Minsk, Belarus 26Th Annual Session T Report
REPORT OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 26th Annual Session Minsk, Belarus 26th Annual Session t Report
REPORT ON THE 26th ANNUAL SESSION OF THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
CONTENTS
Summary ...... 1 Minsk Declaration ...... 2 Inaugural Plenary Session ...... 4 Standing Committee ...... 8 General Committee on Political Affairs and Security ... 12 General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment ...... 14 General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions ...... 16 Second Plenary Session ...... 18 Closing Plenary Session ...... 19 Officers of the Assembly ...... 22 General Committee Officers ...... 25
Prepared by the OSCE PA International Secretariat Photos courtesy of Belarusian Parliament
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Summary
Hosted by the Belarusian Parliament, the OSCE PA’s 26th Annual Session took place 5-9 July 2017.
he OSCE Parliamentary Assembly met Secretariat and enhancing co-operation with on 5-9 July 2017 in Minsk, Belarus, for partners. Leaders of election observation Tits 26th Annual Session. With some 260 missions, Special Representatives and chairs parliamentarians from North America, Europe of ad hoc committees also reported to the and Asia participating, the theme of the Session Standing Committee on their work. was “Enhancing mutual trust and co-operation At the close of the Session, President Summary ...... 1 for peace and prosperity in the OSCE region.” Muttonen was re-elected to a second term Minsk Declaration ...... 2 The Session included meetings of the by acclamation. Doris Barnett was re-elected Inaugural Plenary Session ...... 4 Standing Committee, each of the three general Treasurer by acclamation. The PA elected Italian committees, three plenary sessions, and several parliamentarian Marietta Tidei, United States Standing Committee ...... 8 side events. It concluded on 9 July with the Senator Roger Wicker, Swedish parliamentarian General Committee on Political Affairs and Security ... 12 adoption of the Minsk Declaration and election Margareta Cederfelt, and re-elected Romanian General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, of Assembly leaders. MP Victor Dobre as Vice-Presidents. Technology and Environment ...... 14 Speakers at the Session included Belarusian In the Committee on Political Affairs and General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and President Aleksandr Security, Filippo Humanitarian Questions ...... 16 Lukashenko, Chairman “Here in Minsk we will rebuild bridges, Lombardi (Switzerland) Second Plenary Session ...... 18 of the House of re-establish trust, restore the spirit of was elected Chair; Representatives of the co-operation and renew relationships.” Guglielmo Picchi Closing Plenary Session ...... 19 National Assembly of (Italy) Vice-Chair; Officers of the Assembly ...... 22 the Republic of Belarus OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen and Kristian Vigenin General Committee Officers ...... 25 Vladimir Andreichenko, (Bulgaria) Rapporteur. OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen (Austria), The Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Technology and Environment elected Nilza Sena Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz. (Portugal) as Chair; Artur Gerasymov (Ukraine) The Standing Committee met on 5 July Vice-Chair; and Sofio Katsarava (Georgia) and unanimously agreed to establish an Ad Rapporteur. Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain) was Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism, elected Chair of the Committee on Democracy, which was tasked with developing an effective Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, international response to extremist violence. with Ivana Dobesova (Czech Republic) elected The Standing Committee also heard reports Vice-Chair, and Kyriakos Kyriakou-Hadjiyianni from the Treasurer, German parliamentarian (Cyprus) Rapporteur. Doris Barnett, who focused on the OSCE PA’s Side events were held in Minsk on issues present financial situation, and Secretary including human rights in Belarus, migration, General Roberto Montella, who described his human trafficking, nuclear weapons, and priorities of strengthening the International promoting women’s leadership in politics.
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Minsk Declaration
t the close of each Annual Session, the AAssembly adopts a Declaration with recommendations in the fields of political affairs, security, economics, environment and human rights. Representing the collective voice of the OSCE parliamentarians, the Declaration helps shape OSCE and national policy. It is complemented by a number of supplementary items relating to OSCE Voting on the Minsk Declaration. commitments and values. he OSCE Parliamentary Assembly security of international transportation, and adopted the 2017 Minsk Declaration by tracking the movements of terrorists within Ton 9 July, with recommendations to countries and across borders.” help guide OSCE work and shape national In the economic and environmental policies in the fields of political-military affairs, dimension, the Declaration “urges all OSCE economics and environment, and human rights. participating States to recognize the urgency Parliamentarians adopted the Declaration by a of the climate crisis and its related challenges” vote of 91-15, with three abstentions. Following and underlines that “domestic economic its adoption, the Declaration was sent to policies should prioritize clean energy projects, parliaments and to the foreign ministers of investment and innovation to promote OSCE countries, and was sustained growth and presented to national “The OSCE Parliamentary Assem- ensure that negative ambassadors to the OSCE bly underlines respect for the effects on the environment in Vienna, serving as policy principles of the inviolability of are minimized.” It further advice to governments frontiers and territorial integrity, calls on all OSCE countries and the international peaceful settlement of disputes, “to ratify the 2015 Paris community. equal rights, and self-determina- Agreement on climate The document includes tion of peoples.” change [and] to fulfill their resolutions dealing obligations under the with terrorism, conflict 2017 OSCE PA Minsk Declaration agreement.” resolution, climate change, migration, human rights, On human rights, the the crisis in and around Ukraine, the death Declaration “calls on OSCE participating penalty, new voting technologies, energy and States to respect the human dignity and equal water security, religious discrimination, new rights of all their citizens by implementing psychoactive substances, preventing child to the fullest extent all OSCE commitments sexual exploitation, promoting gender-inclusive concerning human rights, fundamental conflict mediation, and more. (The Declaration freedoms, pluralistic democracy, and the rule can be downloaded in the OSCE’s six official of law.” It urges an immediate end to “the languages at www.oscepa.org.) harassment, imprisonment, mistreatment, The Declaration “urges participating States and disappearance of political opponents, to recommit to multilateral diplomacy in human rights defenders, journalists, and other the pursuit of comprehensive security and members of civil society.” to implement OSCE confidence-building A supplementary item on migration called measures” to reduce the risk of conflict. It on the OSCE and participating States “to calls for governments to “develop measures enhance their co-operation and co-ordination aimed at blocking the funding of terrorist and the sharing of best practices with the organizations” and ehance counter-terrorism aim of developing a coherent, shared and measures “by improving legal frameworks and responsible approach to migration governance law enforcement methods, strengthening the underpinned by the principles of solidarity.” 2 26th Annual Session t Report
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Inaugural Opening Session
President Christine Muttonen opens the inaugural session on 5 July 2017.
