Berlin, Germany: Nearly 300 parliamentarians from 53 participating States of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and four Partners for Co-operation participated in the 27th Annual Session, which took at the Reichstag building in Berlin under the theme “Implementing OSCE Commitments: The Role of Parliaments.”
OSCE parliamentarians should spare no effort in conveying OSCE values to parliamentary colleagues and to enact legislation that promotes full implementation of international commitments, the Parliamentary Assembly stated in the Berlin Declaration adopted at the German Bundestag today.
The current global geopolitical landscape, characterized by tensions, a deterioration of respect for human rights and ongoing economic and environmental challenges, underlines the urgency of fully implementing these commitments, OSCE parliamentarians said. Parliaments across the 57-nation OSCE area must strengthen the oversight of commitments and enhance co-operation, the Declaration says.
The Declaration, adopted following an amendment process carried out over several days of committee meetings, calls essential the “commitment to the fundamental principles of international law, human rights and the rule of law enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.” It urges renewed efforts to resolve conflicts, with a particular focus on Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“We have just adopted a very strong Berlin Declaration that we hope will serve to guide our work in the weeks, months and years ahead,” OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (Georgia) said in a speech after the adoption of the Declaration. “We should all work to strengthen the OSCE, including by implementing its principles and communicating its messages to our governments and the people of our home countries. We must let people know the value of this organization and why it matters.”
In the Declaration, OSCE parliamentarians called for greater commitment from governments to the OSCE’s principles of dialogue and détente, including through the strengthening of arms control regimes, security sector reform, the development of confidence- and security-building measures, and the good-faith implementation of agreements.
The Declaration further calls on governments to ensure that human rights are respected by all security and intelligence services, both public and private, and urges parliaments to establish bodies for scrutinizing these services’ activities. Parliaments should also support the OSCE’s “structured dialogue” process, the Declaration says.
In the economic and environmental dimension, the Declaration stresses the unique role of parliaments in promoting reforms to implement OSCE commitments, in particular by fighting corruption, increasing transparency and cracking down on organized crime, money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld during armed conflicts and the right of safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons must be respected, the Declaration says. It further calls for investigations into the serious human rights violations of people in conflict zones and occupied territories, including in the South Caucasus, Ukraine, and Cyprus.
(Courtesy: Global Governance Watch)
