COPENHAGEN, 4 August 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Spencer Oliver discussed the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act and the current state of the OSCE at an event hosted by the Danish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights on 1 August. “At this milestone, it is important to take stock of the OSCE’s past, present and future. We recall the profound importance of the Final Act and the Helsinki Process, which ensured that

COPENHAGEN, 29 July 2015 – Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, today raised grave concerns over the treatment of jailed Kazakhstani opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov. Kozlov has been subjected to punitive measures for alleged violations of prison rules. He briefly declared a hunger strike last week to protest his treatment after he was

OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva listens during his meeting with Duma Chairperson Sergey Naryshkin in Moscow, 17 July 2015. (photo courtesy of the Russian State Duma) COPENHAGEN, 17 July 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) met today in Moscow with Russian State Duma Chairperson and Head of the Russian Delegation to the OSCE PA Sergey Naryshkin for talks that focused on the Assembly’s recent Annual Session,

COPENHAGEN, 13 July 2015 – The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions today called for an immediate end to evictions in Roma communities in Bulgaria and criticized political leaders for incidents of hate speech. “The targeting of Roma communities in the hopes of political gain has echoes of truly dark times in Europe’s history. At a time when European politicians should be

Delegates vote on the Final Declaration, 9 July 2015. (courtesy of Hanne Salonen / Parliament of Finland) HELSINKI, 9 July 2015 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has adopted the 2015 Helsinki Declaration, containing the Assembly’s wide-ranging policy recommendations and pronouncements for the OSCE and its 57 participating States in the fields of political affairs and security, economics, the environment and human rights. The FULL TEXT is

Delegates voting at the OSCE PA Annual Session, 8 July 2015. (courtesy of Hanne Salonen / Parliament of Finland) HELSINKI, 8 July 2015 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Helsinki this week at its 2015 Annual Session , has approved a resolution condemning Russia’s actions in and around Ukraine in the context of the ongoing crisis. Parliamentarians from three continents voted by a margin of 96 in favor to 7 against with 32 abstentions