OSCE PA Fall Meetings in Rome

COPENHAGEN, 1 October 2003 - From 9-11 October, in the Italian Parliament in Rome, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) will hold a Conference on Religious Freedom and a Parliamentary Forum on the Mediterranean as well as a Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Assembly.

Conference on Religious Freedom, 9-10 October

More than 160 parliamentarians from 49 OSCE participating States will take part in the two-day Conference, which will consist of a series of presentations and discussions focussing on the law and politics of religious freedom, religious tolerance in pluralistic societies and religious freedom and democracy.

The Conference, organized at the invitation of the Italian Parliament, will be addressed by prominent officials including Pier Ferdinando Casini, Speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Giuseppe Pisanu, Minister of Interior, and Marcello Pacini, Head of the Italian Delegation to the OSCE PA. The conference will also be addressed by senior OSCE officials and expert speakers including Christian Strohal, Director of OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Abdelfattah Amor, Special UN Rapporteur for Religious Freedom; Silvio Ferrari and Brigitte Basdevant-Gaudemet, Members of the European Consortium for Church and State.

Meeting Standing Committee Meeting, 10 October

The Meeting of the Assembly's Standing Committee of Heads of Parliamentary Delegations will discuss the general activities of the Assembly and follow up on the Assembly's Rotterdam Declaration on the role of the OSCE in the new architecture of Europe.

The Standing Committee will also be briefed by OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis on the proposed OSCE Budget 2004.

Parliamentary Forum on the Mediterranean, 11 October

The Parliamentary Forum will consist of a series of presentations and discussions focussing on strengthening security in the Mediterranean and developing the OSCE Mediterranean Dimension. Prominent speakers include Franco Frattini, Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jan Kubis, OSCE Secretary General and Marc Otte, EU Representative for the Middle East. The Parliamentary Forum follows up on the outcomes of last year's OSCE PA Fall Conference in Madrid on ensuring peace, democracy and prosperity in the Mediterranean.

All OSCE PA conferences and meetings in Rome take place in the Italian Parliament and are open to the press. For information on accreditation please contact the press department of the Italian Parliament, Ms. Giovanna Arezzo, Tel: +39 06 6760 9798; Fax: +39 06 6783 082, e-mail: arezzo-g@camera.it

The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, created by the CSCE Summit in Paris in 1990, is the parliamentary wing of the 55-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The primary task of the 317 member Assembly is to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue, an important aspect of the overall effort to meet the challenges of democracy throughout the OSCE area.