The second Annual Security Review Conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe will bring together delegates from the 55 OSCE participating states to exchange views on various security issues including terrorism, arms control, border protection, conflict prevention and crisis management.

The conference will take place in Vienna, Austria, June 23-24.

Among those scheduled to speak is Admiral James Loy, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Chairman-in-Office
18 June 2004

Media Advisory

OSCE CONFERENCE TO REVIEW BORDER SECURITY, ARMS CONTROL AND TERRORISM THREATS

VIENNA, 18 June 2004 -- A two-day conference to be held in Vienna next week will focus on the OSCE's activities in its politico-military dimension, with issues such as combating terrorism, border security and arms control on the agenda.

The second Annual Security Review Conference on 23 and 24 June will provide a platform for the 55 OSCE participating States to exchange views on risks and challenges to security across the OSCE region, conflict prevention and crisis management.

Media representatives are invited to the opening plenary session of the Conference, which around 350 political and military experts are expected to attend, on Wednesday, 23 June, between 10:00 and 10:30, at the OSCE premises in the Hofburg Congress Centre.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, and the Chairman of the OSCE's Forum for Security Co-operation, Armenian Ambassador Jivan Tabibian, will deliver the opening speeches at this session.

Journalists are also invited to a press conference in Segmentgalerie I in the Hofburg Conference Centre at 13:10 the same day. In addition to Chairman-in-Office Solomon Passy, speakers will include the EU Coordinator on Counter-Terrorism, Gijs de Vries of the Netherlands, and the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Admiral James Loy.

For admittance, please bring your OSCE press badge or a valid press card to the security desk in the lobby of the Hofburg Conference Centre, at any time from 9:30 onwards (main entrance from Heldenplatz). Parking space is available for the press between 9:00 and 15:00 in the OSCE-reserved parking area on Heldenplatz. Temporary parking permits should be collected from the security desk.

Advance background information and speeches will be posted on a special conference website www.osce.org/events/conferences/2004asrc, as and when these become available.

Richard Murphy, Spokesperson/Head of Press and Public Information, Press and Public Information Section, OSCE Secretariat, Kaerntner Ring 5-7 1010, Vienna, Austria. Tel.: +43 1 514 36 180, +43 664 548 53 89 (mobile). Fax: +43 1 514 36 105. E-mail: richard.murphy@osce.org