Report

From 3 to 5 October 2017, a delegation of five Canadian parliamentarians attended the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s (OSCE PA) Autumn Meeting in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P. led the delegation. Dr. Fry is also the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on Gender Issues, a position she has held since 2010. The Canadian delegation also included, from the Senate, the Honourable Senator Ghislain Maltais and, from the House of Commons, Mr. Luc Berthold, M.P., Ms. Salma Zahid, M.P. and Mr. Thomas Mulcair, M.P. The delegation was accompanied by Ms. Julia Nicol, Advisor, and Ms. Josée Thérien, Delegation Secretary.

2017 Autumn Meeting

Over three days, parliamentarians from across the OSCE area, together with representatives of the “Partners for Cooperation” states met in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, for the 2017 Autumn Meeting. The program began with a meeting of the Mediterranean Forum which debates specific issues affecting the Mediterranean region and includes an opportunity for the Heads of the Parliamentary Delegations from the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia) and the Palestinian Legislative Council to address the OSCE PA.

Over the next two days, the OSCE PA held a Parliamentary conference on the topic of “Security in the OSCE Area: New Challenges, New Tasks .”

In addition to the meetings listed above, the Head of the Canadian Delegation, the Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., attended both a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration as well as a meeting of the OSCE PA Standing Committee[1]. She also spoke at a side-event organized by the Delegations of Cyprus and Finland to the OSCE PA and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the topic of “Creating more inclusive parliaments: promoting the participation of persons with disabilities.”

A. Mediterranean Forum

The Mediterranean Forum addressed the promotion of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region. The meeting was opened by OSCE PA Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs Senator Pascal Allizard (France) and Ms. Meritxell Palmitjavila Naudí, Head of the Andorran Delegation to the OSCE PA.

Ambassador Luca Fratini (Italy), the Chairman of the OSCE Contact Group with the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation presented first. He gave delegates an update on the work and activities of the Contact Group in areas including migration, which is of particular concern for his country given its location, as well as the traffic of cultural artifacts, cybersecurity, energy security, women, peace and security, and small and medium enterprises as engines of development and security. He also spoke about the Italian priorities for their Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2018, which include returning to the spirit of Helsinki which promotes cooperation and trust; supporting the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine and frozen conflicts in the OSCE region; cybersecurity; and various forms of trafficking.

Next, Mr. Pedro Roque (Portugal), President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, presented on the topic of migration flows across the Mediterranean, stating that research shows no direct link between migration and an increased risk of terrorism. According to Mr. Roque, lack of integration is the problem. He noted the focus in Europe on measures to decrease arrivals in Europe through, for example, deals with Libya, Turkey, Niger and Chad, as well as development aid for African partners to discourage departures. He also discussed NGO concerns and promises from the EU to fund human rights monitoring of such deals. In addition, he recognized the positive cooperation within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean despite the fact that some members do not have diplomatic relations.

Then, Mr. Mário Gomes, Diplomatic Advisor to the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, outlined the history of cooperation between Europe and countries in the Mediterranean region and stressed the importance of security and stability in the Mediterranean for European security. He also elaborated on the mandate of his organization which has expanded over time from more economic and social issues to include political dialogue as well.

During the discussion period, parliamentarians offered comments and asked questions regarding a broad range of issues including the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis, terrorism, deradicalization, conflicts in the Mediterranean region, and climate change.

Activities of the Canadian Delegation:

The Mediterranean Forum was attended by all members of the Canadian delegation.

The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., addressed the instability and security concerns that are created when certain countries are overburdened, while others close their doors. She encouraged participating States to embrace burden sharing in this regard. She also stressed the need to resolve conflicts if migration flows across the Mediterranean are to decrease. In the meantime, she noted, immediate solutions are needed that focus on the human lives affected.

The Honourable Senator Ghislain Maltais called for the OSCE to provide hope for populations affected by the migration crisis in his remarks and expressed Canada’s support for countries in the Mediterranean that are facing the challenge of managing large numbers of migrants and refugees.

