Adrian Severin elected President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

BUCHAREST, 10 July 2000 - Romanian parliamentarian Adrian Severin has been elected as the new President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly at its 9th Annual Session in Bucharest. In his address to the Assembly, Mr. Severin stated that his main priorities would be to make the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly the most important source of vision and the primary advisory body to the OSCE governmental Institutions. Mr. Severin, a former Foreign Minister and the Chair of the Assembly's ad hoc Working Group on Belarus, is the first President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from the Central and Eastern European region.

During the Session, Mr. Severin presented a Resolution on Belarus, adopted by the Annual Session as part of its Final Declaration. The Resolution calls on all sides to pave the way for free, fair, and internationally recognizable parliamentary elections this autumn in Belarus.

The Assembly expressed its concern regarding the stalemate in the negotiations on the status of Transdniestra and emphasized the need for a common State for all the peoples of Moldova. The Assembly also adopted a Resolution on the situation in Chechnya, calling for a political solution to the conflict as well as the earliest possible return of the OSCE Assistance Group.

On arms and weapons trading, the Assembly passed a Resolution calling for a convention regulating the trade in arms and the establishment of an international body with jurisdiction over any violations of the convention.

On economic and environmental issues the Assembly appealed to all OSCE participating States to honour their commitments under the Kyoto and Århus Protocols.

Other Resolutions adopted included a call for the abolishment of the death penalty for all crimes; the preservation of the ABM Treaty; ensuring media freedom in the OSCE region; combating corruption and the full implementation of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe under OSCE auspices.

The Bucharest Declaration, covering a wide range of political, economic and human rights issues, was adopted by the Assembly after 4 days of debate in three general committees and plenary sessions.

For further information, please contact Mr. Jan Jooren, Counsellor for Press and Public Affairs in Copenhagen: Tel: +4533378036, Fax: +4533 37 80 40, Email: press.counsellor@oscepa.dk