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MFA statement on the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act

Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland

01.08.2025

On the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, Poland strongly reiterates its commitment to the fundamental principles and values that underpin the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

These principles, such as sovereignty, territorial integrity, prohibiting the use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, represent the pillars of European security and stability. As relevant today as they were half a century ago, these ideas inform the OSCE's Founding Act and lay out a moral and political groundwork for European governance. Such tenets are universal and continue to frame a vision for a continent based on peace, cooperation, and the rule of law.

The Organization's comprehensive approach to security— encompassing its political, military, economic, and environmental dimensions as well as human rights and democracy—is a prerequisite for facing up the complex challenges of today.

Poland has consistently and fully implemented its commitments under the Final Act and other OSCE documents. The Helsinki Decalogue of 1975 was a source of inspiration and hope for dissidents, the democratic opposition and ordinary people forced to live behind the Iron Curtain. Today, the countries of our region can fully enjoy freedom and democracy in a united Europe.

We recognise the importance of safeguarding the independence of the OSCE institutions such as the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the High Commissioner for National Minorities, and the Representative on Freedom of the Media.

Russia's premeditated, unjustified and brutal war against Ukraine constitutes a brazen and deliberate violation of the Helsinki principles. This is no ordinary conflict between two states but an attack on the cornerstones of the international order, posing a direct threat to security in Europe and beyond.

Russian aggression against Ukraine, actively supported by its allies and partners, runs counter to the legacy of the Helsinki process. Dialog and cooperation within the OSCE are direct victims of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

The Organization's credibility and future depend on our ability to protect and uphold its principles and hold aggressors to account. An indispensable condition for restoring stability and trust among the OSCE's 57 participating States is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

The principles we jointly adopted five decades ago must now be emphatically reaffirmed and revived. It is our responsibility to restore their original sense and meaning. Once again, we call on Russia to renounce their politics of force and unconditionally embrace the principles set out in the Helsinki Final Act. Russia is Act's signatory and as such is obliged to follow the rules enshrined in it. Russia must immediately end its war against Ukraine and cease other acts of aggression that put world peace and stability at risk.