OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concludes visit to Poland

WARSAW, 20 April 2021 — OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concluded a one-day visit to Poland for discussions with the Polish President, Andrzej Duda, Foreign Minister, Zbigniew Rau, Deputy Foreign Minister, Marcin Przydacz, and the Polish delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

“The OSCE Secretariat will be working closely with Poland when it takes over as Chair of the OSCE in 2022. By getting started now, we can lay the foundation for our successful cooperation and be ready to get to work on building security throughout the OSCE region in 2022,” said Schmid.

The Secretary General’s meeting with President Duda focused on the situation in and around Ukraine and Belarus. Schmid welcomed Poland taking a leadership role as Chair in the OSCE in 2022. They also discussed Poland’s long-standing role as host of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and the importance of ODIHR’s work to strengthen democracy and human rights across the OSCE region.

Schmid’s talks with Foreign Minister Rau and Deputy Foreign Minister Przydacz covered the incoming Chair’s priorities, as well as how to ensure the Organization most effectively utilizes its tools and resources.

Discussions included how the Chair and Secretariat can support efforts to address and resolve the ongoing conflicts and crises in the OSCE area, including concrete steps to improve the lives of people affected by conflicts.

The Secretary General met the Head of the Polish Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Barbara Bartus, along with other members of the Delegation. Secretary General Schmid expressed her gratitude for the important role parliamentarians play in rebuilding trust and improving dialogue throughout the OSCE region. They explored how to strengthen cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly and parliamentarians across the OSCE agenda.

She also met with ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci and ODIHR staff to discuss the details of their critical work to promote democracy and the rule of law, safeguard human rights, and increase the tolerance of our societies, with a focus on their support to OSCE countries in responding to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has delivered a hard blow to our societies. By helping countries to increase the resilience of their democratic institutions and encourage dialogue between governments and citizens, ODIHR plays a vital role in ensuring the voice of each individual is heard and the rights of each individual are respected”, said the Secretary General.

Reflecting on the Secretary General’s visit, incoming Chairman-in-Office Rau said, “During the Chairmanship in 2022 we will seek to develop interconnections and cohesion with the performance of previous Chairmanships and aim to advance an integrated and inclusive approach of the OSCE across three dimensions and dialogue with all parties involved.”