OSCE PA Vice-President Doris Barnett. COPENHAGEN, 24 June 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Doris Barnett (MP, Germany) today welcomed the announcement by separatists in eastern Ukraine that they will observe a temporary ceasefire proposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. “A ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is a welcome step that hopefully gives diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis some room to work,” said Barnett. “I

COPENHAGEN, 23 June 2014 – A condemnation of Russia's actions during the ongoing crisis in Ukraine is among more than a dozen supplementary resolutions submitted for parliamentarians to consider at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Annual Session in Baku , which runs from 28 June to 2 July. Refugee and immigration policy, the democratic control of public and private security sectors and efforts to combat torture are among the topics of other

COPENHAGEN, 23 June 2014 – Christian Holm (MP, Sweden), the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus, today welcomed the release of human rights activist Ales Bialiatski after nearly three years into his prison term, calling the move “hopefully a sign of more to come.” “The Belarusian government has taken a positive, if long overdue, step in releasing Mr. Bialiatski. His release will not be complete, however,

COPENHAGEN, 20 June 2014 – Ensuring the security and human dignity of migrants and openly addressing the issue of political prisoners are among the key recommendations proposed by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions (Third Committee) in its draft resolution for the PA's upcoming Annual Session. The resolution will be debated and may be amended by parliamentarians, who will soon

COPENHAGEN, 18 June 2014 – Sustained work towards a new universal climate agreement, regulations to limit the risk of financial crashes and continued attention to the economic impacts of migration are among the recommendations made by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment (Second Committee) in its draft resolution for the PA's upcoming Annual Session. The resolution will be debated

OSCE PA Vice-President Walburga Habsburg Douglas (center) speaks at the OSCE-Japan Conference in Tokyo on 17 June. (courtesy MFA of Japan) COPENHAGEN, 17 June 2014 – A "sincere political push" by governments and lawmakers is needed to help close the nagging gender gap in society, politics and business, said OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Walburga Habsburg Douglas (MP, Sweden) in Tokyo today. Speaking at the OSCE-Japan Conference at