peaking at the opening inaugural ses- Christine Muttonen, sion were Belarusian President Aleksandr President of the OSCE PA SLukashenko; Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of President Muttonen noted that based on the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Andreichenko; their shared historical experiences, OSCE OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Chris- countries have adopted common values and tine Muttonen; and the OSCE Chairperson- commitments to promote a comprehensive in-Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian model of security that places democracy and Kurz. human rights at the forefront. “We have learned that real security means Aleksandr Lukashenko, more than just the absence of war. Real secu- President of Belarus rity means ensuring that human rights are respected, that elections are democratic, that In a keynote address, President Lukashenko corruption is contained and that the rule of stressed that the Parliamentary Assembly is law is upheld,” President Muttonen said. “It “an effective forum for strengthening secu- is through the hard work of democracy and rity in our region,” and is critical for the OSCE. diplomacy that we can help ensure politi- He spoke about conflicts in the Middle East cal stability, economic growth, environmental that are having an sustainability, and impact on Europe, “Real security means ensuring that human ultimately, achieve as well as protracted rights are respected, that elections are our common goals conflicts in the democratic, that corruption is contained of peace and pros- OSCE area such as and that the rule of law is upheld.” perity.” Nagorno-Karabakh Muttonen noted and Transdniestria, OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen that as a recognized stressing that it is location for inter- imperative that the international community national diplomacy and conflict resolution focuses closely on these issues before they – including mediation processes related to lead to even greater problems. Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh – Minsk would Lukashenko highlighted in particular ter- serve as an excellent venue for the Assembly’s rorism, climate change, migration, and the work in the days ahead. crisis in and around Ukraine as matters requir- ing urgent attention, noting the potential for Vladimir Andreichenko, greater co-operation in the politico-military Chairman of the House of sphere, including on counter-terrorism and Representatives, National cybersecurity. He further called for an OSCE Assembly of Belarus summit of heads of state to take place in the near future and stressed the need to reinvigor- Andreichenko stressed the role of parlia- ate the OSCE’s founding principles agreed to mentary diplomacy in meeting common chal- in Helsinki in 1975. lenges facing the OSCE region, noting that 4 26th Annual Session t Report
Inaugural Opening Session
OSCE PA delegates listen to opening remarks at the 26th Annual Session in Minsk, 5 July 2017. efforts to co-operatvely resolve major inter- Sebastian Kurz, national issues can have a trickle-down effect Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE in addressing other pressing matters on the international, regional and national levels. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian -For “We expect a constructive exchange of opin- eign Minister Sebastian Kurz, stressed that in ions during this session the face of deep-seated and, which is the most “I am counting on the parliamentar- conflicts and growing important, rejection of ians and their networks among their transnational threats, confrontational think- domestic population to exert their parliamentarians create ing in the process of influence, so that concrete progress opportunities for con- finding solutions to the can be made, not least in the crisis in structive dialogue. most difficult problems and around Ukraine” “Especially in these of the international difficult times, mem- agenda,” Chairman OSCE Chairperson-in-Office bers of parliament have Andreichenko said. Sebastian Kurz an even more impor- “Parliamentary diplo- tant role to play. I am macy must be used to counting on the parliamentarians and their build bridges and not to create division lines,” networks among their domestic population he said. “Making a step towards each other in to exert their influence, so that concrete pro- terms of main issues we will achieve progress gress can be made, not least in the crisis in and in resolution of minor ones as well.” around Ukraine,” said Minister Kurz.
Parliamentarians consider women’s leadership at Gender Lunch
Opened by Special Representative on Gender Issues Hedy Fry (Canada) and Assembly President Christine Muttonen (Austria), the Working Lunch on Gender Issues on 7 July featured addresses by Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus; and Katarzyna Gardapkhadze, First Deputy Hedy Fry opens the Gender Lunch, 7 July 2017. Director of ODIHR. Fry remarked that governments and organizations are not using all their resources if women are left out from decision-making processes, while President Muttonen underlined the inclusion of women as a fundamental issue for peace and security. Discussions focused on concrete steps parliamentarians could take to promote women’s leadership in political processes and structures. Parliamentarians stressed the need for more gender equality, whether it be within the OSCE, national governments, or society more broadly. 4 5 26th Annual Session t Report
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Standing Committee
he Standing Committee consists of Tthe Heads of National Delegations and Members of the Bureau. Meeting three times a year – at the Winter Meeting, the Autumn Meeting and the Annual Session – the Standing Committee guides the work of the Assembly, approves its budget, and elects the OSCE PA Secretary General.
haired by Assembly President Christine Filippo Lombardi (Switzerland) reported on Muttonen (Austria), the Standing Com- recent visits of committee members to Greece Cmittee on 5 July featured reports by the and Turkey, noting that the migration issue has OSCE PA Treasurer and Secretary General, as no easy solution. well as Special Representatives, chairs of ad Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain) underlined the hoc committees and leaders of recent elec- importance of parliamentarians maintaining tion observation missions. The delegates voted credibility and impartiality in election obser- unanimously on President Muttonen’s proposal vation missions, while Guglielmo Picchi (Italy) to establish an Ad Hoc Committee on Counter- reported on the Assembly’s first observation of ing Terrorism. elections in Mongolia in June. Delegates approved 14 supplementary items Thanking the Parliament of Belarus for the for debate during the Annual Session. Two sup- excellent organization of the Annual Session, plementary items were allocated to the First Treasurer Doris Barnett (Germany) reported that Committee, three to the Second Committee the PA continues to operate in a cost-effective and five to the Third Committee. Three items, manner, and urged members to continue their “Ensuring a Coherent, Shared and Responsible support – in terms of national governments Governance of Migration and Refugee Flows”, offering secondments, hosting meetings, and “Migration” and “Promoting Gender Inclusive providing extra-budgetary contributions. The and Responsive Mediation” were sent to ple- Standing Committee unanimously approved nary sessions for debate, while one item, “The the draft budget presented by Treasurer Bar- Situation in Belarus,” was not included on the nett for the financial year 2017-2018. agenda following an 8-20 vote by Standing Underlining the Assembly’s potential for Committee delegates. trust-building, Secretary General Roberto Mon- Special Representative on the South Cauca- tella stressed the importance of promoting sus Kristian Vigenin (Bulgaria) welcomed the mutual respect, eliminating double standards new Armenian Delegation to the OSCE PA and and increasing the credibility of institutions regretted the closure this year of the OSCE and international organizations. Office in Yerevan, a sentiment echoed by the Montella welcomed the decision to establish Head of the Armenian Delegation. Roberto an Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism Battelli, Special Representative for South East and highlighted the work of the Ad Hoc Com- Europe, outlined the need for increased atten- mittee on Migration as a model for the work of tion to the Western Balkans, given the rise in the new committee. He thanked the migration negative trends in the region. committee members for their dedication and OSCE PA Vice-President George Tsereteli expressed regret that the four top leadership reported on a high-level visit he led to Turkey positions in the OSCE had not been filled by in June 2017, during which the OSCE PA team the start of the Annual Session. met with government and parliamentary lead- The Standing Committee also heard reports ers and all opposition parties represented in on upcoming statutory meetings of the Parlia- parliament. Tsereteli noted that the visit dem- mentary Assembly, including the 2017 Andorra onstrated the Turkish government’s willingness Autumn Meeting, the 2018 Annual Session in to maintain dialogue. Berlin, and the 2018 Autumn Meeting sched- Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration uled to take place in Kyrgyzstan.
