Canadian Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (SECO)

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) hosted an online event for the 25th Anniversary of The Hague Recommendations regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities. The event was organized under the auspices of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), who has been working on conflict prevention with regard to tensions involving national minority issues for 25 years. The event aimed, in part, to shed light on the principles of the Hague Recommendations and reflect on the application of these recommendations with a view to discussing ways to improve their operationalization. It also highlighted good practices in multilingual education and to explore ways to actively engage with youth as the main target group. The Honourable Patricia Bovey, Senator, represented the Canadian Delegation to the OSCE PA. She outlined Canada’s policy commitments to Indigenous and francophone education and spoke about the trauma which the residential school system inflicted on generations of Indigenous peoples.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), in the context of the Call for Action - Helsinki +50 process, initiated a meeting with young parliamentary leaders so they could discuss and share their insights, expectations, and recommendations regarding the ability of the younger generation to contribute to tackling regional and global challenges, as well as their thoughts on how they could be better involved in decision and policy-making processes. The Canadian Delegation to the OSCE PA was represented by the Honourable Lucie Moncion, Senator, and by Mr. Ziad Aboultaif, M.P., and Ms. Ya’ara Saks, M.P.. The Honourable Bardish Chaggar, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, delivered opening remarks and noted how important the contribution of youth is in the development of responsive and inclusive policy-making.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), in collaboration with the OSCE Secretariat Gender Issues Programme and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), hosted a webinar entitled “Evidence-based law making to prevent and combat violence against women.” The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P. and the Honourable senators Julie Miville-Dechêne, Kim Pate, and Lucie Moncion attended on behalf of the Canadian Delegation to the OSCE PA. The session aimed to provide a platform to exchange good practices, lessons learned and innovations in evidence-based law making and policy-making to prevent and combat violence against women and girls, and to raise awareness among parliamentarians of OSCE participating States of available OSCE tools and resources. The Honourable Dr. Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., head of the Canadian delegation to the OSCE PA and the OSCE PA Special Representative on Gender Issues, delivered some opening remarks. Among other points, she highlighted the importance of collecting sex-disaggregated data. Such data helps governments gain a better understanding of the true nature of the problem and allows for states to track the evolution of gender violence in all its forms (physical, psychological and sexual). She also stressed the critical nature of consulting with survivors of gender violence when developing governmental responses to violence against women.

The expanded Bureau of the OSCE PA met on this day to conduct business. Dr. Hedy Fry, the Director of the Canadian delegation to the OSCE PA attended the meeting in her capacity as the Special Representative on Gender Issues. The group received various reports and discussed the findings contained therein. The group also planned for upcoming meetings of the OSCE PA. A final determination of whether the upcoming Annual Session in July of 2021 will be an entirely virtual affair or whether it will be a hybrid meeting with some participants meeting in person in Vienna will be made at the next meeting of the Bureau. During the meeting, Dr. Fry spoke in support of the Call for Action initiative. She noted that the OSCE PA has a contribution to make regarding the revitalization of the OSCE and called for the discussion to continue. She also expressed concern regarding the deteriorating security situation in the OSCE region. She fears that repressive policies that discriminate against women, LGBTQ persons and persons who belong to minority groups and that limit the ability of migrants to relocate may lead to conflict and violence. She urged the OSCE PA to formulate an action plan to foster accountability. Finally, she spoke of how the Covid-19 pandemic has accentuated the issues facing women and minority groups, like the LGBTQ community.

The Winter Meeting provides an opportunity for OSCE parliamentarians to hold discussions on timely issues, to be briefed by high-level OSCE officials, and to meet with representatives of the OSCE's governmental side. It consists of meetings of the Standing Committee, each General Committee, and a joint session of the three General Committees.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly co-hosted a commemorative event with the French Delegation to the OSCE PA to mark the 30th anniversary of the Charter of Paris for a New Europe. Canadian participants included Senators Pierre Dalphond, Josée Forest-Niesing and Lucie Moncion, as well as Mr. Luc Berthold, M.P. and Ms. Andréanne Larouche, M.P.

More than 40 heads of national delegations and the elected members of the Bureau met on July 7, 2020 to a Standing Committee meeting. The Standing Committee meets three times a year to guide the work of the Assembly and would have met in Vancouver this week had the 2020 Annual Session not been cancelled due to the pandemic. Dr. Hedy Fry, C.P., M.P., Head of the Canadian OSCE PA Delegation and Special Representative on Gender Issues, noted Canada’s regret that it was not able to host the Annual Session this year. “As the OSCE PA convenes via videoconferencing today, we are reminded that we should have been gathering in Vancouver, Canada for the 2020 Annual Session from July 2 to 7,” Fry said. “The COVID-19 global pandemic has redefined how we, as parliamentarians, interact and communicate. Yet in a way, we have become more connected and our voices more relevant. As we continue to face new challenges and find new opportunities to fulfill the PA’s mission, I truly hope we, Canada, will be able to host a future Annual Session here in Vancouver.”