Members of the Permanent Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina participated at the Annual session of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly

Members of the Permanent Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH PA) to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA), Aleksandra Pandurević, Bariša Čolak and Halid Genjac, participated in the OSCE PA’s regular annual session in Helsinki.

At the session, dedicated to commemorating 40 years since the signing of the Helsinki Document and reaffirming OSCE basic principles, declarations and resolutions were adopted that were reminiscent of the spirit of the Helsinki Final Act and all OSCE participating States were urged to behave in accordance with this document.

The Helsinki Final Act, signed on 1 August 1975, ended the Cold War in Europe and committed the States’ parties to respect the inviolability of borders, human rights and fundamental freedoms and to co-operate on economic, scientific, humanitarian and other areas of life.

The OSCE PA Annual Assembly hosted discussions on the fight against terrorism, security challenges in Member States, migrants and refugees, arms control, minority rights and climate change.

During a debate on the crisis in Ukraine, a large number of representatives discussed the Finnish Government’s decision not to grant visas to six members from the Russian delegation, whose names are on the EU list of persons banned from entering Schengen countries; which is why the Russian delegation boycotted the session. During the discussion, most MPs stressed the need to continue open dialogue on the Ukraine crisis, which should include Russia. (End)