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General Committee on Political Affairs and Security
Roger Wicker (center) chairs the First Committee meeting on 6 July.
ommittee Chair Roger Wicker (United Apakan (Turkey), Chief Monitor of the SMM, States) opened the meeting on 6 July by who gave a presentation via video link to the Cthanking Belarus for hosting the 26th committee members. Annual Session and offering condolences to Apakan briefed the committee about the those affected by recent terror attacks. “These ongoing challenges faced by the OSCE SMM attacks should galvanize us our work,” he said. and about the general security situation in “Both within the Parliamentary Assembly and the Donbas, noting that ceasefire violations the OSCE we can play a meaningful role in continue with troubling frequency. He further bringing together participating nations in con- underlined the need for full implementation of fronting terrorism and we should remain dedi- the Minsk Agreements. cated to supporting our allies and partners in this important endeavour.” Report and Resolution Wicker also expressed condolences over the death of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission Rapporteur Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden) (SMM) to Ukraine member Joseph Stone who presented the main focal points of her report, was killed in eastern Ukraine on 23 April, and touching on cybersecurity, Turkey, terror- noted that attacks on OSCE SMM members ism, women in peacebuilding, the crisis in have become all too common. and around Ukraine, and other security chal- The Chair introduced Ambassador Ertugrul lenges facing the OSCE area. On terrorism, she Side event on detente and nuclear threat reduction
A day after the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weap- ons at a UN conference in New York, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Pro- liferation and Disarmament (PNND) convened a forum in Minsk to discuss current threats in Europe from nuclear weapons. The 8 July event explored the Members joined by video link from New York for a report role of parliamentarians in promoting on the UN anti-nuclear weapons treaty, 8 July 2017. dialogue, detente and disarmament. President Muttonen, who also serves as Co-President of PNND, spoke at the event and noted that the potential impact of nuclear weapons “is a matter of deepest concern for our organization.” Other OSCE PA delegates par- ticipating in the meeting included Hedy Fry (Canada), Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain), Miroslaw Wachowski (Holy See), and Soren Sondergaard (Denmark). 12 26th Annual Session t Report
General Committee on Political Affairs and Security stressed the imperative of parliamentar- ians taking effective action to stop the violence being carried out against civil- ians in the OSCE area. “Innocent people are being targeted,” she said. “We parlia- mentarians need to act to stop the terror- ists and we can do so by using the OSCE toolbox. We can do much more to sup- port peace, security and stability.” Rapporteur Margareta Cederfelt presents her report and draft resolution on 6 July. Cederfelt stressed the need for elected parliamentarians, as representatives of Supplementary Items the people, to act to ensure the continued good functioning of the OSCE for the sake of The committee debated and adopted two peace, stability and security. supplementary items related to the situation The rapporteur’s resolution noted with con- in and around Ukraine and the fight against cern the ongoing security challenges through- terrorism in the OSCE area. out the OSCE area, stressed the need to make The supplementary item “Restoration of Sov- full use of OSCE tools to strengthen confi- ereignty and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine,” dence-building, reduce the risk of conflict, and sponsored by Artur Gerasymov (Ukraine), pro- promote long-term comprehensive security. vided for a lively debate and was adopted with In the discussion Members focused on sev- a number of amendments. The resolution calls eral key issues that are of concern to the OSCE to uphold the purposes and principles of the area, including terrorism and radicalization. United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final Lord Bowness (United Kingdom) underlined Act, in particular concerning respect for the the deterioration of the security situation in sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolabil- the Western Balkans, noting that rising ethnic ity of frontiers of participating States. It fur- tensions, resurging nationalism and foreign ther stressed the non-intervention in internal interference mark a series of negative trends affairs, peaceful settlement of disputes, and that need to be reversed in this region. refraining from the threat or use of force, reit- Aase Michaelsen (Norway) urged participat- erating the OSCE PA’s stated commitment to ing States not to compromise on fundamental fully implementing the Minsk Agreements. democratic freedoms and values. A free press The supplementary item “Strengthening the and public and open debate should be guar- Role of the OSCE in Countering Terrorism,” anteed and are essential to fight radicalization sponsored by Nikolay Kovalev (Russian Fed- and disinformation, Michaelsen said. She criti- eration), was adopted with two amendments cized the widespread use of espionage and put forward by delegates from the United the attacks on critical infrastructure in recent States. The resolution firmly condemns all ter- cyberattacks. rorist acts and reiterates that terrorism in all Andreas Kafkalias (Cyprus) traced some of its forms is one of the most serious threats to the root causes of terrorism to a lack of social international peace and security. It also wel- and economic integration. He called for the comed the establishment of an ad hoc anti- resolution of conflicts in the Middle East and terrorism committee to enhance the PA’s role. North Africa to resolve the migrant and ref- ugee crisis and the security risks emanating Election of Officers from it. He also noted that the Cyprus nego- tiation for a comprehensive settlement is in a Chair: Filippo Lombardi (Switzerland) critical phase. Vice-Chair: Guglielmo Picchi (Italy) The committee resolution passed after con- sideration of 33 amendments. Rapporteur: Kristian Vigenin (Bulgaria) 12 13 26th Annual Session t Report
General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment
Second Committee voting on a supplementary item, 7 July.
