OSCE Chronicle

Ukraine handed over its OSCE chairmanship to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland at the end of 2013. That ended a period in which another former Soviet republic stood at the helm of the organization. Ukraine was preceded by Kazakhstan in 2010. Although the Ukrainians have done their best to lead the organization professionally, at times they clearly acted in stark contrast with the wishes of the majority of other OSCE states, in particular in the sensitive area of the human dimension. The traditional Ministerial took place in Kiev in December which was the scene of massive demonstrations against the Ukrainian government which shortly before had decided to opt out of a partnership agreement with the EU and turned to Moscow for help. Shortly before the Ministerial took place the police had tried to end the demonstrations with some degree of violence. Adapted from the source document.