July 1998

Conference
High Commissioner on National Minorities press statement on Latvia
In a press statement on Latvia, High Commissioner Max van der Stoel restated his recommendations on changing the country's citizenship law.

Conference
OSCE-OECD Conference on National and International Approaches to Improving Integrity and Transparency in Government
Some 175 representatives from governments, the private sector and international and non-governmental organizations met in Paris at the joint OSCE-OECD conference on promoting transparency in government.

Conference
Kubis receives OSCE medal
Secretary General from June 1999 until June 2005, Ambassador Jan Kubis of Slovakia became the second recipient of the OSCE Medal for outstanding service to the Organization.
Conference
Seventh Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Aside from the wide range of political, economic and human rights issues normally covered in its annual sessions, the seventh PA yearly meeting focused on the situation in Kosovo.

Seminar
Seminar on the Interrelationship between Central and Regional Governments
Some 20 experts from participating States, government, the OSCE, as well as international and non-governmental organizations met at the two-day Seminar on the Interrelationship between Central and Regional Governments.
June 1998
Conference
6th Meeting of the OSCE Economic Forum
The overall theme of the meeting was "Security aspects of energy developments in the OSCE area". The discussion focused on the following main subjects:
December 1997

Conference
OSCE becomes largest international organization in Croatia
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1145 on the withdrawal of the UN Transitional Authority (UNTAES) from Croatia, welcoming the key role of the OSCE and encouraging a smooth transfer of responsibility.

Ministerial council
6th Ministerial Council
The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the Foreign Ministers of the 57 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization’s…
November 1997

Conference
Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 1997
From 12 to 28 November, over 400 participants took part in the third Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, which aimed to foster compliance of individual States with OSCE commitments by reviewing their human rights records.

Conference
Permanent Council approves mandates for media freedom representative and economic and environmental co-ordinator
The participating States approved mandates for both the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.
October 1997

Conference
Personal Representative Franz Vranitzky makes farewell visit to Albania
Franz Vranitzky, Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office and the OSCE's main trouble-shooter in Albania, bade farewell to the country in a two-day visit.

Conference
Almost 6,600 weapons destroyed by parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina
As of this day, the former warring Parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina destroyed over six thousand weapons, bringing down their holdings to balanced levels and thereby helping to prevent the recurrence of armed conflict.

Seminar
Human Dimension Seminar on promoting women's participation in society
From 14-17 October, some 200 representatives from the OSCE, governments, parliaments and non-governmental organizations from across the OSCE region met to discuss women's participation in society.

Conference
First meeting on constitutional amendments in Tajikistan
The first meeting on "Peace, National Accord and the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan" took place in Dushanbe under the auspices of the Commission on National Reconciliation (CNR) and the OSCE.
September 1997

Seminar
Co-operation and the experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina discussed in Portoroz
The Seminar on Co-operation among International Organizations and Institutions: Experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina gave the international community an opportunity to compare notes on commitments in BiH in security, economic and human…

Conference
High Commissioner visits former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
From 28 September to 1 October, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, Max van der Stoel, visited the country in the aftermath of demonstrations that took place in Gostivar in July.