TBILISI, 5 July 2016 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted the 2016 Tbilisi Declaration today, addressing key issues in the fields of political affairs and security, economics, the environment, human rights, and humanitarian concerns. (Full text available here in English, French and Russian.)

The Declaration, resulting from months of work by committee rapporteurs and several days of debates at the Assembly’s Annual Session in Tbilisi, contains wide-ranging policy recommendations and pronouncements, serving as policy guidance to OSCE governments and the international community. Some 300 parliamentarians from 54 countries spanning North America, Europe and Central Asia contributed to the Session’s work. The Declaration and resolutions will now be sent to parliaments and to the foreign ministers of OSCE countries as policy input ahead of the OSCE’s 2016 Ministerial Council meeting this year in Hamburg.

Among the issues covered in the recommendations adopted by the parliamentarians are transnational terrorism, the crisis in and around Ukraine, protracted conflicts in Georgia, countering corruption, energy, climate change, migration, and the rights of refugees. The Declaration is the final product of the Assembly’s 2016 Annual Session, which was held in the Georgian capital from 1 to 5 July under the theme “25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue.”

Stressing the theme of trust-building, the Declaration “reaffirm[s] the undiminished validity and historic role of the guiding principles and common values of the Helsinki Final Act signed in 1975, including the commitments on politico-military, economic, environmental, human rights, and humanitarian issues.” It regrets however the trend of gridlock in the OSCE and urges OSCE countries to enhance the level of co-operation in addressing common challenges.

On terrorism, the Declaration calls upon governments to strengthen co-operation and develop measures aimed at blocking the funding of terrorist organizations. It further urges the OSCE to help governments counter terrorism through pragmatic assistance and promotion of best practices.

On the crisis in and around Ukraine, the Declaration urges all parties to fully implement the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, and “underlines respect for the principles of the inviolability of frontiers and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes, equal rights, and self-determination of peoples as stated in the Helsinki Final Act.”

Regarding climate change, the Declaration calls upon parliamentarians to promote political dialogue in order to achieve the goals set by the Paris Climate Agreement adopted last year, and to ensure that the Agreement’s targets are met “with the greatest sense of urgency by implementing robust policies and regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

On migration, the Declaration stresses the importance of prioritizing the rights of those fleeing violence, and urges governments to stop imposing legal and physical barriers to the movement of people fleeing violence and to actively work toward an inclusive approach to migrants and refugees.

The Assembly also approved 15 resolutions to supplement the Declaration, addressing issues such as fundamental freedoms in the Crimean peninsula, prevention of child sexual exploitation, confidence-building measures in the Baltic Sea region, and ensuring that members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly affected by international travel bans are able to attend OSCE events.

For the full text of the Declaration and resolutions, as well as speeches, photos, videos and more, please visithttp://www.oscepa.org/meetings/annual-sessions/2016-tbilisi-annual-session. Additional photos are available on the Georgian Parliament’s Flickr pages at https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoparliament and https://www.flickr.com/photos/oscepatbilisi

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 57 countries spanning Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international co-operation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.

Related Stories

• Christine Muttonen of Austria elected OSCE PA President, Vice-Presidents and Committee Officers also elected
• OSCE parliamentarians consider resolutions on security, economic and environmental concerns and human rights
• Assembly’s work on migration presented to OSCE ambassadors by Ad Hoc Committee Chair Lombardi at special Permanent Council

TBILISI, 5 July 2016 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted the 2016 Tbilisi Declaration today, addressing key issues in the fields of political affairs and security, economics, the environment, human rights, and humanitarian concerns. (Full text available here in English, French and Russian.)

The Declaration, resulting from months of work by committee rapporteurs and several days of debates at the Assembly’s Annual Session in Tbilisi, contains wide-ranging policy recommendations and pronouncements, serving as policy guidance to OSCE governments and the international community. Some 300 parliamentarians from 54 countries spanning North America, Europe and Central Asia contributed to the Session’s work. The Declaration and resolutions will now be sent to parliaments and to the foreign ministers of OSCE countries as policy input ahead of the OSCE’s 2016 Ministerial Council meeting this year in Hamburg.

Among the issues covered in the recommendations adopted by the parliamentarians are transnational terrorism, the crisis in and around Ukraine, protracted conflicts in Georgia, countering corruption, energy, climate change, migration, and the rights of refugees. The Declaration is the final product of the Assembly’s 2016 Annual Session, which was held in the Georgian capital from 1 to 5 July under the theme “25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue.”

Stressing the theme of trust-building, the Declaration “reaffirm[s] the undiminished validity and historic role of the guiding principles and common values of the Helsinki Final Act signed in 1975, including the commitments on politico-military, economic, environmental, human rights, and humanitarian issues.” It regrets however the trend of gridlock in the OSCE and urges OSCE countries to enhance the level of co-operation in addressing common challenges.

On terrorism, the Declaration calls upon governments to strengthen co-operation and develop measures aimed at blocking the funding of terrorist organizations. It further urges the OSCE to help governments counter terrorism through pragmatic assistance and promotion of best practices.

On the crisis in and around Ukraine, the Declaration urges all parties to fully implement the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, and “underlines respect for the principles of the inviolability of frontiers and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes, equal rights, and self-determination of peoples as stated in the Helsinki Final Act.”

Regarding climate change, the Declaration calls upon parliamentarians to promote political dialogue in order to achieve the goals set by the Paris Climate Agreement adopted last year, and to ensure that the Agreement’s targets are met “with the greatest sense of urgency by implementing robust policies and regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

On migration, the Declaration stresses the importance of prioritizing the rights of those fleeing violence, and urges governments to stop imposing legal and physical barriers to the movement of people fleeing violence and to actively work toward an inclusive approach to migrants and refugees.

