US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the first summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 11 years that the 56-member group must become more decisive to stay relevant.

“Regional crises and transnational dangers threaten our people. Democracies are under pressure, and protracted conflicts remain dangerously unresolved,” Clinton told the summit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, which chairs the OSCE this year.

“Instability in Afghanistan is dangerous for Central Asia and for the OSCE region as a whole,” she said, adding that the war against the Taleban would be test of the OSCE’s resolve.

Clinton noted that disagreements between OSCE members during the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia had prevented a swift response, something she said needed to fixed.

The criticism underlines doubts in Washington that a body grouping Western democracies with former Soviet republics from Vancouver to Vladivostok has the teeth or the will to prevent conflicts and ensure adherence to even basic human rights.

Kazakhstan this year became the first ex-Soviet republic to chair the OSCE. The summit, the first since 1999, is a matter of immense personal pride for President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has run the Central Asian nation for more than 20 years.

Amid tight security in Kazakhstan’s showpiece capital, Nazarbayev also urged 38 visiting heads of state and other senior officials to revive the role of the OSCE in tackling international terrorism, drug trafficking and economic crises.

“This organization has really started losing its potential. We should put it straight,” said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

But enthusiasm for the summit has been soured by criticism by rights groups and the West of Kazakhstan’s record on democracy and human rights during its chairmanship.

Some leaders — such as US President Barack Obama, British British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy — did not attend.

Clinton used the trip to Astana to clinch a deal with Belarus on eliminating stocks of highly enriched uranium and welcomed planned talks with Iran on its nuclear program.

But the focus was the threat from the war in Afghanistan and a host of simmering conflicts across the former Soviet Union.

The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan is likely to be discussed. Medvedev said in October that a breakthrough could be made, though little was announced.

Moldova’s rebel region of Transdniestria and Georgia’s separatist regions are also on the agenda, though fears of strife in Central Asia dominated discussions.

Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, has watched with unease as militancy and drug trafficking have become more prevalent in the sparsely populated region.

Tajik troops are fighting insurgents, while Kyrgyzstan suffered its worst bloodshed in post-Soviet history when more than 400 people were killed in ethnic clashes in June, only two months after its president was overthrown.

“The acute political situation in Kyrgyzstan could become the catalyst for new conflicts,” Nazarbayev said.