B. Parliamentary Conference on “Security in the OSCE Area: New Challenges, New Tasks”

Following a short inaugural session opened by the Speaker of the Parliament of Andorra, Mr. Vicenç Mateu Zamora, with remarks from the OSCE PA President, Ms. Christine Muttonen (Austria) and the Prime Minister of Andorra, Mr. Antoni Martí Petit, the conference sessions began.

Session 1: Addressing Cybersecurity

The first session was moderated by Ms. Isabel Santos (Portugal), Vice-President of the OSCE PA.

Andorra’s Minister of Justice, Home and Social Affairs, Mr. Xavier Espot Zamora, spoke about the importance of community norms in cyberspace and of ensuring that responses to cybercrimes are proportionate. He also outlined the challenges of prosecuting cybercrime, which can require new approaches to prosecution or even new legislation, as well as international cooperation. In addition, he called for cooperation with NGOs and the private sector to improve cybersecurity, for more public education about cybersecurity and for new international law on the topic.

Next, Ms. Rasa Ostrauskaite, OSCE Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats spoke about the work of her office. She listed a number of democratic institutions that have been hacked and outlined the confidence-building measures that the OSCE has developed to encourage the sharing of information and the building of trust amongst participating States. She told the delegates that 90% of OSCE participating States have implemented cyber-related confidence-building measures, concluding that the success of the OSCE’s toolbox in this area will depend on how it is used by participating States.

Finally, Mr. César Marquina Pérez de la Cruz, Chief Security Officer at Andorra Telecom, presented regarding the huge increases in malware and cyber-attacks in the last decade. He identified three groups responsible for such attacks- cyber activists who have political/religious/social objectives, organized crime which is profit driven and “romantic” hackers who hack for the challenge it offers. Increasingly connected societies, the Internet of Things and the location of Cloud data are all issues he identified as likely concerns in the coming years.

Activities of the Canadian Delegation:

This session was attended by all members of the Canadian delegation.

Mr. Luc Berthold, M.P., spoke about his experience of having his iPad hacked while in Minsk for the Annual Session earlier in 2017. He noted that, while there are many positives to the virtual world, as in the real world, there can also be danger. He reminded delegates that this is important to remember given how often we are online in the modern world.

Session 2: Environmental Security: Addressing Climate Change

Ms. Silvia Calvó Armengol, Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Sustainability in Andorra, spoke first. She outlined the sensitivities of her country to climate change because of its mountainous environment and reliance on winter tourism. The country also imports the great majority of its energy. She noted that they are making changes in this area such as increasing the use of renewables. At the same time, she saw climate change as an opportunity to innovate and create new jobs.

Next, Mr. Ralf Ernst, Deputy Co-ordinator of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, spoke about his organization’s work. He noted that climate change is not just an environmental issue since it affects so many spheres of the economy, society and private life. He outlined a flagship project of his office on climate change and security being developed in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucuses in collaboration with a number of United Nations organizations to assess relationships between climate change and security risks in those regions. The project is identifying hotspots where there are particular security risks due to physical and socioeconomic conditions (e.g. drought and densely populated areas) and assisting in the development of risk mitigation plans.

The third speaker, Mr. Carles Miquel Garcia, Head of the Energy and Climate Change Office in the Government of Andorra, outlined the country’s plans to increase the use of renewable energy and improve energy efficiency and savings through measures such as refurbishing buildings and improving the design of new ones. Subsidies for electric and hybrid cars are also being provided.

Activities of the Canadian Delegation:

This session was attended by all members of the Canadian delegation.

The Honourable Senator Ghislain Maltais talked about the impact of agriculture on climate change. He also stressed the importance of research, calling for any money collected through carbon taxes to be designated for this purpose.

The Honourable Thomas Mulcair, M.P., spoke about Canada as a vast laboratory for climate change. He cited the doubling in forest fires since 1970 as example, as well as the impacts on our road infrastructure. He also complimented the OSCE on its work and expressed the hope that a peaceful solution to the Spanish-Catalan issue would be found.

