( OSCE )- Nearly 300 Members of Parliament from most of the 56 OSCE participating States will meet in Kyiv from 5 to 9 July 2007 for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's 16th Annual Session.
Participants will discuss regional security, including energy security, migration, corruption, democratic development and election standards. Another focus will be human rights issues affecting the OSCE area, including protection of minorities, press freedom and human trafficking.
A final Declaration is expected to include recommendations on these and related issues.
Expected speakers at the Session include:
- Viktor Yuschenko, President of Ukraine;
- Goran Lennmarker, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President;
- Miguel Angel Moratinos, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister;
- Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, OSCE Secretary General;
The Assembly's Special Representatives and Ad Hoc Committees, which deal with issue-specific topics such as Guantanamo and Central Asia, will deliver reports at the meeting.
Elections will also be held for new Assembly officers. Lennmarker will seek a second one-year term as OSCE PA President.
The Annual Session in Kyiv is being held at the invitation of the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Oleksandr Moroz. The 2006 Session was held in Belgium, and the 2008 Session will be held in Kazakhstan.