Hundreds of lawmakers from Europe, North America, and Central Asia have gathered in The Hague for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 33rd Annual Session, taking place from 4 to 8 July under the theme “International Law and Shared Principles: Foundations for Security and Co-operation in the OSCE Area.”
Kicking off several days of work that will culminate in the adoption of The Hague Declaration on 8 July, today’s opening plenary session featured speeches by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten, President of the Senate of the Netherlands Mei Li Vos, President of the House of Representatives Thom van Campen, Head of the Dutch Delegation to the OSCE PA Farah Karimi, OSCE PA President Pere Joan Pons (Spain), and the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
The opening session also included a video address by Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, in which he urged the Parliamentary Assembly to intensify pressure to stop the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion before it results in even more devastation for his country, calling for the greater commitment to Ukraine’s defence and the full use of OSCE tools to achieve peace.
Addressing the OSCE parliamentarians, Prime Minister Jetten highlighted the significance of holding the Annual Session in The Hague, where the international community gathers to prevent conflict, resolve disputes, and accountable those responsible for the gravest of crimes. He noted the relevance of this venue for the OSCE, which, he pointed out, “was founded on the premise that security cannot be built with use of force, but must rest on democracy, respect for human rights, and a rules based international order.”
Welcoming her colleagues to the Netherlands, the Head of the OSCE PA’s Dutch Delegation, Farah Karimi highlighted the role of parliamentary diplomacy in these challenging times. “Even when governments disagree, parliamentarians can continue to engage,” Karimi said. “Through dialogue, election observation, committee work and co-operation across political divides, we preserve channels of communication and build trust.”
President Pons noted that a half-century after the Helsinki Final Act, the principles that once underpinned security are being openly challenged and therefore must be robustly defended.
“We see it in the continued war of aggression against Ukraine,” Pona said. “We see it in Gaza, where civilians continue to suffer. We see it wherever force replaces dialogue and international law is applied selectively or not at all. There can be no hierarchy of principles. What we defend in Ukraine, we must defend everywhere. Without consistency, we weaken the rules-based order.”
“Parliamentarians play a vital role in preserving dialogue across political divides,” said OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Swiss Foreign Minister, Cassis. “In the face of growing political tensions, where mistrust of institutions and political decision-makers is on the rise, the work of members of parliament is of crucial importance as a direct link to the people.".
source: commonspace.eu with OSCE PA (Copenhagen)
