1042nd Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

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.