COPENHAGEN, 15 August 2016 – A high-level delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will be Ankara on 16-17 August to discuss the 15 July coup attempt and its aftermath. The delegation will be led by OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) and is planning to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahmaran, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The programme also

COPENHAGEN, 12 August 2016 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary election in Belarus and provide leadership for the OSCE’s short-term observer mission. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier has appointed Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden) as Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission for the 11 September vote. Ivana Dobesova (MP, Czech Republic) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary

COPENHAGEN, 25 July 2016 – In response to the measures taken by the Turkish authorities following the attempted coup, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain), Chairperson of the OSCE PA Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, issued the following statement today: “I remain concerned by the developments which have been taking place in Turkey since the attempted coup, as expressed in an earlier statement . As I joined the rest

Filippo Lombardi addresses the special Permanent Council meeting on migration in Vienna on 20 July 2016. VIENNA, 20 July 2016 – Presenting the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s work concerning the refugee and migrant crisis at a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today, Swiss parliamentarian Filippo Lombardi laid out the Assembly’s plan of action going forward, which includes monitoring the situation on the ground and

COPENHAGEN, 20 July 2016 – Ignacio Sanchez Amor, the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, today condemned the killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet, which took place earlier today in Kyiv, Ukraine. “I strongly condemn the murder of Pavel Sheremet and call for a prompt and exhaustive investigation. My deepest sympathies go out to Sheremet’s loved ones and colleagues, who lost

COPENHAGEN, 18 July 2016 – In response to the attempted coup in Turkey and subsequent developments in the country, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain), Chairperson of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, today issued the following statement: “I regret the violent events that took place in Turkey on the night of 15 July, especially the loss of human lives, and reiterate OSCE PA President