News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 9 November 2020 – Following reports of protests against the results of the 31 October parliamentary elections and clashes with the police in recent days in Tbilisi, Georgia, OSCE Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE election mission Elona Gjebrea Hoxha (MP, Albania) and Head of the OSCE PA Delegation Pia Kauma (MP, Finland) called on the protesters to refrain from violence and on the authorities to respect the fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression...

COPENHAGEN, 4 November 2020 – The leaders of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly firmly condemn the terror attack which took place in Vienna on Monday, killing at least four people and injuring 22. “We stand in solidarity with the families of the victims and wish a speedy and full recovery to those injured in these horrific events. Vienna is the home of the OSCE and of international diplomacy, and its citizens have always stood by multiculturalism and tolerance,” stressed OSCE PA President George Tsereteli...

WASHINGTON, 2 November 2020 – Observing today’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Roberto Montella emphasized the vital role that journalists play bringing information to the public and stressed that much more must be done to ensure justice for the perpetrators of violence against journalists.

COPENHAGEN, 27 October 2020 – In a discussion today with the Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachi, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Ad Hoc Committee on Migration members heard about the situation following the fires which destroyed the Moria Reception and Identification Centre in early September. Minister Mitarachi also provided an update on the handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the context of migration as well as plans for future reception and accommodation of asylum seekers...

COPENHAGEN, 22 October 2020 – Exiled Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s International Secretariat today and met with OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella. The visit was on the margins of a broader programme of meetings in the Danish capital and served as an opportunity to follow up on a web dialogue hosted by the PA on 23 September 2020 with OSCE PA Bureau members, Tsikhanouskaya, and Belarusian Head of Delegation Andrei Savinykh...

COPENHAGEN, 16 October 2020 – Leaders of the Parliamentary Assembly took part today in a timely event organized by the OSCE to mark the 30th anniversary of the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, which was adopted at a summit meeting in November 1990. Declaring that “the era of confrontation and division of Europe has ended,” the Charter envisioned “a new era of democracy, peace and unity,” and provided for the institutionalization of the OSCE...

COPENHAGEN, 12 October 2020 – Some 100 election observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy later this month to the United States for the 3 November general elections. They will work with about 40 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights who are already in the country and deliver a joint assessment following election day. The mission will mark the eighth time the PA has observed the vote in the U.S. since 2004...