Pascal Allizard addresses the Mediterranean Forum remotely, 19 Nov. 2025ISTANBUL, 19 November 2025 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 23rd Autumn Meeting, hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, closed today with a meeting of the Mediterranean Forum focused on the situation in the Middle East. Chaired by OSCE PA President Pere Joan Pons (Spain), the forum featured remarks by OSCE PA Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs Pascal Allizard (France), Prof. Esra Albayrakoglu of Bahçeşehir University, and the Heads of the Parliamentary Delegations from Algeria and Morocco, as well as an intervention from a Member of the Palestinian National Council.
Many interventions during the open debate focused on the situation in Gaza, including the participation of 24 parliamentarians from 14 countries.
Welcoming the recently declared ceasefire and release of hostages, President Pons highlighted the need to continue mobilizing diplomatic efforts. He cited two major 2024–2025 UN findings, including UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which raised concerns about possible acts of genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Pons insisted that certain steps must be taken, reiterating urgent calls for immediate humanitarian access, protection of civilians, and serious commitment to a lasting peace process. In this regard he noted the value of parliamentarians raising their voices, including through the platforms offered by the OSCE PA.
“The Mediterranean Forum has demonstrated that co-operation between the OSCE and our Mediterranean partners can generate concrete solutions – in security, sustainable development, migration, equality, and human rights,” President Pons said. “In times of global fracture, we need this co-operation more than ever.”
Special Representative Allizard noted that Türkiye has rightly emphasized the need to strengthen mediation, dialogue, and trust-building in an uncertain world, and is itself playing an important role in this regard. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict increasingly affects the OSCE area, he said, and Europe in particular. He noted that his priority remains maintaining dialogue with all parties: the State of Israel, Israeli civil society, the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian civil society.
He welcomed the forthcoming EU “Pact for the Mediterranean” – a new equal-partnership framework based on co-creation – and proposed that the OSCE PA draw inspiration from it for its own work across the three OSCE security dimensions. He also expressed concern over the fragile situation in Lebanon, the evolving situation in Syria, and the need to restart a political process in Libya.
Prof. Albayrakoglu pointed out that multiple crises are converging and reinforcing each other, noting that to understand Gaza, it must be placed within this broader regional context. The ongoing Gaza crisis, she said, both fuels and is fuelled by wider instability, with Iran arming Hezbollah through Syria, pro-Iran militias in Iraq attacking U.S. forces “in solidarity with Gaza,” rival Libyan factions exploiting the issue for legitimacy, and graphic images from Gaza boosting extremist recruitment everywhere.
“The developments in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza, carry profound historical, political, and humanitarian implications. My intention is to contribute to a constructive, respectful, and future-oriented discussion that reflects the OSCE’s ethos, namely, a commitment to co-operative security, human dignity, and multilateral engagement,” said Prof. Albayrakoglu. “We meet at a moment when the Middle East is undergoing one of its most volatile periods in more than a decade.”
Marouane Chbaatou addresses the Mediterranean Forum, 19 Nov. 2025In the debate, parliamentarians raised concerns over the humanitarian situation, stressing the need for accountability and for the full reconstruction of Gaza, as well as to promote a two-state formula based on sovereignty and equality. Security, it was stressed, must respect sovereignty and human dignity, with green energy and development highlighted as a priority for the Mediterranean region.
Speakers welcomed the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2803 this week which endorses the Gaza peace plan, welcomes the formation of a Board of Peace to support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, authorizes the deployment of an International Stabilization Force and allows for the establishment of a Palestinian executive committee to manage day-to-day governance in the Gaza Strip.
Members also stressed that there can be no lasting peace without justice, noting that the security situation in the Middle East broadly impacts the wider OSCE region. The role of Iran in backing Hamas was highlighted as a malign influence, with Members condemning the violence of militant groups and advocating for both Israeli and Palestinian leadership that prioritizes peace and dignity.
Diplomacy must be active and assertive to achieve long-term solutions, it was stressed.
For more information about the Istanbul Autumn Meeting, please click here.
Photos are available for public use at the OSCE PA’s Flickr page.
