmun last year, I hope to elevate the experience even further. This year’s MaltMUN will be the 11th conference I will attend and my third time chairing.
