News and press releases

BAKU, 12 March 2018 – Highlighting Azerbaijan’s potential as a bridge for dialogue and co-operation in the OSCE area, a high-level delegation led by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) today discussed with Azerbaijani counterparts upcoming domestic elections, as well as democratic and economic reforms in the country. The delegation underlined the important role that Azerbaijan plays in the region of the South Caucasus, and urged further efforts at economic and security co-operation...

COPENHAGEN, 8 March 2018 – Economic empowerment of women is a benefit to society as a whole and can be effectively pursued through prioritizing gender considerations in legislative and budgetary action, said the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Gender Issues Hedy Fry (MP, Canada) today. Marking the celebration of International Women’s Day, she called for closing the gender gap, reducing poverty and ensuring women’s representation in all levels of public life...

COPENHAGEN, 7 March 2018 – A large team of parliamentarians from the OSCE will observe the upcoming presidential election in the Russian Federation. Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany) will serve as Special Co-ordinator, leading the short-term OSCE mission of some 420 international observers for the 18 March vote. Marietta Tidei (MP, Italy) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, which will include some 90 members of parliament from more than 30 countries...

ROME, 5 March 2018 – The 4 March parliamentary elections in Italy were a vibrant display of competitive democracy in which voters could readily inform themselves about their political options and could freely cast their ballots, concluded international observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today following their first-ever election observation mission in the country. The elections offered voters a multitude of parties to choose from, and benefitted from extensive media coverage, with diverse and critical analysis of many aspects of the campaigns. In a welcome effort, concerns about ‘fake news’ were taken seriously by authorities and media companies during the campaign. On election day, time-consuming procedures resulted in some delays and long queues for voters...

COPENHAGEN, 26 February 2017 – Following the recent reported death of Archil Tatunashvili in South Ossetia, Georgia, OSCE PA human rights chair Ignacio Sanchez Amor stressed the need for close cooperation and a transparent investigation into the events leading to the death. Sanchez Amor expressed his sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Tatunashvili...

COPENHAGEN, 20 February 2018 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is deploying a mission of 42 international observers, including 33 parliamentarians from 22 countries, to Italy for the 4 March parliamentary elections. The observers arrive in Rome next week for two days of briefings before deploying for election day observation around the country.

WASHINGTON, 9 February 2018 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) and Secretary General Roberto Montella are wrapping up a visit to Washington, where they met this week with Members of Congress and officials from the U.S. National Security Council and State Department. In discussions, Tsereteli and Montella have noted the essential role of the OSCE as a forum for dialogue and stressed the importance of continued U.S. engagement in the Organization...