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The Chairperson, on behalf of the Permanent Council, welcomed the new Permanent Representative of Portugal to the OSCE, Ambassador P. Moitinho de Almeida. Local elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to be held on 24 March 2013. Recent developments in Latvia and Estonia. Abolition of the death penalty in the state of Maryland, United States of America. Report on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office. International Day of La Francophonie, celebrated on 20 March 2013. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed on 21 March 2013.

Address by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, H.E. Aleksey Y. Meshkov. Report by the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič. Response to a statement made by Armenia at the 939th meeting of the Permanent Council. Report on the Activities of the Chairperson-in-Office. Mandate of the OSCE Office in Baku. Parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, to be held on 12 May 2013.

The Chairperson, on behalf of the Permanent Council, welcomed the new Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the OSCE, Ambassador Gunaajav Batjargal, the new Permanent Representative of the European Union to the OSCE, Ambassador Thierry Béchet, the new Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the OSCE, Ambassador Slavica Milačić, and the new Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the OSCE, Ambassador Ayoob M. Erfani. The Ambassador of Afghanistan delivered some remarks to mark the assumption of his post. Prior to taking up the agenda, the Chairperson informed the Permanent Council that the Chairperson-in-Office, in a letter (Annex 1) issued on 6 March 2013, had announced the adoption through a silence procedure of Ministerial Council Decision No. 1/13 (MC.DEC/1/13) on the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (statement by the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Annex 2; Liechtenstein, also on behalf of Canada, Norway and Switzerland, Annex 3; Russian Federation, interpretative statement 1, United States of America, interpretative statement 2). Report by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj. Report by the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, Dr. Halil Yurdakul Yigitgüden. Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1075 on the OSCE 2012 year-end Unified Budget revision. State language policy in Estonia. Report on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office. Farewell to the Permanent Representative of Portugal, Ambassador A. Martinho. International Women’s Day, observed on 8 March 2013. Meeting of the Contact Group with the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation, held in Vienna on 1 March 2013. Parliamentary elections in Germany, to be held on 22 September 2013 (Germany, Annex 4).

996th Plenary Meeting of the Forum for Security Co-operation

1345th Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

Report by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Peter Burkhard. Permanent Council Decision No. 1074 on the recommendation to extend the mandate of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. Presidential elections in Armenia, held on 18 February 2013. Report on the activities of the Chairperson-in-Office. Death of Mr. S. Hessel on 27 February 2013.

1335th Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

Address by the Secretary General of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, H.E. Victor Tvircun. Human rights situation in Azerbaijan. Political situation in Georgia. The death penalty in the United States of America. Human rights situation in Belarus. Launch of the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 in Paris on 11 February 2013. Nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 12 February 2013.