ommittee Chair Nilza Sena (Portugal) co-ordinated and comprehensive responses to presided over the three sessions of the deal with them effectively. CCommittee on Economic Affairs, Science, On climate change, the Rapporteur regret- Technology and Environment on 6-7 July. Mem- ted the lack of progress in the effective imple- bers considered the report and resolution pro- mentation of the Paris Agreement, expressed posed by Rapporteur Marietta Tidei (Italy) and concern over the announced U.S. withdrawal, four supplementary items on energy security, and highlighted other developments that could new psychoactive substances, drinking water, threaten the agreed-upon commitments. and new voting technologies. Tidei welcomed the Austrian OSCE Chair- manship’s decision to set “greening the econ- Report and Resolution omy” as one of its priorities, thereby supporting the implementation of the UN Sustainable Rapporteur Marietta Tidei presented her Development Goals by all participating States. report, which focused on combating climate Moreover, she underlined how the Expo 2017 change, promoting environmentally sustainable in Astana, with the theme of “Energy of the economic growth and adopting a coherent, co- Future,” could provide a useful platform to con- ordinated response to migration. Tidei under- tinue the dialogue on the issue. lined the link between the two issues, stressing Climate change is forcing people to move, that the international community must develop contributing to migratory flows in response Ad Hoc Committee on Migration discusses work plan
The Ad Hoc Committee on Migra- tion, chaired by Filippo Lombardi (Switzerland), met twice on the margins of the Annual Session to discuss its recent field visits to Greece and Turkey as well as the supplementary item “Ensuring a Coherent, Shared and Responsi- Members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration meet on 6 July. ble Governance of Migration and Refugee Flows” and upcoming report. Members also heard from Swiss Ambassador Claude Wild, Chair of the OSCE’s Infor- mal Working Group (IWG) on Migration, who briefed the Committee on developments on the governmental side and noted that a main challenge for the OSCE was to stay connected in the UN-led debate regarding a Global Compact on Migration. At its second meeting, the commit- tee discussed future activities, to include a follow-up visit to Italy as well as possible thematic events, for example on the topic of unaccompanied minors. The committee agreed to finalize its report and recommendations for the 2017 Autumn Meeting in Andorra in October.
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General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment to flooding, droughts, scarcity of food or water and other climate-related emer- gencies, she said. The “environmental refugees,” she noted, are contributing to south-north migration, with the same path being followed by “economic migrants” seeking a better life in the more devel- oped areas of the world. Tidei called for the support of other countries of the European Union to share migration-related responsibilities through
effective policies, restating the need to Marietta Tidei and Marco Bonabello, 7 July. encourage the development of stable and healthy political, economic and social and safety of the population. It calls on OSCE environments in countries of origin. participating States to exchange information Seventeen parliamentarians took the floor through bilateral and multilateral channels on to debate the resolution, raising issues includ- measures adopted and to share best practices ing equal access to technological resources for to combat the spread of these substances. No populations in rural areas, the future of Paris amendments were presented to the resolution, Agreement after the announced withdrawal which was adopted overwhelmingly. by the United States, scientific and research The supplementary item “Drinking Water: freedom, and the possibility of introducing a Fostering Co-operation to Protect a Scarce carbon tax. Resource” sponsored by Godfrey Farru- The committee considered 20 amendments, gia (Malta) formally recognized that climate of which 16 were adopted. Following the debate change is the source of water-related crises and and the discussion of amendments, the resolu- reaffirmed the importance of trans-boundary tion was adopted overwhelmingly. water co-operation as a tool to share this scarce resource and the benefits that come from it. Supplementary Items The item recalled a number of international and regional documents, conventions and The supplementary item “Strengthening directives and urged participating States to Energy Security in the OSCE Region,” principally identify and treat water governance as a priority. sponsored by Olga Bielkova (Ukraine), under- It stresses that water is indispensable for human lined that energy security plays a key role in survival and well-being, and as such, its protec- ensuring economic growth and development. tion and management is a shared responsibil- The resolution highlighted the multidimensional ity between all countries. The resolution was character of the energy security issue, recogniz- adopted unanimously with one amendment. ing the need to increase energy efficiency and The last supplementary item, “Observation of market transparency, to diversify energy sup- New Voting Technologies,” sponsored by Bjorn plies, and to protect critical energy infrastruc- Soder (Sweden), suggested updating election ture from terrorist attacks. Five amendments observation methods for new voting technol- were discussed and all were adopted. The item ogies and called for the development of new was adopted overwhelmingly. laws to control and manage these technolo- Sponsored by Boleslav Pirshtuk (Belarus), the gies. Three amendments were agreed to and supplementary item “Developing a Timely and the item was adopted overwhelmingly. Effective Legislative, Regulatory and Admin- istrative Response to the Emergence of New Election of Officers Psychoactive Substances” stressed the impor- Chair: Nilza Sena (Portugal) tance of developing a strong response to the emergence of new psychoactive substances to Vice-Chair: Artur Gerasymov (Ukraine) reduce their damaging effects on the health Rapporteur: Sofio Katsarava (Georgia) 14 15 26th Annual Session t Report
General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions
Ignacio Sanchez Amor chairs the Third Committee on 8 July.
gnacio Sanchez Amor (Spain) chaired four expressing concern over the human dimen- meetings of the General Committee on sion of the issue of protracted conflicts in the IDemocracy, Human Rights and Humanitar- OSCE area. Hadjiyianni elaborated on the chal- ian Questions on 6-8 July. In addition to the lenges that populistic trends and religious fun- main resolution, five supplementary items damentalism represent for democracy, and the were adopted. The supplementary items need for OSCE countries to reaffirm their com- agreed to by the committee dealt with topics mitment to basic principles and values such such as prevention of child sexual exploita- as tolerance, respect, freedom, and the rule tion, universal abolition of the death penalty, of law. The Rapporteur called on participat- combating intolerance and discrimination, and ing States to resist implementing overly secu- ensuring the rule of law and democracy in all ritized responses to the terrorist threat, which participating States. would contradict their commitment to respect and protect fundamental freedoms and human Report and Resolution rights. Hadjiyianni concluded by emphasiz- ing the centrality of freedom of expression, Rapporteur Kyriakos Kyriakou-Hadjiyianni thought, conscience, religion or belief. (Cyprus) presented his report, starting by Parliamentarians from across the OSCE area Rights in Belarus focus of panel discussion The Swedish OSCE PA Delegation hosted a seminar on the second day of the Annual Session, moderated by OSCE PA Vice-President and Chair of the Working Group on Belarus Kent Harstedt (Sweden) focused on rights
MPs meet on the margins of the Annual Session for a seminar on in Belarus. Featuring the participation human rights in Belarus, 6 July 2017. of Miklos Haraszti, UN Special Rappor- teur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, the event provided a forum for representatives of civil society and political actors, including members of the Belarusian Parliament, to exchange views on ongoing developments and challenges in the country. Among the organizations represented at the event were the Belarusian Journalists Associa- tion, Viasna Human Rights Center, Belarusian Helsinki Committee, United Civil Party, Tell the Truth Party, and Belarusian Peoples Front. More than 100 participants attended the seminar, offering a variety of perspectives on the state of democracy, rule of law and fundamental free- doms in Belarus. 16 26th Annual Session t Report