Session 3: Human Dimension: Promoting Education as a Guarantee of Stability and Development

The third session of the conference was moderated by Mr. Roberto Batteli (Slovenia), Vice-President of the OSCE PA.

The first speaker, Mr. Eric Jover Comas, is the Minister of Education and Higher Education in Andorra. He promoted the idea that diversity is a guarantee of resilience. He explained that the country has three educational systems based on language (Spanish, French and Catalan) but that, at the same time, they use measures such as mixed sports teams to ensure that these distinct systems do not create rivalries. He also stressed the importance of education not only for the labour market but also to train critical thinkers who share common goals beyond personal gain.

Ms. Ester Vilarrubla Escales, Director at the Department of Andorra Schools, spoke next and elaborated on the Andorran approach to education which focuses on promoting the learning of a number of languages, and recognizes the need to develop different types of intelligence such as emotional intelligence, rather than focusing purely on intellectual knowledge in schools.

Activities of the Canadian Delegation:

This session was attended by all members of the Canadian delegation.

The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., noted the importance of education as an equalizer that allows entry into the workforce and full citizenship. She appreciated the remarks of the speakers regarding education being more than learning to read and write. On a more personal note, Dr. Fry explained that educational opportunities were key to her success. She also argued that there is much to be gained from learning from minority groups about different ways of understanding the world.

Mr. Luc Berthold, M.P., discussed the importance of education for development. He explained the impact of education levels on stability and the likelihood of violence and armed conflict, including the importance of ensuring that education systems promote integration and respect for diversity.

Ms. Salma Zahid, M.P., stressed that the quality and content of education is essential if education is to discourage youth from picking up arms in her remarks. She mentioned the work of Malala Yousafzai as an inspiration and outlined Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy which will support quality education for the most vulnerable, in particular women and girls.

C. OSCE PA Standing Committee

The Standing Committee began with a report from Ms. Christine Muttonen (Austria), President of the OSCE PA.

Next, the Secretary General of the OSCE PA., Mr. Roberto Montella (Italy), presented his report to the Standing Committee. He updated the delegates on the implementation of new Financial Regulations at the International Secretariat and the hiring of a new Chief of Administration and Finance, Ms. Marieta Samac, who is from Canada. He also outlined the work of the secretariat in recent months in supporting OSCE PA members including the President, election observation missions and special representatives.

Delegates next heard a report concerning the election monitoring mission in Germany and reports from a number of special representatives to the president of the OSCE PA, as well as the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration.

After that, Ms. Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, the new Director of ODIH), made remarks. She discussed a number of issues including elections, the area in which ODIHR and the PA most closely cooperate. While she recognized that the relationship has not always been smooth, she acknowledged that it improved through the efforts of the previous director and the new OSCE PA Secretary General. She expressed a commitment to continue to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions.

Delegates next received an update from the OSCE PA’s Treasurer, Ms. Doris Barnett (Germany) regarding the work she is doing with Mr. Montella to modernize the OSCE PA’s financial management and budget structure. Delegates raised the issue of whether the OSCE PA has sufficient funds to function and Ms. Barnett warned that funding limitations may result in the loss of good staff and limitations in the activities that can be undertaken. She supports an increase in the budget.

Activities of the Canadian Delegation:

The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., represented the Canadian delegation at the Standing Committee meeting.

D. Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration

The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., represents the Canadian delegation on the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration. The Committee’s final meeting to approve its report took place prior to the Canadian delegation’s arrival so Dr. Fry provided her feedback on the draft in advance by e-mail. At that meeting, the Committee decided to continue its work on migration after the Autumn Meeting. Dr. Fry attended a second meeting of the Committee in Andorra to discuss future business, including site visits to Italy and Belgium. Interest was expressed to learn about the North American situation given that the focus of the committee to date has been on Europe.

Respectfully submitted,


The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P.
Director
Canadian Delegation to the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA)