OSCE PA President Margareta Cederfelt addresses the OSCE Ministerial Council, Łódź, 1 December 2022ŁÓDŹ, POLAND, 1 December 2022 – In a speech at the opening of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Łódź today, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden) highlighted the compassion on display in Poland in assisting Ukrainian refugees and called for this spirit to inspire the international community to remain firm in its support for Ukraine.
“We see genuine brotherhood,” Cederfelt said. “Ukrainians given a new, temporary, home and the freedom to work and support their families and loved ones.” She expressed hope that this spirit of international solidarity would strengthen the support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
It also, Cederfelt said, should serve as a reminder of the need to safeguard the European security order and the OSCE’s founding document, the Helsinki Final Act. Noting that in just two years, the OSCE will mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, she urged continued commitment to the organization and highlighted its tools to build long-lasting peace and stability.
“Now is the time to support the OSCE, to fully support the OSCE,” Cederfelt said.
The President also stressed that there can be no impunity for crimes committed in Ukraine. “This OSCE Ministerial Council must recognize the Russian Federation as having committed gross, and still uncorrected violations of the Helsinki Final Act,” Cederfelt said. “On this basis, the OSCE must disregard any dissent by the Russian Federation when it comes to decisions related to Ukraine.”
While in Łódź, President Cederfelt has a full schedule of bilateral meetings and engagements. Yesterday, she spoke at the Civil Society Parallel Conference and met with Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship in Ukraine, Ambassador Mikko Kinnunen, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and OSCE Special Representative on Freedom of Media Teresa Ribeiro.
Other meetings are scheduled with the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Finland, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, as well as the ambassador of Turkmenistan. President Cederfelt is joined in Łódź by OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella, Deputy Secretary General Gustavo Pallares, and Special Representative Amb. Miodrag Pančeski who are participating in many of her meetings.
For President Cederfelt's full remarks at the Ministerial Council in PDF format, please click here. For the video of her remarks, please click here.
Additional information on the Ministerial Council is available at the OSCE’s website.