General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions took the floor raising a range of issues, including integration policies for refu- gees and migrants, the need to pro- tect the most vulnerable populations – notably migrant women and children – human rights violations taking place in Ukraine, and the importance of the principles of tolerance and inclusion in the establishment of stability and peace in the OSCE region. Concerns were also expressed over the politici- zation of human rights issues. Following the discussion, the com- Kyriakos Kyriakou-Hadjiyianni presents his report, 6 July. mittee debated the proposed amend- tion rather than assimilation. Furthermore, he ments to the draft resolution authored by called on participating States to consider mul- Hadjiyianni. Twenty-nine amendments to the ticulturalism as an essential element of the dis- resolution were considered and 20 agreed to, cussion of security and coexistence questions. with additional paragraphs included on issues The resolution was subsequently adopted by such as media and academic freedom and the committee. combatting discrimination based on sexual The committee also debated a resolution orientation or gender identity. The resolution on the “Inadmissibility of Discrimination and was adopted as amended by a vote of 31-2. Intolerance Against Christians, Muslims and Adherents of Other Religions.” Liudmila Naru- Supplementary Items sova (Russian Federation), sponsor of the supplementary item, pointed out that discrim- Five supplementary items were debated ination, intolerance, and terrorist acts commit- by the Third Committee. “Preventing Child ted on the ground of religious belief constitute Sexual Exploitation Online Through Advances a real threat for the OSCE, and that religious in Technology,” authored by Christopher Smith wars are currently under way as a result of (United States), was unanimously adopted with intolerance. The resolution was passed with three amendments. Before the vote, debate two amendments. arose over the efficiency of age verification The supplementary item “The Situation in technologies applied to pornographic web- Eastern Europe” authored by Christian Holm sites, and the limitations to civil liberties they Barenfeld (Sweden), provided for a spirited might entail. debate. The item addressed human rights vio- The supplementary item “Abolition of the lations and the lack of political freedom in a Death Penalty” sponsored by Isabel Santos number of OSCE countries. Sixteen amend- (Portugal) was also unanimously adopted ments were proposed, of which three were with three amendments. While presenting her agreed to before the supplementary item was supplementary item, Santos stressed that the adopted by the committee. Assembly would not give up the fight against The meeting closed with the election of the death penalty until abolition is achieved committee officers. on a global scale. The supplementary item on “Multicultur- Election of Officers alism – The Role of Cultural Values in Demo- cratic Development in a Globalizing World” Chair: Ignacio Sanchez-Amor (Spain) was presented by Deputy Head of the Azer- Vice-Chair: Ivana Dobesova (Czech baijani Delegation Tahir Mirkishili, who under- Republic) lined that the coexistence of various cultures in one country should be peaceful, bring equal- Rapporteur: Kyriakos Kyriakou- ity between individuals and focus on integra- Hadjiyianni (Cyprus) 16 17 26th Annual Session t Report Second Plenary Session
from having the perspectives of both genders, and stressed that the OSCE should place a stronger emphasis on gender equality in its hiring practices. The supplemen- tary item was adopted by a vote of 72-11, with three abstentions. Members considered two sup- plementary items on migration: “Ensuring a Coherent, Shared and Responsible Governance of Migra- Hedy Fry delivers the gender report on 8 July. tion and Refugee Flows,” principally SCE PA President Christine Muttonen sponsored by Filippo Lombardi chaired two plenary sessions on 8-9 (Switzerland), and “Migration,” principally OJuly, in which the Minsk Declaration sponsored by Alain Neri (France). was adopted and election results announced. Lombardi’s item is based on his conclusion that flows of migrants and refugees will not end Hedy Fry, OSCE PA Special any time soon, and that participating States Representative on Gender Issues accepting migrants and refugees on a purely voluntary basis is no longer an acceptable Presenting her report, “Gender and the Inte- solution. Neri’s item calls for a solution to the gration of Refugees and Migrants,” Hedy Fry migration problem, arguing that more needs emphasized the need for governments and to be done in terms of terrorism, addressing citizens to consider migrants as a benefit for population growth, and combating the effects the social, cultural and economic development of climate change. Both supplementary items of a country. She underlined the importance were adopted. of developing programmes for newcomers to integrate into society, arguing that marginal- Open Debate izing and discriminating against migrants and refugees only serves to alienate them, which The floor was opened for general debate, makes them more susceptible to recruitment with more than 25 parliamentarians partici- by extremist groups. pating in the discussion. Members addressed Fry pointed out that steps are needed to a wide variety of issues, including: terrorism, eliminate barriers women face to entering the sovereignty and territorial integrity, migration, labour force. The Special Representative also the safeguarding of natural resources, and the urged host countries to develop programmes need to continue building trust in the OSCE for women migrants and refugees who have region. Members expressed the sentiment that been sexually abused, to provide opportuni- the OSCE must work effectively as an organi- ties for healing and rehabilitation. zation to increase trust and solidarity, and to resolve conflicts. Supplementary Items On the issue of terrorism, several parlia- mentarians stressed that citizens’ fundamental Following her report, Hedy Fry presented her freedoms and human rights must not be cur- supplementary item “Promoting Gender Inclu- tailed in counter-terrorism efforts. Concerning sive and Responsive Mediation.” Fry’s resolu- migration, some Members emphasized the tion reaffirms UN Security Council Resolution need for shared responsibility and for gov- 1325, particularly the call to engage women in ernments to honor their commitments under all aspects of the conflict cycle. international humanitarian law including by Members thanked Fry for her resolu- hosting those fleeing armed conflict and per- tion, stating that the peace process benefits secution. 18 26th Annual Session t Report Closing Plenary Session
There were four empty chairs on the closing plenary’s dais due to the inability to fill the OSCE’s top positions. Open Debate (continued) MPs. Amb. Bekkers stressed the role of the OSCE as a unique platform for dialogue, but Twenty-two speakers participated in the said the Organization should adapt in order to debate on 9 July, addressing issues such as ter- effectively respond to emerging threats. rorism, freedom of the media, climate change Bekkers suggested some instruments to and environmental sustainability, migration, achieve this goal, such as: reforming the inter- and gender equality. action between the different OSCE Institutions On terrorism, the Russian Delegation and offices; updating the strategy behind OSCE remarked on the Russian government’s efforts presence in the field and exploring the- pos in addressing the threat. Morocco shared the sibility of opening new offices; encouraging successful experience of its national multi- countries’ financial contributions by stressing dimensional approach. The Ukrainian Delega- how the OSCE manages to achieve substantial tion underlined the importance of the OSCE results with a moderate amount of funds. Bek- activities in the country and highlighted the kers also underlined that the lack of legal per- importance of the continuation of the SMM. sonality for the Organization can pose a risk Lord Alfred Dubs (United Kingdom) focused to the OSCE itself, and encouraged continued on the urgent and concerning situation in Italy dialogue on the issue. and Greece related to the migration and refu- Finally, Bekkers suggested considering the gee crisis. He stressed the need to help these option of a multi-year budget, which would countries to prevent further destabilization. be more effective and would align the OSCE’s President Muttonen took a moment to focus practices with those of other organizations. on four empty chairs on the podium, which she pointed out were vacant due to the OSCE’s Doris Barnett, lack of agreement on filling the positions. Call- OSCE PA Treasurer ing the vacancies “unacceptable,” she urged the OSCE to overcome its diplomatic gridlock Treasurer Doris Barnett reported that the and move to appoint the OSCE Secretary Gen- Assembly’s budget remains within the stated eral, ODIHR Director, Representative on Free- objectives of austerity and accountability, dom of the Media and High Commissioner on noting that the financial resources of the National Minorities. Assembly are being used effectively and effi- ciently. She thanked Secretary General Rob- Paul Bekkers, erto Montella and the entire International Director of the Office of the Secretariat for ensuring the smooth operation OSCE Secretary General of the Assembly. Additionally, Barnett invited Members to the In the absence of agreement on the appoint- 27th Annual Session, to be held on 7-11 July ment of a new OSCE Secretary General, the 2018 at the Bundestag in Berlin, noting that Director of the Office addressed the assembled preparations are moving along well.
