President Christine Muttonen (second from left) at the Dutch Senate, The Hague, 20 Oct. 2017THE HAGUE, 20 October 2017 – In a visit to The Hague, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) held meetings today at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Senate of The Netherlands and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM).

Meeting with the HCNM, Amb. Lamberto Zannier, President Muttonen discussed the work of the HCNM on a range of issues. Muttonen and Zannier noted that both the HCNM and the OSCE PA are useful tools to voice concerns, provide early warning mechanism tools and prevent conflicts across the OSCE area.

President Muttonen met with ICC representatives, including first Vice-President Joyce Aluoch, to discuss avenues of possible co-operation between the OSCE PA and the ICC. Muttonen expressed support for greater interaction between the two organizations, noting specifically the opportunity for partner institutions to organize side events in co-ordination with a PA national delegation at Assembly meetings.

President Muttonen and ICC interlocutors discussed opportunities for increasing awareness of international criminal justice among OSCE parliamentarians, and underlined the importance of promoting gender balance as a way to increase the accountability and efficiency of international institutions.

In a meeting with Ankie Broekers-Knol, President of the Senate of the Netherlands, and members of the Dutch delegation to the OSCE PA, discussions focused on the OSCE PA’s role in promoting mutual understanding and ways to maintain the Netherlands' active participation in the Assembly. Broekers-Knol and Muttonen discussed in particular the PA’s role in conflict prevention and parliamentary diplomacy.

The visit to The Hague was organized in co-operation with the Austrian Embassy to the Netherlands.