Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat to the 2021 Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, 30 June – 6 July 2021
Mr. Miltiadis Makrygiannis, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General, participated to the 2021 Annual Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, which took place online on 30 June – 6 July 2021.
The OSCE PA’s General Committees discussed the reports presented by committee rapporteurs dealing with issues such as the social and economic repercussions of the pandemic, sustainable migration management, post-COVID multilateral diplomacy, protracted conflicts in the OSCE area, the impact of the pandemic on transnational threats, and access to health care.
At the opening of the Plenary Session, OSCE PA President Peter Lord Bowness (United Kingdom) stressed the important role of parliamentarians in giving a voice to citizens and making sure that legislation truly answers the problems it seeks to address. He, inter alia, underlined that Parliamentarians must channel all their political energy, including by being vocal within their national parliaments and with their governments, to support the work of the OSCE and the implementation of commitments.
The Plenary Session also included reports by Chairs of OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committees and Special Representatives. Members heard about the Assembly’s work on migration, counterterrorism, Arctic issues, climate change, gender issues, human trafficking, Central Asia, and more.
Finally, the OSCE PA elected to the position of the President of the Assembly Ms. Margareta Cederfelt from Sweden, for two years term.