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Closing Plenary Session
Roberto Montella, Adoption of Minsk Declaration OSCE PA Secretary General The OSCE PA’s Minsk Declaration was Montella began by expressing gratitude to adopted by majority vote, with 91 votes in the Belarusian Parliament for hosting the event favour, 15 against and three abstentions. Sup- and commended the record level of participa- plementary items were also adopted; however, tion for the Minsk Annual Session, noting that the resolution forwarded by the Third Commit- only two delegations were not present. Reiter- tee, “The Situation in Eastern Europe,” failed to ating his remarks to the Standing Committee, receive a majority in a 43-43 vote, and was not Montella underlined three areas of impor- included in the final document. tance for the future of the organization’s work: ensuring the credibility of the OSCE, develop- Announcement of Election ing mutual respect, and eliminating double Results and Closing Remarks standards. He also discussed the internal situ- ation of the PA, including the adoption of new The Session ended with the announcement financial and staff rules meant to increase of election results by Lord Peter Bowness. Pres- transparency and accountability. ident Muttonen and Treasurer Barnett were re- Montella highlighted the good relations elected by acclamation. Four Vice-Presidents between the PA and partners within the OSCE, were elected: Victor Paul Dobre (Romania), including ODIHR, noting that effective co- Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden), Roger Wicker operation within the OSCE family helps deliver (United States) and Marietta Tidei (Italy). results. He thanked President Muttonen for her President Muttonen thanked the organ- leadership, and expressed gratitude to former izers and participants for making the 26th OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier for Annual Session a success. “Not only have we his work. Montella also thanked Filippo Lom- reached agreement on some of the most dif- bardi and the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration ficult issues of the day – and are issuing a very for their work on current migration issues. strong political document today – but we have Additionally, Secretary General Montella also worked towards restoring the spirit of co- also took a moment during the session to operation that we need so badly,” she said. thank Arta Dade (Albania), who was leaving Muttonen ended by underlining that “building the Parliamentary Assembly after 14 years, for bridges” would serve as the guiding principle her contributions to the OSCE PA. for her continued work as President. Human trafficking event focuses on protection of victims
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry, the Belarusian Parliament and the International Organization for Migration co-organized a side event on combating trafficking in human beings on 6 July. Featuring the participation of Oleg Kravchenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus; Boleslav Pirshtuk,
Chris Smith addresses the human trafficking Head of the Delegation of Belarus to the OSCE PA; event, 6 July 2017. Argentina Szabados, IOM Regional Director for South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia; Second Committee Rapporteur Marietta Tidei (Italy), and OSCE PA Special Representative on Human Trafficking Issues Chris Smith (United States), the event drew attention to the issue of human trafficking with a focus on the protection of victims. Participants shared knowledge, best practices and their experiences as source, transit and destination countries in the field of combating trafficking in human beings.
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Officers of the Assembly
he Officers of the Assembly, OSCE also PA Bureau Members meeting on the Tknown as the Bureau, include the fourth day of the 17th Annual Session President, Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, General Committee Officers and the Pres- ident Emeritus. The Bureau is responsi- ble for ensuring that the decisions of the Standing Committee are carried out and for the efficient operation of the Assem- bly between meetings of the Standing Committee. The Bureau takes decisions by a two-thirds majority vote. Bureau members pose for a photo, 9 July 2017.
Christine Muttonen (Austria) Deputy Prime Minister, and Deputy Speaker of was elected President Parliament. In the PA, he has served as Vice- at the 2016 Annual President and as Co-Chair of the OSCE PA’s Session and re-elected Helsinki +40 Project. He is currently the PA’s in 2017. Muttonen Special Representative on Mediation. previously served as OSCE PA Vice-Presi- Doris Barnett (Germany) dent and Special Rep- was elected Treasurer resentative for Central in 2015 and re-elected and Eastern Asia, and in 2017. Previously an is Deputy Head of OSCE PA Vice-President, the Austrian Delega- she has been a member tion to the PA. She has been a Member of the of the German Bunde- Austrian Parliament since 1999 and serves stag since 1994, where as area spokesperson for the Austrian Social she currently serves on Democratic Parliamentary Group for Foreign the Committee on Eco- Politics. She is also a member of her national nomics and Technology delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of and the Committee on European Union Affairs. the Council of Europe. Muttonen was a teacher She is the Head of the German Delegation to before her career in politics. the OSCE PA and is also a member of the Coun- cil of Europe and the European Security and Ilkka Kanerva (Finland) Defence Assembly. is the Assembly’s President Emeritus. Roberto Battelli (Slovenia) Elected President at was elected Vice-Pres- the 2014 Annual Ses- sion and re-elected ident of the OSCE Par- in 2015, Kanerva is a liamentary Assembly former OSCE Chair- at the 2015 Annual person-in-Office, and Session in Helsinki has been a member after serving for three of the Finnish Par- terms as the Assem- liament since 1975. bly’s Treasurer. He is He has held a variety of posts in his govern- also the OSCE PA’s ment and national legislature, including ser- Special Representative vice as Foreign Minister, Minister of Transport, on South East Europe, 22 26th Annual Session t Report
Officers of the Assembly
a position he has held since 2006. Since Victor Paul Dobre (Romania) becoming a member of the OSCE PA in 1992, was elected to a one- Battelli has been particularly active in election year term as Vice-Pres- observation, observing some two dozen elec- ident at the OSCE PA’s tions across the OSCE area. Battelli has been 25th Annual Session in a member of the National Assembly of the Tbilisi and re-elected Republic of Slovenia since 1990, where he is in Minsk. A member of a member of the parliamentary expert group the Romanian Chamber that was responsible for drafting the country’s of Deputies since 2000, constitution. Dobre has served on the Romanian Delega- Peter Bowness (United Kingdom) tion to the OSCE PA since 2009. In his national was elected Vice-Pres- parliament, Dobre serves as Chairman of the ident of the OSCE PA Committee on Public Administration and Ter- at the Helsinki Annual ritorial Planning. Session in 2015. As a member of the House Azay Guliyev (Azerbaijan) of Lords, he serves on was elected Vice- the European Union President in Tbilisi. He Energy and Environ- previously served for ment Sub-Commit- three years as Vice- tee and has been a Chair of the General member of the European Union Select Com- Committee on Political mittee, among other