“The organization is currently facing a very difficult and challenging moment, which puts at risk the consensus achieved in the past and the very essence of the OSCE,” stated Aguiar-Branco today at the opening of the 32nd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which began today at Alfândega do Porto.
For the president of the parliament, “this is due to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
“However, we must be conscious and confident that half a century of legacy counts for a great deal. The OSCE has become a unique platform to enhance dialogue and cooperation by developing very unique instruments among unlikely partners,” he emphasized.
According to Aguiar-Branco, “this legacy, more than ever, must now be valued.”
“To achieve this, it is time to recall the principles of Helsinki,” as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, at the end of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which gave rise to the OSCE.
The president of the Assembly of the Republic stressed the “respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, respect for human rights, freedom, peace, security” as fundamental principles.
“Recalling Helsinki allows us to become aware of the importance of defending the principles enshrined in that document. This means, without any doubt and without hesitation, defending them in Ukraine,” he asserted.
Previously, the second figure of the State had already considered that in half a century of OSCE “the results have been frankly positive.”
“The OSCE has effectively contributed to maintaining an environment of stability and security. The OSCE helped to create the necessary framework to ensure what I would call niches of trust among partners, even among unlikely partners, even among the most unlikely partners,” he noted.
Hundreds of parliamentarians from the countries that make up the OSCE are meeting from today in Porto to discuss international developments and the future of multilateralism.
The city of Porto hosts the 32nd session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly until Thursday (July 3) which will have as its general theme “Commemorating the 50 Years of the Helsinki Final Act: Responding to a New Reality in the OSCE.” The Helsinki Final Act, signed on August 1, 1975, establishes the principles governing relations between the participating States.
Over the next five days at Alfândega do Porto, parliamentarians will debate the state of multilateralism half a century after the signing of the founding document of the OSCE, with the Middle East situation and the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine at the top of the agenda.
