Annual Sessions
Download the Berlin Declaration in English, French or Russian.
Click here for the Final Report of the Annual Session.
Photos of the Annual Session can be found on the OSCE PA's Flickr page. Videos are on YouTube.
Under the theme “Implementing OSCE Commitments: The Role of Parliaments,” the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly met in Berlin for its 27th Annual Session on 7-11 July 2018. The meeting included the participation of some 300 parliamentarians from North America, Europe and Asia.
The Annual Session culminated in the adoption of the Berlin Declaration (download in English, French or Russian) with recommendations to national governments, parliaments and the international community in the fields of political affairs, security, economics, environment and human rights.
Representing the collective voice of the OSCE parliamentarians representing a billion people from Vancouver to Vladivostok, the Declaration helps shape OSCE and national policy.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly met on 5-9 July 2017 in Minsk for its 26th Annual Session. With some 260 parliamentarians from North America, Europe and Asia participating, the theme of the Session was “Enhancing mutual trust and co-operation for peace and prosperity in the OSCE region.”
The Minsk Declaration is available in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. Photos are on the OSCE PA's Flickr page and many more are on the Belarusian Parliament's Flickr page. Video playlist available here.
For the final report on the 2017 Minsk Annual Session, please click here.
The Session ended on 9 July with the adoption of the Minsk Declaration, which contains recommendations to help shape OSCE and national policy. The Annual Session also included elections of several OSCE Parliamentary Assembly officers, including President, Vice-Presidents and Treasurer.
Bringing together nearly 300 parliamentarians from 54 OSCE participating States, the 25th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly took place 1-5 July 2016 in Tbilisi. The Session was held under the theme "25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue," commemorating the quarter-century anniversary of the Assembly's work.
For the final report of the 2016 Annual Session, please click here.
At the close of the Session, the Assembly adopted the Tbilisi Declaration (available in English, French, German, Italian,Russian and Spanish) and elected its new leadership. Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen was elected President for a one-year term, renewable once. Vilija Aleknaite Abramikiene (Lithuania), Azay Guliyev (Azerbaijan), and Isabel Santos (Portugal) were elected to three-year terms as Vice-President, and Victor Dobre (Romania) was elected to a one-year term.
Committee officers for 2016/2017 include the following:
- General Committee on Political Affairs and Security: Chair Roger Wicker (United States), Vice-Chair Guglielmo Picchi (Italy), Rapporteur Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden)
- General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment: Chair Nilza Sena (Portugal) Vice-Chair Artur Gerasymov (Ukraine), Rapporteur Marietta Tidei (Italy)
- General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions: Chair Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain), Vice-Chair Ivana Dobesova (Czech Republic), Rapporteur Kyriakos Kyriakou-Hadjiyanni (Cyprus)
The 24th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly brought together nearly 300 parliamentarians in the Finnish capital's Finlandia Hall on 5-9 July 2015. The theme for the Session was "Recalling the Spirit of Helsinki," a reference to the OSCE's founding document, the Helsinki Final Act, which was signed in Finlandia Hall in 1975.
The situation in and around Ukraine, the crisis concerning migrants and refugees, arms control, climate change and minority rights were among a diverse array of critical security issues on the agenda. The Session also featured a special commemoration of the Helsinki Final Act's 40th anniversary and a presentation of the results of the PA's Helsinki +40 Project on Organizational reform.
The 23rd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was held at the Fairmont Hotel Congress Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan from 28 June to 2 July 2014 under the theme "Helsinki +40: Towards Human Security for All."
Hosted by the Milli Mejlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan, the Session was attended by nearly 300 MPs from more than 50 OSCE participating States.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Swiss President and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter, Russian State Duma Chair Sergey Naryshkin and Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Deputy Chair Ruslan Koshulynskyi all spoke at opening-day plenaries on Saturday, 28 June.