assignments. He has Affairs and Security. A been a member of the British Delegation to member of his national the OSCE PA since 2007 and serves as Chair of parliament since 2005, the OSCE PA’s Sub-Committee on the Rules of Guliyev currently sits Procedure and Working Practices. on the Permanent Committee on State Building and is a member Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden) of several working groups promoting Azerbai- was elected Vice-Pres- jan’s bilateral relations with various countries. ident in 2017 after Since 2008, he has also served as Chair of the serving two years as Council on State Support to NGOs. Guliyev has the Rapporteur for the been a member of Azerbaijan’s OSCE PA Del- General Committee egation since 2005. on Political Affairs and Security. First enter- Isabel Santos (Portugal) ing the Swedish parlia- was elected Vice-Pres- ment (Riksdag) in 1999, ident in 2016, after Cederfelt served as an having previously Alternate Member of the Swedish Delegation served three terms as to the OSCE PA from 2010 to 2014 and since Chair of the General 2014 as Deputy Head of the Delegation. In her Committee on Democ- national parliament, Cederfelt has served as a racy, Human Rights and member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Humanitarian Ques- since 2014. She has also served as Chair of the tions. Santos has been National Board of Parliamentarians for Global a member of Portu- Action (PGA) and Treasurer of the PGA Execu- guese Parliament from tive Board since 2011. 22 23 26th Annual Session t Report
Officers of the Assembly
2005 to 2009 and resumed her service in the liament since 1999, and has served as Deputy Parliament in 2011. In parliament, she serves Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Vice on the Committee on Budget, Finance and Prime Minister, Chairman of the Committee on Public Administration and the Committee on Regional Policy, Chairman of the Committee Agriculture and the Sea. As Chair of the Third on Healthcare and Social Issues and as Acting Committee she was particularly active, lead- Chairman of Parliament. ing delegations and fact-finding missions to Kazakhstan and Guantanamo Bay, as well as to Roger Wicker (United States) refugee camps in Rome, Lampedusa, Catania, was elected Vice-Pres- Czech Republic, and Serbia. ident in Minsk after serving as Chair of the Marietta Tidei (Italy) General Committee was elected Vice-Pres- on Political Affairs and ident of the Assembly Security since Novem- in 2017 after serving ber 2014. Wicker cur- as Rapporteur of the rently serves as the General Committee Chair of the Commis- on Economic Affairs, sion on Security and Science, Technology Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commis- and Environment since sion). Within the U.S. Senate he is a member 2014. She has been of the Armed Services Committee; the Budget particularly active in Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Trans- the Assembly on election observation, having portation Committee; the Environment and served as Special Co-ordinator of OSCE short- Public Works Committee; and the Rules Com- term observers for elections in Tajikistan (2015) mittee. He serves as Chairman of the Senate and Kazakhstan (2016), and as Head of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower OSCE PA Delegation in Bosnia and Herzego- and the Subcommittee on Communications, vina (2014), Russia (2016), and Albania (2017). Technology, Innovation and the Internet. Elected to her national parliament in 2013, Tidei is active in the Parliamentary Committee for the Procedures of Charge and the Committee on Economic Activities, Trade and Tourism. She is from Rome and is a member of the Democratic Party.
George Tsereteli (Georgia) was elected Vice-Pres- ident of the OSCE Par- liamentary Assembly at the 2012 Annual Session in Monaco and re-elected at the 2015 Annual Session in Helsinki. Following a career in business and as a practicing neurol- ogist, Tsereteli came to politics in 1995, serving in the Tbilisi munici- pality and as Minister of Labour, Health and The Bureau meets every spring in the Danish Par- liament (Folketing). Social Affairs. He has been a Member of Par- 24 26th Annual Session t Report
General Committee Officers
First General Committee on Political Affairs and Security
The General Committee on Political Affairs and Security (First Committee)
FirstGeneral General Committee Committee on onPolitical Political Affairs Affairs and and SecuritySecurity Guglielmo Picchi (Italy) ollowing the 1991 Madrid Declaration, was elected Vice-Chair Fthree committees were established of the General Commit- along the lines of the three main “bas- tee on Political Affairs kets” or sections of the Helsinki Final Act: and Security at the The First General Committee on Political 25th Annual Session in Affairs and Security; the Second General Tbilisi and re-elected in Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Minsk. He has served Technology and Environment; and the in the Italian Parlia- Third General Committee on Democracy, ment since 2006 and Human Rights and Humanitarian Ques- has been on the Italian tions. Following debate and discussion, a Delegation to the OSCE draft resolution is adopted by each com- Parliamentary Assembly since 2008. He previ- mittee for presentation to the Annual Ple- ously has worked in investment banking and nary Session of the Assembly, which is then served on the City Council of Florence from included in the Final Declaration. 1995 to 1999. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Migration. First General Committee Kristian Vigenin (Bulgaria) Filippo Lombardi (Switzerland) was elected Rapporteur was elected Chair of of the First Committee the First Committee in Minsk. In Bulgaria, in Minsk. He joined Vigenin was Minister the Swiss Council of of Foreign Affairs in States in 1999 and is a 2013-2014. Vigenin has member of the Chris- served as a member tian Democrat Group of the Foreign Policy representing the Committee and the canton of Ticino. Within European Affairs and the Council of States he Oversight of European serves as President of the Delegation to Main- Funds Committee in the National Assembly of tain Relations with the Italian Parliament and as Bulgaria. He was previously a member of the President of the Drafting Committee for Ital- European Parliament and was elected as the ian. He is a member of the Delegation to the first EP Chair of the Euronest Parliamentary Inter-Parliamentary Union. He was appointed Assembly in 2011. He has served since Febru- as Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration ary 2016 as the Assembly’s Special Representa- following its inception in 2016. He is also the tive on the South Caucasus. He also serves as Head of Switzerland’s delegation to the OSCE Deputy Head of the Bulgarian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly. OSCE PA. 24 25 26th Annual Session t Report
General Committee Officers
General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment
