BAKU, 27 June 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today welcomed the release of four Donetsk-based monitors from the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine after they had spent 32 days in captivity. “I was happy and relieved to hear that one of the OSCE’s teams of monitors was released in eastern Ukraine. I commend the Swiss Chairmanship-in-Office of the OSCE and the participating States involved for their

BAKU, 26 June 2014 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s most important annual gathering begins on Saturday, 28 June in Baku with addresses by senior governmental and parliamentary leaders at the center of some of the international community’s most pressing security issues. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev , Swiss President and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter , Russian State Duma Chair Sergey Naryshkin and Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada

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