The OSCE PA delegation (left) meets with President Aliyev, Baku, 25 January 2016. BAKU, 25 January 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) today led a high-level parliamentary delegation to Baku for meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and other leaders on a wide range of domestic and regional

COPENHAGEN, 22 January 2016 – The Chairperson of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Committee, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today expressed concern about legislation proposed by the Danish government that would allow the authorities to seize the valuables of asylum-seekers to help cover the cost of their stay in the country. She called on Denmark’s parliamentarians to reject the proposed

Christine Muttonen (2nd from left) speaks to President Kanerva following the PA's special roundtable on Central Asia at the 2015 Autumn Meeting in Ulaanbaatar, 16 September 2015. COPENHAGEN, 15 January 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) has appointed Austrian parliamentarian and OSCE PA Vice-President Christine Muttonen to serve as the Assembly’s Special Representative for Central and Eastern Asia. The

COPENHAGEN, 12 January 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) issued the following statement on today’s terrorist attack in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district: “On behalf of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, I deplore in the strongest terms today’s attack in the heart of Istanbul, apparently targeting innocent civilians. This is certainly not the first act of terrorism perpetrated on Turkish soil, and we stand with

COPENHAGEN, 8 January 2016 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Chairperson, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today urged Poland’s leaders to repeal the country’s new media law, which gives the government direct control over the management of public broadcasters. “I am alarmed by the decision of the Polish government to implement measures that undermine the independence and impartiality of media in

OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella COPENHAGEN, 4 January 2016 – Roberto Montella of Italy has begun service as Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. He assumes the post following two decades of work in international politics, including in the governmental and parliamentary sides of the OSCE. “I have spent most of my career trying to build bridges between conflicting sides in South East Europe. I consider creating harmony