Parliamentary Assembly Annual Session

From 6 to 10 July 2002 more than 300 parliamentarians from the 55 OSCE participating States will gather on the premises of the German Bundestag in Berlin for the 11th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Issues to be debated
The debate will focus on the political, economic and human rights aspects of the international fight against terrorism as well as other key questions relevant to security in the OSCE area.

The session will adopt a Final Declaration that will be forwarded to the OSCE Ministerial Council, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the national parliaments of the OSCE participating States.

Key participants

The opening plenary will be addressed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz. Delegates will also hear welcoming remarks by the Speaker of the Bundestag, Wolfgang Thierse and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Gerhard Schroder.

The meetings of the three General Committees will be addressed by German Foreign Minister, Joseph Fischer, the Minister of the Economy, Werner Muller and the Minister for Defence, Rudolf Scharping.

Several senior OSCE Officials, including the OSCE Secretary General, Jan Kubis, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, Rolf Ekeus, and the Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, will also brief the parliamentarians. The opening plenary will be chaired by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Adrian Severin, MP (Romania).

Prize for Journalism and Democracy

During a special ceremony on Saturday, 6 July, the Seventh OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy will be presented to Austrian reporter Friedrich Orter and Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet. Since 1996 the Prize has been awarded annually by the Assembly to journalists who, through their work, have promoted OSCE principles on human rights and democracy.

Committee reports and draft resolutions

During the meetings on 7, 8 and 9 July the Assembly's General Committees will consider three reports and draft resolutions dealing with political, economic and human rights. Other resolutions on current issues and problems in the OSCE area may also be considered.

On Wednesday 10 July, the closing Plenary Session will consider the resolutions of the three Committees and adopt the Final Declaration. The Assembly will also elect its President and other Officers.