Second General Committee of Ukrainian Marketing Group. In 2014, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Par- Nilza Sena (Portugal) liament), where he serves as a member of the was elected Chair of the Committee on National Security and Defence, Committee on Economic Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Military- Affairs, Science, Technol- Industrial and Military-Technical Co-operation ogy and Environment at of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Security the 2016 Annual Ses- and Defence Affairs. sion, after serving three terms as Vice-Chair. She Sofio Katsarava (Georgia) was re-elected in Minsk was elected Rapporteur A Member of the Por- of the Second Commit- tuguese Delegation to tee at the 2017 Annual the OSCE PA since 2011, Session in Minsk. Elected Sena is also a founder and member of the to her national parlia- Board of the Portuguese Platform for Sustain- ment in 2016, she serves able Development and Vice-Chair of the Par- on the Committee on liamentary Committee on Education, Science European Integration and Culture. She is Vice-President of the Social and is Chairperson of Democratic Party and a Professor at the Techni- the Foreign Relations cal University of Lisbon. She holds a Master’s Committee. She is Head of the Georgian Del- degree in Political Science and a PhD in Social egation to the OSCE PA and is also a member Sciences in the specialty of sociology and has of delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly published numerous academic articles. of the Council of Europe, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Artur Gerasymov (Ukraine) She is a member of Georgian Dream – Demo- was elected Vice-Chair cratic Georgia. of the Second Commit- tee at the 25th Annual Session in Tbilisi and re-elected in Minsk. Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the OSCE PA, Gerasymov has a background in the pri- vate sector, serving as Deputy Director, Director and General Director Second Committee meeting in Minsk, 7 July 2017 26 26th Annual Session t Report
General Committee Officers
General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions
Third General Committee Czech Chamber of Deputies she is Vice-Chair of the Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain) Youth and Sports and a member of the Com- was elected Chair of mittee on Petitions and the Sub-Committee on the General Committee Migration. Dobesova also serves as a substitute member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the on Democracy, Human Council of Europe. She has been an active partic- Rights and Humanitar- ipant in OSCE PA election observation activities ian Questions at the since joining the Assembly, participating in mis- 2016 Annual Session in sions to Hungary, the former Yugoslav Repub- Tbilisi and re-elected in lic of Macedonia, Ukraine, the United States of Minsk. Sanchez Amor is America, the United Kingdom and Turkey. a member of the Span- ish Parliament’s For- Kyriakos Kyriakou-Hadjiyianni eign Affairs Committee (Cyprus) and serves as Head of the Spanish Delega- was elected Rapporteur tion to the OSCE PA. Since 2012, he has also of the Third Commit- been the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on tee at the 2016 Annual OSCE Border Issues. Sanchez Amor was previ- Session in Tbilisi and ously vice president of the Association of Euro- re-elected in Minsk. He pean Border Regions. He also held a seat in the has been a Member regional Assembly of Extremadura and served of the House of Rep- as Deputy President of the government of the resentatives of Cyprus region, which is on the Spain-Portugal border. since 2006, where he serves as Chairman Ivana Dobesova (Czech Republic) of the Parliamentary has served as Vice-Chair Committee on Educational Affairs and Culture. of the General Com- He is also a Member of the Committee on Ref- mittee on Democracy, ugees-Enclaved, Missing and Adversely Affected Human Rights and Persons. He has previously served on his parlia- Humanitarian Questions ment’s Committee on the Environment; the Com- since being elected at the 2015 Annual Session mittee on Energy, Trade, Industry, and Tourism; in Helsinki. Dobesova the Committee on Foreign and European Affairs; serves as Head of the the Committee on Internal Affairs, and the Com- Delegation of the Czech mittee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. He Republic to the OSCE PA was also a member of the Economic and Social and has been a member Committee of the European Union from 2003 to of her national parliament since 2013. Within the 2004.
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Staff of the International Secretariat pose for a photo on the final day of the Session, 9 July 2017.
he OSCE PA International Secretariat provides administrative support for the Assembly in its various activities. The Secretariat organizes the Tmeetings of the Assembly and provides support for election observation projects, special missions and Presidential activities. Its work is carried out in co-operation with other OSCE Institutions and international parliamentary organizations. The Secretariat, which is hosted by the Danish Parliament, is headed by Secretary General Roberto Montella, and has a permanent staff of 19, Secretary General including three staff members at the Liaison Office in Vienna. Roberto Montella
Deputy Secretary Deputy Secretary Special Chief of the Head of Document Liaison Officer and General General Representative Executive Office Services Advisor Gustavo Pallares Semyon Dzakhaev Andreas Nothelle Andreas Baker Dana Bjerregaard Marco Bonabello
Head of Confer- Senior Advisor Deputy Director of the Programme Officer Executive Assistant Executive Assistant to ence Services (consultant) Vienna Liaison Office Farimah Daftary Anna Di Domenico the Vienna Liaison Office Marc Carillet Tim Knoblau Odile Lelarge Kurt Lerras
General Services Chief Political Head of Communi- Chief ICT Presidential Advisor Head of Administration Manager Advisor cations and Press Stephen Paul Loic Poulain for Election Observation 32 Bo Hjorth Nielsen Francesco Pagani Nat Parry Iryna Sabashuk Vancouver. Vladivostok .
ringing together 323 parliamentarians from across the 57-nation OSCE region, including Europe, Asia and North America, the OSCE PA pro- Bvides a forum for parliamentary dialogue, leads election observation missions, and strengthens international co-operation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.
Recognized as a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, the OSCE is a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in its area. The Parliamentary Assembly, originally established by the 1990 Paris Summit to promote greater involvement in the OSCE by national parliaments, is the oldest continuing OSCE Institution.
The basic objectives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are:
• To assess the implementation of OSCE objectives by participating States;
• To discuss subjects addressed during meetings of the Ministerial Council and the summits of Heads of State or Government;
• To develop and promote mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of conflicts;
• To support the strengthening and consolidation of democratic institutions in OSCE partici- pating States;
• To contribute to the development of OSCE institutional structures and of relations between existing OSCE Institutions.
To pursue these objectives, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly employs a variety of means:
• A Final Declaration and a number of resolutions and recommendations are adopted each year at the Annual Session in July;
• Committee work addresses important contemporary international issues;
• Programmes and Seminars designed to develop and strengthen democracy including an extensive election observation programme;
• Special parliamentary missions to areas of latent or active crisis.
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OSCE Parliamentary Assembly International Secretariat Tordenskjoldsgade 1 1055 Copenhagen K Denmark Telephone: +45 33 37 80 40 Telefax: +45 33 37 80 30 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.oscepa.org