OSCE Parliamentarians meet in Vilnius on new security challenges

PanARMENIAN.Net - OSCE Parliamentarians meet in Vilnius on new security challenges. Strengthening and reforming the OSCE, promoting human rights and civil liberties, energy and food security, climate change, freedom of expression, and arms control are some of the issues that will be considered at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's 18th Annual Session in Lithuania's capital Vilnius 29 June to 3 July. As PanARMENIAN.Net came to know from OSCE press office, meeting for the first time in a Baltic country, over 250 Members of Parliaments from 49 OSCE countries are expected to participate in the Session, whose main theme is "The OSCE: Addressing New Security Challenges."



The call for strengthening and reforming the OSCE comes in a resolution with OSCE PA President Joao Soares (Portugal) as principal sponsor. It urges the OSCE participating States to recommit to a genuine and transparent political dialogue, calls on the OSCE Permanent Council to open up its meetings to the press and the public, and recommends that the OSCE modifies its consensus rule. It also calls for independent outside auditors to oversee disbursement and expenditure of all funds within the OSCE.



The resolution is one of 22 to be debated, pending approval from the Assembly's Standing Committee. The others include how to promote human rights and civil liberties in the OSCE area, energy security and cooperation, labour migration, how to strengthen OSCE engagement on

freedom of opinion and expression, water management, climate change, abolition of the death penalty, Afghanistan, and arms control.



In addition, two of the Assembly's main Committees will consider resolutions about the financial and social consequences of the world's financial crisis, presented by Ivor Callely (Ireland) and Natalia Karpovich (Russia), respectively. The third Committee will consider a

resolution on food security, presented by Riccardo Migliori (Italy).



The Annual Session will adopt a final document, called the Vilnius Declaration, which will include recommendations on all considered issues.