Special Representatives
Ilkka Kanerva (Finland)
In September 2016, President Christine Muttonen appointed Ilkka Kanerva of the OSCE PA's Finnish Delegation as Special Representative on Mediation. The appointment followed the adoption of a resolution at the 2016 Annual Session in Tbilisi, which underlined the “importance of mediation and dialogue facilitation in the peaceful settlement of disputes” and welcomed “the strengthening of the role of the OSCE PA in that regard.”
Kanerva, whose two terms as Assembly President came to a close at the Annual Session in Tbilisi, previously served as Finnish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. In Finland, he has also served as Minister of Transport, Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and Chair of the Parliamentary Defence Committee.
Benjamin Cardin (United States)
Benjamin Cardin was appointed the OSCE PA's Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance in March 2015.
He has served for more than a decade in the OSCE PA, holding the positions of Vice-President and Chairperson of the Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment. He was also previously Deputy Head of the U.S. Delegation to the OSCE PA.
Cardin has been a Commissioner on the U.S. Helsinki Commission since 1993, serving as Chairman in the 111th Congress and the 113th Congress. He is also a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Hedy Fry (Canada)
Dr. Hedy Fry was appointed the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on Gender Issues by PA President Petros Efthymiou in October 2010. In his appointment letter, Efthymiou reiterated the importance that the Assembly attaches to gender equality, particularly within the OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly.
As part of her mandate, Fry follows the gender situation within the OSCE, including in the Institutions and Field Missions, and report back to the President. She will also promote discussion of the gender issue within the OSCE and in particular the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and develop, in co-operation with the Gender Unit at the International Secretariat, a more active gender profile of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
Christopher Smith (United States)
In order to facilitate the involvement of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in the international debate and action on trafficking issues, President Bruce George appointed then-Head of the U.S. Delegation to the OSCE PA, Congressman Christopher Smith, as his Special Representative on Human Trafficking Issues in February 2004. Every subsequent president has reappointed Smith, who is the author of the United States’ landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its 2003 and 2005 reauthorizations. He is also the author of a major new child trafficking prevention law, the International Megan’s Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders, which became U.S. law in 2016.
Smith currently serves as the Chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission and the Co-Chair of the Congressional Human Trafficking Caucus. He is a senior member on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and is Chair of its Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee.
Pascal Allizard (France)
OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen (Austria) appointed Deputy Head of the French Delegation Pascal Allizard as the Assembly’s Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs in July 2017. With a mandate to enhance the Mediterranean dimension of the Assembly’s work, Allizard is tasked with conducting visits to Mediterranean Partner countries, maintaining contacts with the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation, and participating in the OSCE’s annual Mediterranean Conference on behalf of the Assembly.
Allizard was elected to the French Senate in 2014. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the OSCE PA's Ad Hoc Committee on Migration.
Mark Pritchard (United Kingdom)
Mark Pritchard was appointed Special Representative on South East Europe in July 2018. In the United Kingdom, he has been a Member of Parliament for the Wrekin in Shropshire since 2005 and has served on the Transport, Works & Pensions, Wales, and Environmental Audit select committees.
As Special Representative, Pritchard is tasked with serving as the Assembly’s focal point in South East Europe, promoting dialogue, and encouraging reconciliation and rehabilitation in the region. He also serves as Head of the UK Delegation to the OSCE PA.
Roman Haider (Austria)
Roman Haider was appointed Special Representative on Central Asia in October 2018. He was first elected to the Austrian Parliament in 2008, where he currently holds the position of Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee and is a Member of the Austria-Central Asia Parliamentary Friendship Group. In his party, he also serves as Deputy Chairperson of his Parliamentary Group and the Foreign Affairs Spokesperson.
A member of the Austrian Delegation to the OSCE PA since 2013, he has been particularly active in the Assembly´s election observation missions, having participated in over 15 election monitoring missions. He is also an active member of the OSCE PA Migration Committee and Vice-Chair of the OSCE PA Silk Road Working Group. In addition to his work with the OSCE PA, he also serves as a member of the Austrian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.