The Riigikogu delegation attends the OSCE PA Annual Session in Porto

Head of the Estonian delegation to the OSCE PA Mati Raidma said that this year’s Annual Session would focus on Ukraine, but there would also be debates on critical infrastructure and nuclear safety, water scarcity and migration, artificial intelligence and misuse of technology, youth radicalisation and violent extremism, energy security, child trafficking and sexual exploitation, and OSCE institutional co-operation.

The Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) is represented at the OSCE PA Annual Session by Head of the Estonian delegation Mati Raidma and member of the delegation Heljo Pikhof. At the Session, Raidma will give an overview of his activities as the Special Rapporteur of the OSCE PA Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine, focusing on veterans’ policy and youth. All three committees of the OSCE PA will also meet during the Annual Session. Raidma is a member of the General Committee on Political Affairs and Security, and Pikhof belongs to the General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions.

The Annual Session will be opened with speeches by OSCE PA President Pia Kauma, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal José Pedro Aguiar-Branco and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal Paulo Rangel. President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres will address the delegates by remote intervention. Hundreds of parliamentarians from North America, Europe and Central Asia are taking part in the Assembly.

This Annual Session will be held under the theme “Commemorating 50 Years of the Helsinki Final Act: Responding to a New Reality in the OSCE”. The Helsinki Final Act was adopted in 1975 and established the predecessor of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. It is planned to adopt the Porto Declaration containing recommendations to national governments, parliaments and the international community in the fields of security, human rights, and economic and environmental concerns. The Assembly will also elect its leadership for the coming year, including a new President.

The aim of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is to increase the involvement of its participating states in resolving European political and security issues, to enhance civilian control over military affairs, and to strengthen the responsibility and influence of members of parliament.

The Annual Session will livestream at the web page of the OSCE PA www.oscepa.org.

Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

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Source: Parliament of Estonia