COPENHAGEN, 28 September 2011 – In a speech at the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw on 26 September, Matteo Mecacci, Chair of the OSCE PA's General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, pointed to OSCE expertise in election processes, rule of law, migration, and human rights as areas that need attention in countries now in transition following the Arab Spring.

Calling for the release of all prisoners of conscience, Mecacci mentioned the Parliamentary Assembly's Working Group on Belarus and the fact that its members have been unable to visit Minsk for the past year. He cited overcrowded prisons as a symptom of judicial systems in need of reform throughout the OSCE region and ripe for more international dialogue to improve practices.

"This is an area where the OSCE could develop new ways to permanently monitor the judicial and the prison systems of our countries," he said.

Mecacci also mentioned cases in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the United States on a variety of human rights issues, including press freedom, freedom to assemble, fair elections and the death penalty.

Dutch parliamentarian Coskun Coruz, Rapporteur of the Third Committee, addressed the working session on the rule of law on 28 September, emphasizing the role of the OSCE PA in fostering parliamentary oversight.

He referred to past OSCE decisions on the human dimension and highlighted the work his parliament has done on the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky as an example of how parliaments can promote rule of law. He regretted the closure of the OSCE field operations in Georgia and Belarus, arguing that field presences should have three-year mandates. OSCE field work should include all three dimensions, he said, with particular focus on monitoring compliance of participating States in the rule of law.

"It is not enough to pass good laws," Coruz said. "Laws must be realized in the system, to contribute to transparency and public trust."