Common Contracts

The Open-Skies Treaty as a tool for con dence building and arms control veri cation1

October 21st, 1997

• Filed
  October 21st, 1997

The Treaty on Open Skies, signed in Helsinki on March 24th, 1992, represents the most wide-ranging multinational e ort so far to enhance military transparency and con dence building through mutual aerial observation ights. Its purpose is to facili- tate the monitoring of compliance with existing or future arms control treaties and to strengthen the capacity for con ict prevention and crisis management. The preamble addresses also "the possible extension of the Open-Skies regime to additional elds, such as the protection of the environment". The treaty measures are both intrusive and cooperative: Virtually the full territory of each state party is open to over ights;