Press Office
On 26 February 2021, the delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus to the OSCE PA continued its work at the OSCE PA Winter online-meeting taking part in the activities of the Assembly’s final day: meetings of the General Committees on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment and on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions.
Chaired by Doris Barnett (Germany), the OSCE PA’s General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment was addressed by representatives of the OSCE’s executive structures in Vienna, including Ambassador Florian Raunig, Chair of the Economic and Environmental Committee, and Ambassador Vuk Zugic, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.
Committee Rapporteur Elona Hoxha (Albania) presented
ideas and concepts for the draft resolution that will be considered at
the 29th OSCE PA Annual Session this July, focusing her remarks on
themes such as economic recovery, economic empowerment of women, migration
management and climate change.
At the meeting of the OSCE PA General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, Denis Karas, member of
the Belarusian delegation, briefed parliamentarians on the experience of
Belarus and the measures taken in the country to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (Cyprus) chaired the meeting of
the General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian
Questions, which heard presentations by Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media and Anne-Kirsti Karlsen, Chair of the
Human Dimension Committee of the OSCE Permanent Council.
Committee Rapporteur, OSCE PA Vice-President Kari
Henriksen (Norway) presented ideas and intentions for the resolution to be
considered at the 29th Annual Session in Bucharest, highlighting the
pandemic’s impact on the human dimension.
At the meeting of the OSCE PA General Committee on
Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Ivan Mamaiko, member of
the delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Belarus, in his speech confirmed
the readiness of the Belarusian side to open, honest and respectful dialogue
with his colleagues. The parliamentarian informed the Assembly members about the
current situation in the country, focusing on the results of the recently held
national forum –– VI Belarusian People’s Congress.
The committee meeting also featured reports on the OSCE PA election
observation missions to Montenegro, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the
United States of America.