News from Copenhagen

Number 295 Current Information from the OSCE PA International Secretariat 16 April 2009 OSCE PA and PACE Presidents meet in Madrid OSCE PA President Joao election observation missions Soares met on 15 April in including the need to Madrid with the President of enhance cooperation among the Parliamentary Assembly the different parliamentary of the assemblies in order to produce (PACE) Mr. Lluis M. De a comprehensive and balanced Puig. The meeting took place statement. The international in the premises of the Senate community, it was stressed, of of which Mr. De should speak with one voice Puig is a Member. for the benefi t of the countries The meeting was also in transition. Joao Soares attended by Mateo Sorinas, Both Presidents expressed Lluis M. De Puig Secretary General of the their concern with problems PACE, Gustavo Pallares, Secretary General of the encountered in co-operation with ODIHR in the fi eld, OSCE PA and Nuno Paixao, Advisor to the President in especially as ODIHR seems reluctant to take into consideration the Portuguese Parliament and Secretary of the Portuguese the views and judgment of parliamentarians. Delegation to the OSCE PA. Discussions focused on the Presidents De Puig and Soares also discussed the important co-operation between the two parliamentary assemblies mainly role that parliamentarians play in both the Council of Europe in the fi eld of election observation. Both Presidents agreed on and the OSCE. Again the need to improve relations between the essential role and legitimacy that parliamentarians bring to the parliamentary and governmental branches of both election observation and the assessment of electoral processes international organizations was underlined. based on their unique experience. In Madrid, President Soares also met the Head of the Mr. Soares and Mr. De Puig agreed on the need to improve Spanish Delegation to the OSCE PA Ms. Isabel Pozuelo. OSCE parliamentarians meet on labor migration in Tajikistan A regional parliamentary seminar on labor migration took discussed, as well as aspects of traffi cking in human beings. place 16 April in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe. The seminar The seminar touched on legislative reforms, regional was jointly organized by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly frameworks and policies of host countries. Special emphasis and the Parliament of Tajikistan with the support of the was placed on the protection of workers’ rights. OSCE Offi ce in Tajikistan. The OSCE Special Representative for Central Asia, Legislators from several OSCE States participated, Mr. Kimmo Kiljunen, Vice-President of the OSCE PA and including Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Finland, , , Member of the Finnish Parliament, facilitated the meeting and . Participants discussed regional labor along with Ms. Shojoat Hasanov, Deputy Chairperson of the migration issues, with particular attention paid to the effects Parliament of Tajikistan. of migration on the region in the context of the current Speakers included representatives of leading international fi nancial crisis. organizations on the subject, including the International Managing labor migration on a regional level was Organization for Migration, as well as relevant state authorities and experts, such as the Migration Services of OSCE PA Bureau to meet in the Russian Federation and Tajikistan. The 2009 Spring Bureau Meeting will this year take The OSCE PA strongly encourages the participation of place in , the home country of President Joao Central Asian parliaments in OSCE activities. Mr. Kiljunen Soares, following his special invitation. was appointed OSCE PA Special Representative for Central The 19-20 April Meeting is hosted by the Parliament Asia in 2007 to facilitate and encourage interaction between of Portugal and will be addressed by the Speaker of the parliamentarians from this region and their counterparts Parliament, Jaime Gama. from across the OSCE area. Members of the Bureau, Heads of Delegation, Special A series of regional seminars were envisaged to facilitate Representatives, Heads of Working Groups and Members this dialogue. In 2007, together with the Nordic Council, of the Sub-Committee on Rules of Procedure will all be the OSCE PA organized a seminar with Central Asian participating. parliamentarians to discuss energy and the environment, which was hosted by the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo.

For further information: Secretary General R. Spencer Oliver, Director of Communications Klas Bergman, or Research/Publications Offi cer Nat Parry, E-mail [email protected], Tel: +45 33 37 80 40, Fax: +45 33 37 80 30, www.oscepa.org