Freedom of movement is one of the fundamental rights OSCE has always been committed about.

Specific commitments relating to freedom of movement can be found in paragraph D of the Helsinki Final Act (1975). The main intent of the participating States was to facilitate travelling for personal or professional reasons and their instruments were: gradual simplification and administration of exiting and entering procedures, easy regulations concerning movement of citizens from other participating States in their territory, gradual effort to obtain lower fees for visas and other travel documents, multilateral or bilateral consular conventions or other relevant agreements or understandings for the improvement of arrangements to provide consular services, including legal and consular assistance.

In the Third Follow-up Meeting (Vienna,  15 January 1989) the participating States reiterated their full respect for the right of everyone to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State, to leave any country, and to return, without any restrictions (except those which are provided by law and are consistent with their obligations under international law, which have the character of exceptions). They also committed to enable all refugees to return in safety to their homes.

In the Final Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (29 June 1990) all participating States reaffirmed the same principles and added that restrictions would be considered necessary only if they responded  to a specific public need, pursued a legitimate aim and were proportionate to it, and would not be abused or applied in an arbitrary manner. They recognized the importance of free movement and contacts among their citizens in the context of the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The participating States committed themselves to ensure that their policies concerning entry into their territories would be consistent with the relevant provisions of the Final Act, the Madrid Concluding Document and the Vienna Concluding Document, and undertake to implement fully and improve their commitments in the field of human contacts. In this context they would strive to implement the procedures for entry into their territories, including the issuing of visas and passport and customs control, in good faith and without unjustified delay, to reduce (if necessary) the waiting time for visa decisions, to simplify procedures and to reduce administrative requirements for visa applications. They also committed to take due account of important family, personal or professional considerations, especially in cases of an urgent, humanitarian nature.

In the Document of the Moscow Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (3 October 1991) the participating States affirmed their will to remove all legal and other restrictions with respect to travel within their territories for their own nationals and foreigners, and with respect to residence for those entitled to permanent residence, except those restrictions which may be necessary and officially declared for military, safety, environmental or other legitimate government interests, in accordance with their national laws, consistent with CSCE commitments and international human rights obligations. They undertook to keep such restrictions to a minimum.

In the Concluding Document of Budapest (6 December 1994) the participating States stated that they would encourage administrative authorities dealing with citizens of other States to fully implement the CSCE commitments concerning travel.

Analysis provided by: Antonella C. Attardo PhD (History of Law), Italy.