The 21st Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly took place on 24-25 February 2022 in a hybrid format. Members of the Standing Committee and Special Representatives attended in person in Vienna, while the rest of the OSCE PA members joined online.

Please click here for the final report of the 2022 Winter Meeting, and for the FlippingBook version, please click here.

The Winter Meeting was addressed by high-level OSCE officials, including Secretary General Helga Schmid, Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau, OSCE PA President Margareta Cederfelt, as well as President of the Austrian Parliament Wolfgang Sobotka. With all heads of OSCE institutions and other governmental representatives intervening in the general committees, the Winter Meeting serves as an opportunity for parliamentarians to interact with the governmental side of the OSCE.

The theme of the open debate, held in the plenary session on 24 February, was Security Guarantees and the Indivisibility of Security in Europe: Role of the OSCE.

A full programme is available below.
 

Related articles:

• With strong focus on Ukraine, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s general committees meet in Vienna - 25 February 2022
• OSCE parliamentarians condemn Russian military action in Ukraine, call for de-escalation at Vienna Winter Meeting - 24 February 2022
• OSCE PA Winter Meeting: Parliamentarians to debate Ukraine crisis, indivisibility of security in Europe - 17 February 2022

Related documents:

• Speech by OSCE PA President Margareta Cederfelt at the Joint Session - 24 February 2022
• Speech by OSCE Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Valiant Richey - 25 February 2022
• Report by President Margareta Cederfelt to the Standing Committee -  25 February 2022
• Report by Secretary General Roberto Montella to the Standing Committee - 25 February 2022
• Report by Special Representative on Central Asia Pia Kauma - 25 February 2022
• Report by Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs Pascal Allizard (ENG) - 25 February 2022
• Report by Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs Pascal Allizard (FRE) - 25 February 2022
• Report by Special Representative on Youth Engagement Farah Karimi - 25 February 2022
• Report by Special Representative on South East Europe Azay Guliyev - 25 February 2022
• Report by Special Representative on Human Trafficking Issues Chris Smith - 25 February 2022
• Report by Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism Reinhold Lopatka - 25 February 2022
• Report by Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration Kristian Vigenin - 25 February 2022

Draft Programme

Thursday, 24 February 2022

10:30 – 12:00 (CET) Standing Committee Meeting

• Address by the Secretary General of the OSCE, Helga Maria Schmid, followed by a Question and Answer Session
• Report by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt
• Report of the Treasurer of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Peter Juel-Jensen
• Report of the Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Roberto Montella

13.30 – 15.30 (CET) Joint Session of the three General Committees / Plenary

• Address by the President of the Austrian National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka
• Address by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt
  
• Address by the Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Affairs Minister of Poland, Zbigniew Rau 
  
• Open Debate – Security guarantees and the indivisibility of security in Europe: Role of the OSCE
  

16.00 – 18.00 (CET) General Committee on Political Affairs and Security

• Opening Remarks by Richard Hudson (United States), Chair of the Committee
  
• Presentation by Ambassador Tuula Yrjola, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, Deputy Head of the OSCE Secretariat
  
• Presentation by Ambassador Jocelyn Kinnear, Chair of the Security Committee of the OSCE Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Canada to the OSCE
  
• Presentation by Ambassador Rovshan Sadigbayli, Chairperson of the Forum for Security Co-operation and Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the OSCE
  
• Presentation by Ambassador Kairat Abdrakhmanov, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities
  
• Presentation by Laurynas Kasciunas (Lithuania), Rapporteur of the Committee, on his ideas and intentions regarding his report for the 29th Annual Session in Birmingham
  
• Special Debate: Heightened Tensions in the OSCE Area and the Need for Interparliamentary Dialogue
  

Friday, 25 February 2022

10:30 – 12:00 (CET) Standing Committee Meeting cont

• Report on Election Observation Activities
  
• Reports by the Chairs of Ad Hoc Committees
  
• Reports by Special Representatives
  
• Report on the Call For Action – Helsinki +50 Process
  
• Reports on Preparations for upcoming OSCE PA meetings in 2022
  
• Any other business

13.30 – 15.30 (CET) General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment

• Opening Remarks by Pere Joan Pons, Chairperson of the General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment
• Presentation by Gudrun Kugler, Rapporteur of the General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, on possible ideas for her Report at the 30th Annual Session in Birmingham (2-6 July 2022)
• Presentation by Amb. Florian Raunig, Chairperson of the Economic and Environmental Committee, Permanent Representative of Austria to the OSCE
• Presentation by Amb. Igli Hasani, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities
• Special Debate: Human Trafficking in a Globalized Economy (45 minutes)
  • Presentation by Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
  • Presentation by Chris Smith (United States), OSCE PA Special Representative on Human Trafficking Issues (TBC)

16.00 – 18.00 (CET) General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions

• Opening remarks by Sereine Mauborgne (France), Chairperson of the Committee
• Presentation by Johan Büser (Sweden), Rapporteur of the Committee, on his ideas and intentions regarding his report for the 29th Annual Session in Birmingham (July 2022)
• Debate
• Presentation by Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
• Presentation by Ambassador Anne-Kirsti Karlsen, Chairperson of the Human Dimension Committee of the OSCE Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Norway to the OSCE
• Special Debate: Journalism as a Precondition for Justice and Rule of Law
  • Keynote address by Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize 2021 Laureate, Editor-in-Chief of Novaya Gazeta
  • Presentation by Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

For information on previous Winter Meetings, please click here.