COPENHAGEN, 3 September 2021 – OSCE PA High-Level Expert Lamberto Zannier represented the Assembly at the OSCE’s Annual Security Review Conference this week, focusing his remarks on parliamentary contributions to early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management, conflict resolution and post-conflict rehabilitation.
PA initiatives such as facilitating dialogue on the parliamentary level to facilitate the peaceful settlement of disputes help support the mediation activities conducted by the OSCE, Zannier said. PA engagement also helps prepare the ground for resolution of disputes by raising awareness of the issues with parliaments and the public, which is important given the role of parliaments in approving and passing legislation to implement any agreements reached to prevent, alleviate or resolve conflicts, Zannier pointed out.
Highlighting several examples of the added value of the OSCE PA’s engagement in the conflict cycle, Ambassador Zannier stressed that the work of parliamentarians complements the role of the OSCE’s executive structures by fostering direct engagement of participating States through their parliamentary delegations. This complementarity, he emphasized, should be better recognized and should ideally lead in the future to even stronger co-ordination between the different components of the OSCE, in full respect of existing mandates.
Zannier addressed working session four, held on Wednesday, along with speakers such as Olena Zakharova, Speaker of the Ukrainian Women's Congress; Hervé Lecoq, Deputy Director, Officer-in-Charge, Europe and Central Asia Division at the UN Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations; and Ann-Sophie Veermeersch, Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of Belgium to OSCE.
The discussion, which focused on the promotion of inclusive and related integrated approaches to conflict resolution and lessons learned in OSCE-supported formal negotiation processes, was moderated by Amb. Tuula Yrjölä, Director of the OSCE’s Conflict Prevention Centre.
