Kent Harstedt COPENHAGEN, 29 April 2016 – Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden), Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Chair of its Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus, had a mixed reaction to the statement of Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina following the press conference with the head of state on 27 April. “The Belarusian government has taken a positive step in agreeing to implement some of the

Isabel Santos COPENHAGEN, 27 April 2016 – A decision Tuesday by the top court in Russian-occupied Crimea to ban the Crimean Tatars’ governing body indicates a new level of stigmatization of the Tatar community and should be reversed, said OSCE Parliamentary Assembly human rights chair Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal) today. “Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the de facto authorities there have waged a systematic campaign of discrimination

Nilza Sena and Marietta Tidei COPENHAGEN, 22 April 2016 – The signing of the historic Paris Climate Agreement by world leaders in New York today is a fitting tribute to the global celebration of Earth Day and a reminder of the work that remains to be done in countering global warming, said the leaders of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s economic and environmental committee, Nilza Sena (MP, Portugal) and Marietta Tidei (MP, Italy), today. The

LEINSWEILER, 17. April 2016 – Abgeordnete aus 15 Ländern trafen sich im deutsch-französischen Grenzgebiet, um einen parlamentarischen Beitrag zur Lösung von langwierigen Konflikten im OSZE-Raum zu leisten. Rund 25 Abgeordnete, vornehmlich aus Ländern mit bestehenden Konflikten, debattierten über die Expertenvorträge zu den Versöhnungsprozessen in den Regionen Saarland und Südtirol. Illka Kanerva (Finnland), Präsident der Parlamentarischen

OSCE PA Treasurer Doris Barnett and President Ilkka Kanerva at the Leinsweiler seminar, 16 April 2016 LEINSWEILER, 17 April 2016 – Members of Parliament from 15 countries gathered in the French-German border region on 16 and 17 April to consider parliamentary contributions to OSCE efforts in addressing conflicts. Some 25 parliamentarians, including from several countries impacted by protracted conflicts, heard presentations from experts on

OSCE PA Special Representative on the South Caucasus Kristian Vigenin and President Ilkka Kanerva in Copenhagen, 11 April 2016 COPENHAGEN, 11 April 2016 – Following a meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Bureau in Copenhagen, Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) and the OSCE PA Special Representative on the South Caucasus, Kristian Vigenin (MP, Bulgaria), reiterated the Assembly’s hopes for a sustained ceasefire and