The Assembly also approved 15 resolutions to supplement the Declaration, addressing issues such as fundamental freedoms in the Crimean peninsula, prevention of child sexual exploitation, confidence-building measures in the Baltic Sea region, and ensuring that members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly affected by international travel bans are able to attend OSCE events.

For the full text of the Declaration and resolutions, as well as speeches, photos, videos and more, please visithttp://www.oscepa.org/meetings/annual-sessions/2016-tbilisi-annual-session. Additional photos are available on the Georgian Parliament’s Flickr pages at https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoparliament and https://www.flickr.com/photos/oscepatbilisi

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 57 countries spanning Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international co-operation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.

Related Stories

• Christine Muttonen of Austria elected OSCE PA President, Vice-Presidents and Committee Officers also elected
• OSCE parliamentarians consider resolutions on security, economic and environmental concerns and human rights
• Assembly’s work on migration presented to OSCE ambassadors by Ad Hoc Committee Chair Lombardi at special Permanent Council

ANKARA, 6 May 2015 – On the occasion of the formal opening of the limited election observation mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the 7 June parliamentary elections in Turkey, the mission will hold a press conference in Ankara on Thursday.

Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR limited election observation mission, will introduce the role of the mission and its upcoming activities. The mission's deployment follows an invitation from the authorities of Turkey.

Journalists are invited to attend the press conference at 15:00, Thursday, 7 May, in the Kavaklidere 1 conference room of the Ankara Hilton Hotel: Kavaklidere 1, Kavaklıdere Mh., Tahran Caddesi No. 12, Ankara.

For further information, please contact Pietro Tesfamariam, Media Analyst with the limited election observation mission, at +90 312 4650513 (Ankara office) or +90 539 9246000 (Ankara mobile) or at pietro.tesfamariam@odihr-turkey.org.

or

Thomas Rymer, OSCE/ODIHR Spokesperson, at +48 609 522 266 (Warsaw mobile) or at thomas.rymer@odihr.pl.

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• OSCE/ODIHR observers to hold press conference in Minsk on Tuesday
• International election observers in Mongolia to hold press conference on Thursday
• OSCE/ODIHR final report on early parliamentary elections in Serbia recommends comprehensive review of legislation and ensuring the level playing field for contestants

Centara Hotels & Resorts launches Love Isaan offers valid for a limited time at three hotels in the northeastern region.

In the South, environmentally conscious vacationers can spend a weekend staying at Varana Hotel Krabi's minimalist but elegant rooms to sate their wanderlust. Focusing on sustainable living, this brand-new luxury hotel crafts a wonderful wellcation experience for those searching for both mental and physical renewal.

Thousand runners joined the Bangkok Post International Mini Marathon on Sunday.

"The Smile of Speed." Janus Films has unveiled the official US trailer for It's Not Me, the autobiographic self-portrait short documentary film made by Leos Carax. The mastermind French filmmaker premiered this at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and it has played at tons of other fests including NYFF, London, Karlovy Vary. The 41-minute biopic film is a "self-portrait of the director and his oeuvre, revisiting in free-form more than 40 years of the author's filmography." This autobiography takes a look back at all of his films and his work, and examines politics over time and the art-form of cinema. The intro: "For an exhibition, that in the end never took place, the Pompidou Museum asked the filmmaker to reply, in pictures, to the question: Where are you at, Leos Carax? He attempts an answer – full of questions. About himself and 'his' world: I don't know, but if I did, I'd reply that..." C'est pas moi or It's Not Me. With Denis Lavant, Kateryna Yuspina, Loreta Juodkaite, Anna-Isabel Siefken, Nastya Golubeva Carax, & Petr Anevskii, plus Bianca Maddaluno. This will be streaming on Criterion Channel in December if anyone wants to watch. Here's the official US […]

Kino Lorber will be releasing a 4K Ultra edition next month of Stanley Donen's classic film, Arabesque. Starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren, the story revolves around a secret message and various cloak & dagger escapades and double-crosses. While not to the level of Charade, I've always found some qualities to love about the movie. Donen himself knew the project needed something extra and his solution was to insert many art-inspired visuals. From a striking assassination during an eye exam, with projected eye chart graphics, to the addition of many Op Art pieces to the decor, these extra touches added mystery, subtext, and gave the film a fun modernist gloss. With Loren as co-lead, fashion was also front and center, along with the quirky addition of a shoe fetishist. From the press release: "Ultra Mod, Ultra Mad, Ultra Mystery! Enter the world of Arabesque—a high-speed, high-class tale of international intrigue starring screen icons Gregory Peck (The Guns of Navarone, Mirage) and Sophia Loren (Five Miles to Midnight, Marriage Italian Style). An American hieroglyphics professor (Peck) is hired by a mysterious Arab oil magnate to decipher a secret message. When the hidden meaning is revealed, the chase is on as he and the oil magnate’s exotic yet unpredictable companion (Loren) find themselves caught in the middle of an assassination plot. The great Stanley Donen (Singin’ in the Rain, Charade) directed this exciting romantic thriller that features the stylish music of Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther, Touch of Evil) and the acting talents of Alan Badel (Force 10 from Navarone), Kieron Moore (David and Bathsheba) and George Coulouris (Citizen Kane)." Check out the bonus features and more info over at Kino. Related Spy Vibe post: Reflecting on Arabesque & Peter Stone.