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March 2015 Plenary Meetings of the Permanent Council
This is a collection of documents of the March 2015 Permanent Council plenary meetings.
1046th Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council
Prior to taking up the agenda, the Chairperson and several delegaitons expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic crash of Germanwings flight 9525 in France. Germany thanked delegations for their expressions of condolence. Report by the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, Dr. Halil Yurdakul Yiğitgüden. Update by the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan. Update by the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini. The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1164 on the topic and dates of the Human Dimension Seminar in Warsaw. The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1165 on the agenda, timetable and organizational modalities of the 2015 OSCE Asian Conference. The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1166 on the dates of the 2015 Annual Security Review Conference (ASRC). Ongoing aggression against Ukraine and violations of OSCE principles and commitments by the Russian Federation. Situation in Ukraine and the need to implement the Minsk agreements. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed on 21 March 2015. The death penalty in Belarus. Arrests of suspects in connection with the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. The case against human rights defender Mr. A. Sarymsakov in Uzbekistan. Human rights concerns in Tajikistan. Situation in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Ceasefire violations along the line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Response to a statement made by the Russian Federation on the protection of children in the OSCE area at the 1045th plenary meeting of the Permanent Council. Growing manifestations of violent radicalism and aggressive nationalism in the Russian Federation. Report on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office. Federal elections in Switzerland, to be held on 18 October 2015.
The Chairperson and several delegations extended condolences to Tunisia in connection with the terrorist attack on 18 March 2015 in Tunis. Report by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Ambassador Janina Hrebickova. Address by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, H.E. David Dondua. The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1163 on the dates of the 2015 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. Crimea: one year after the illegal occupation and annexation by the Russian Federation. Ongoing aggression against Ukraine and violations of OSCE principles and commitments by the Russian Federation. Situation in Ukraine and the need to implement the Minsk agreements. Freedom of expression in the OSCE area. Situation in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Parliamentary elections in Nagorno-Karabakh. The death penalty in the United States of America. Protection of children in the OSCE area. Racism, aggressive nationalism, radicalization and neo-Nazism in the OSCE area. Report on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office.
Prior to taking up the agenda, the Chairperson welcomed the new Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the OSCE, Monsignor J. Urbańczyk. The Permanent Representative of the Holy See delivered a statement to mark the assumption of his post. Address by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Belgium, H.E. Didier Reynders. Report by the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Mr. Michael Georg Link. The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1160 on the extension of the deployment of OSCE observers to two Russian checkpoints on the Russian-Ukrainian border (Latvia-European Union, interpretative statement 1; United States of America, interpretative statement 2; Ukraine, interpretative statement 3; Russian Federation, interpretative statement 4). The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1161 on the extension of the terms of reference of the Audit Committee. The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1162 on the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (United States of America, interpretative statement 1; Canada, interpretative statement 2; Russian Federation, interpretative statement 3; Ukraine, interpretative statement 4; Latvia-European Union, interpretative statement 5). Ongoing aggression against Ukraine and violations of OSCE principles and commitments by the Russian Federation. Situation in Ukraine and the need to implement the Minsk agreements. Abduction and illegal detention of Ukrainian citizens by the Russian Federation. International Women’s Day, observed on 8 March 2015. Freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly in Tajikistan. Death penalty in the United States of America. Report on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office.
Prior to taking up the agenda, the Chairperson drew the attention of the Permanent Council to a joint press release issued by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the OSCE Secretary General condemning the murder of Russian opposition politician Mr. Boris Nemtsov in Moscow on 27 February 2015. Several delegations delivered statements in response to the Chairperson’s announcement. Ongoing aggression against Ukraine and violations of OSCE principles and commitments by the Russian Federation. Situation in Ukraine and the need to implement the Minsk agreements. Abduction and illegal detention of Ukrainian citizens by the Russian Federation. Abduction of the Estonian police officer Mr. E. Kohver. Parliamentary elections in Tajikistan held on 1 March 2015. The ODIHR and Council of Europe Venice Commission Guidelines on Freedom of Association, launched in Geneva on 5 March 2015. Zero Discrimination Day, observed on 1 March 2015. Recent political developments in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Situation in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan, Annex 1). Ceasefire violations along the Line of Contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border (Armenia, Annex 2). Statement by the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group. International Women’s Day, observed on 8 March 2015. Ratification by Mongolia of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Report on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office.