Delegates vote on the Final Declaration, 9 July 2015. (courtesy of Hanne Salonen / Parliament of Finland)
HELSINKI, 9 July 2015 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has adopted the 2015 Helsinki Declaration, containing the Assembly’s wide-ranging policy recommendations and pronouncements for the OSCE and its 57 participating States in the fields of political affairs and security, economics, the environment and human rights.
The FULL TEXT is available here in English, French and Russian.
The Declaration is the final product of the Assembly’s 2015 Annual Session, which was held this week in the Finnish capital to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the OSCE’s founding document, the Helsinki Final Act. The Annual Session took place in historic Finlandia Hall, the site of the signing of the Act in 1975.
The crisis in and around Ukraine, the plight of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean region, arms control, global warming, water management, terrorism, anti-LGBT legislation, and threats to civil society groups are among the topics addressed in the Declaration’s 141 clauses.
The document also makes an emphatic call for OSCE participating States to renew their commitment to the tenets of the Helsinki Final Act.
The Assembly also approved several resolutions to accompany the Declaration, including a condemnation of Russia’s violations of core OSCE principles in Ukraine; a call for comprehensive legislative reform to address the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters; an appeal for enhanced co-operation on economic and environmental issues in the Arctic; an affirmation of the need to safeguard the rights and human dignity of migrants and refugees; and more.
A special resolution adopted by the Assembly on the occasion of the Helsinki Final Act’s anniversary contains concrete recommendations for reforming the OSCE to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. The resolution is one of the products of the OSCE PA’s Helsinki + 40 Project, which concluded this week with the presentation of its Final Report.
The Helsinki Declaration and accompanying resolutions will now be sent to the foreign ministers of OSCE participating States and presented in national parliaments.
Following the adoption the Declaration, OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic addressed the Assembly. In wide-ranging remarks, he discussed the crisis in and around Ukraine, the OSCE’s reform initiatives, and the value of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly as an “invaluable platform for promoting inclusive dialogue and joint action among OSCE participating States.”
For the full text of the Declaration and resolutions, as well as speeches, photos, videos and more, please visit: http://www.oscepa.org/meetings/annual-sessions/2015-helsinki-annual-session
