Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The 23rd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted the Baku Declaration on July 2, lending political support to wide-ranging policy recommendations for the OSCE and its 57 participating States in the fields of political affairs and security, economics, the environment and human rights.

The declaration was adopted after 97 parliamentarians voted in favor and one against at the conclusion of the session. Nine OSCE parliamentarians abstained, including members of the Russian delegation.

In its 140 clauses, the Baku Declaration encompasses the resolutions of the PA's three General Committees -- the Committee on Political Affairs and Security; the Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment; and the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions.

The document stresses the continuing need for enhanced efforts to settle existing conflicts in the OSCE area in a peaceful and negotiated manner, in full respect of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, and refrains from the threat or use of force, as called for at the Astana Summit Meeting held in 2010.

It underlines the respect for the principles of the inviolability of frontiers and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes, equal rights and self-determination of peoples.

The Baku Declaration calls for measures limiting, prohibiting and controlling the illegal trade of small arms and light weapons (SALW), including their diversion to non-State actors in conflict areas, as well as the uncontrolled circulation and misuse of these arms in non-conflict situations, which pose multiple threats to societies and contribute to numerous casualties every year, including among civilians.

The document also stresses the need to balance between new threats, like cyber warfare and terrorism, and the prospect of conventional military operations, when updating and developing the Vienna Document, noting that, since the adoption of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the number of units of Treaty-Limited Equipment has been reduced by more than 110,000, indicating the importance of traditional arms control mechanisms.

It commends the pioneering anti-trafficking work of the OSCE to date, and stresses the need for stronger cross-dimensional, inclusive and outreaching victims-based action in order to effectively address traffickers' complex modus operandi and the increasing varieties of this threat, including child sexual and/or labor trafficking and organ trafficking, by strengthening national anti-trafficking legislation and further promoting awareness, networking and co-operation at all levels and with civil society.

The Baku Declaration also expresses concern at the growing threats of terrorism and a radicalization of public opinion in connection with the return of foreign terrorist combatants to their homes from areas of armed conflict.

Also, the document expresses concern about the growing tendency to use information and telecommunication technologies, including the Internet and social media, for terrorist purposes, including incitement and financing of terrorism and the recruitment of terrorists.

The document calls on the OSCE participating States to continue to take all necessary measures to prevent the use of information and communication technologies for terrorist purposes, including the incitement, planning, preparation, financing or commission of terrorist acts, while ensuring that those measures are in line with national legislation, international law and the political obligations entered into previously in the framework of the OSCE.

The crisis in Ukraine is among the document's central themes as well.

On July 2, OSCE PA's new president was elected as well. Head of the Finnish delegation Ilkka Kanerva, who has become new head of the organization, welcomed the trust in him and will prove worthy of it.

The OSCE PA Annual Session entitled "Helsinki +40: Towards Human Security for All" was attended by nearly 300 parliamentarians from more than 50 countries.

The event kicked off in June 28 and lasted till July 2.