Farah Karimi chairs the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration in Istanbul, 17 Nov. 2025ISTANBUL, 18 November 2025 – On the margins of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 23rd Autumn Meeting taking place in Istanbul this week, a number of important side events have taken place focused on Ukraine’s readiness for elections, the safety of journalists, and Türkiye’s experience with migration and counter-terrorism.
Following the event on Sunday focused on Ukraine’s electoral preparedness, a side event was held Monday on “The Role of Parliamentarians in Upholding Safety of Journalists.” Co-organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) and the OSCE PA, the event focused on how parliamentarians can help address threats faced by journalists, including harassment, intimidation, and violence by promoting safer and more accountable media environments.
The OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Migration, chaired by Farah Karimi (Netherlands), met to discuss the experiences of the city of Istanbul with the complex realities of migration with the aim of fostering more effective, equitable and sustainable approaches while strengthening social cohesion.
Speakers, including Serra Albayrakoğlu from Türkiye’s Ministry of the Interior and Merve Ağca from the Marmara Municipalities Union, briefed members on Türkiye's migration management strategy, and shared achievements and challenges which local authorities face in providing services to the large and diverse refugee and migrant communities in the city. The discussion centred on sustainable returns as well as long-term solutions for Syrians remaining in Türkiye. The Committee also discussed upcoming activities including a visit to Brussels to discuss EU migration policy reforms.
The OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism, chaired by Kamil Aydin (Türkiye), met to discuss Türkiye’s counter-terrorism experience, providing members with an opportunity to share lessons learned in this context. Members discussed future joint efforts, including the launch of a new “School Dialogues” project, which will bring together students, teachers, local authorities and parliamentarians to promote critical thinking, civic education and media literacy as key instruments to prevent youth radicalization to violent extremism.
On the margins of the Autumn Meeting, President Pons has also held numerous bilateral meetings, including with Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu, and various PA delegations. Topics of discussion included wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and OSCE co-operation.
OSCE PA Special Representatives focusing on regional and thematic issues are also using the Autumn Meeting as an opportunity to build co-operation with OSCE PA delegations.
For more information about the Istanbul Autumn Meeting, please click here.
Photos are available for public use at the OSCE PA’s Flickr page.
