IN FOCUS

Slovenia and OSCE

Slovenia actively cooperates within OSCE, which has thus confirmed its role in preventive diplomacy, in resolving conflicts and in renewal after them (Document on European Security). It devotes special attention to strengthening confidence and stability within the framework of the security dimension (Vienna Document 1999, Document on small arms and light weapons etc.). human rights, democratisation etc, within the framework of the human dimension (ODIHR), and the environmental and economic dimensions of OSCE are also becoming increasingly important. As an expression of its active policy, at the OSCE Summit in Istanbul in November 1999, the Republic of Slovenia announced its candidature for presiding over OSCE in 2005.

Slovenia is a contracting party to all the most important international conventions on the non- proliferation of nuclear weapons and the ban on other types of weapons of mass destruction. The Treaty of Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was one of the first international treaties succession of which Slovenia notified after its independence and international recognition. It thus demonstrated early on its commitment to the principles of non- proliferation of nuclear weapons and disarmament. The Republic of Slovenia was one of the first signatories in 1993 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), it succeeded to the status of contracting party to the Ban on Biological Weapons Convention (BTWC), and in 1999 it ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is the most recent multilateral treaty on weapons of mass destruction.

Slovenia actively cooperates in international efforts for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and in 2000 became a member of two prominent international supervisory regimes in this area, the Zangger Committee (ZAC) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Members of these two regimes, for the most part the most developed industrial countries, harmonise their policies in strengthening supervision of strategic substances and technologies that could be abused for the production of nuclear weapons.

In implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperates closely with the Chemicals Bureau of the Ministry of Health. At the Fourth Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Treaty, in May 1999, Slovenia was elected a member of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for the period 2000-2002.

Slovenia has succeeded to the status of contracting party to the Convention on Prohibition or Restrictions on the use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its three original protocols: (I) on non-detectable fragments, (II) on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of mines, booby-traps and other devices and (III) on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of incendiary weapons. At the review conference of state contracting parties of CCW in 1995 an additional Protocol IV was adopted on blinding laser weapons, and in 1996, an amended protocol on mines. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is committed to Slovenia's earliest accession to the amended Protocol II and additional Protocol IV.

One of the most important more recent achievements in the area of conventional weapons was the conclusion of the convention banning anti-personnel mines (Ottawa Convention) in 1997, by which for the first time to date there was a complete ban on one type of conventional weapon. Slovenia was among the countries that were most active in the concluding of this Convention and it further strengthened its activities with the founding of the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF), which is operating very successfully in a number of affected countries of Southeast Europe.

International attention has been devoted in recent years to the problem of small arms and light weaponry. In July 2001, a UN conference on all aspects of the illegal traffic in small arms and light weapons was called, which was the most important international event for disarmament in that year. Slovenia actively cooperated in preparations for this conference and is committed to the adoption of an international action plan specifying the widest circle of suitable measures for more effective state control of such weapons and preventing illegal trafficking.

Within the framework of EU common foreign and security policies, Slovenia has acceded to the EU Code of conduct on arms transfers, which defines common basic standards of export policies and control. Slovenia is also cooperating in other international mechanisms in the area of arms control, such as the UN Register on the transfer of conventional arms and the recently (November 2000) adopted OSCE Document on small arms and light weapons.