Kyiv Welcomes the OSCE PA

June 5–9, 2007 the 16th Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly will take place in the capital of Ukraine

Last year the OSCE PA summer session took place in Brussels (Belgium). It is planned to be held in Astana (Kazakhstan) next year. About 300 Parliaments from all the 56 OSCE member states are expected to participate at the session this year. Main issues of the session are: regional and energy security, problems of migration, corruption, democracy and elections. There are items on the agenda which have direct connection to human rights, national minorities, freedom of speech and information. The OSCE PA President Goran Lennmarker and the
OSCE Chairman, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos will deliver their speeches to the participants of the forum. The 5-day OSCE PA summer meeting will take place in the building of the Ukrainian Parliament. As a result of the meeting the OSCE member states will adopt a Declaration on the mentioned issues.

The OSCE was created in 1975 in the Finnish city of Helsinki at the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Since then new members has been joining the Organization. For today it consists of 56 European countries, countries of North America and CIS. Like many other international organizations OSCE has changed seriously after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Organization was involved into processes of changes at the Balkans, Eastern Europe and CIS along with the UN, the EU and NATO.

Nowadays the OSCE is the biggest areal organization for security. The main tasks of its activity are conflict prevention in the area, crises' fix-up, mitigation of conflicts' consequences. Main instruments of its activity are control over proliferation of armaments, diplomatic efforts for conflict prevention, establishment of relations of trust and security, defense of human rights, development of democratic institutions, monitoring of elections, economical and environmental security. The OSCE member states have equal status. Resolutions are adopted on the basis of consensus but from juridical point of view they shall not be obligatory carried out though they are of a great political importance. The Organization staff counts 370 people at the governing bodies plus about 3500 officers serving at the field missions. Annual budget of the OSCE is about 170 million Euros. Headquarters of the Organization is situated in Copenhagen (Denmark).

The Parliamentary Assembly was created in April 1991. The OSCE Chairman is constantly in contact with the Parliamentary Assembly, informing it of the Organization work. July 2006 Goran Lennmarker a representative from Denmark was elected as a President of the OSCE PA for one year period. The OSCE PA sessions take place twice a year.

Serghii DOIKO