OSCE, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 1: Letter from OSCE PA President Kauma to the members of The Standing Committee

OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2023-24
OSCE Alm.del Bilag 1
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The President

To:

Members of the Standing Committee

Members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

6 October 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Dear Friends,

Yesterday our Bureau met to discuss recent developments in Armenia and in

Azerbaijan, particularly in view of our upcoming Autumn Meeting.

I first want to confirm that

the 2023 Autumn Meeting will take place as planned on

18-20 November in Yerevan.

I received these assurances from the President of the National

Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, H.E. Mr. Alen Simonyan. This was confirmed to the

Bureau by the Head of the Delegation of Armenia. Mr. Sargis Khandanyan. The OSCE PA

International Secretariat will soon circulate the draft programme and the general information

for the 2023 Autumn Meeting.

I am sure you will agree with me that meeting in Yerevan at this critical juncture will

be a strong political signal. In the numerous discussions I have held on this topic in recent

weeks, it has been clear to me that the OSCE must remain invested in the South Caucasus and

that our Parliamentary Assembly and national parliaments have an active role to play. First and

foremost, we should all encourage our governments to provide humanitarian aid and assistance.

We must also do all that we can to prevent further military escalation. Finally, we must stand

ready to contribute to a comprehensive peace agreement.

I plan on following up on all these issues through a presidential visit to Azerbaijan,

Georgia, and Armenia around the time of our Autumn Meeting. I thank in advance those three

Delegations for kindly hosting me.

Let me also use this opportunity to follow-up on some issues I have mentioned in

previous communications:

•

As previewed in my letter to all Members circulated on 5 September, I have made

appointments to the

Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine.

The list of Members

is available on the OSCE PA website. I expect this group to first meet online in the

coming weeks.

_________________

Tordenskjoldsgade 1, 1055 Copenhagen K., Denmark

Phone: +45 33 37 80 40 - Fax: +45 33 37 80 30 - [email protected] - www.oscepa.org

OSCE, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 1: Letter from OSCE PA President Kauma to the members of The Standing Committee

The President

•

As noted in my letter to the Standing Committee circulated on 14 September, I met

together with our Treasurer Johan Büser with the auditors from Deloitte who will be

performing the

integrated financial-business/performance audit,

as decided by the

Standing Committee in Vancouver. The process has begun, and the audit is expected to

be completed well in advance of our Winter Meeting next February. The audit will then

be presented by the Treasurer to the Standing Committee.

Finally, given that for the first time in our Assembly’s history our Vancouver

Declaration included a chapter on

the institutional crises facing the OSCE,

I would like to

update you on some steps that I have taken on your behalf, especially considering the

uncertainty surrounding next year’s Chairpersonship of the OSCE. First, I have raised your

serious concerns directly with the current Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, the Foreign

Minister of North Macedonia, H.E. Mr. Bujar Osmani, whom I have ensured of our full support

to try and overcome this extremely complex challenge. Since my election as President, I have

echoed this message in numerous consultations with Permanent Representatives to the OSCE

and with Ambassadors stationed in Helsinki. I am confident that my active participation in the

Task Force for Finland’s Chairpersonship of the OSCE in 2025 will further contribute to these

efforts, in line with our longstanding objective to strengthen mutually beneficial co-operation

between the governmental and the parliamentary branches of the OSCE.

I thank you all for your active engagement in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. I look

forward to carrying on with our valuable discussions to support comprehensive security in our

region.

Yours sincerely,

Pia Kauma

_________________

Tordenskjoldsgade 1, 1055 Copenhagen K., Denmark

Phone: +45 33 37 80 40 - Fax: +45 33 37 80 30 - [email protected] - www.oscepa.org