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- Ελληνικά
One of the Vice-Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE CSCE), MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, chaired a dialogue on strengthening the participation of civil society in the work of national parliaments in Warsaw on Friday, 6 October 2023. The dialogue, which was organised on his initiative, was attended by representatives of the OSCE executive structures, parliamentarians and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
In his opening speech, the Vice-President of the C.S. OSCE addressed the challenges facing civil society, which create a precarious environment for their functioning. The Cypriot MP pointed out that the attempt by some countries to restrict the operation of civil society organisations working in support of political freedoms or expressing views opposed to those in power is an unfortunate reality which the OSCE CSO condemns. Hatzigiannis, maintains a structured dialogue with NGO representatives both in the context of regular Assembly Sessions, as well as in the context of election monitoring missions and other activities, with a view to including civil society recommendations and suggestions in its Final Declarations and in its work in general.
Moreover, the Cypriot MP referred to his initiative to establish consultation between the Rapporteurs of the General Committees of the Assembly and civil society bodies, prior to the Annual Sessions of the Assembly, in order to include there and where possible, civil society suggestions in the draft resolutions of the Assembly.
Finally, Mr Hatzigiannis presented a resolution that he himself tabled at the last Annual Session of the Assembly on the role of national parliaments in strengthening the participation of civil society in parliamentary and decision-making processes. The resolution, which was adopted unanimously, calls on national parliaments to establish a legislative framework to strengthen the participation of civil society in parliamentary work, both in the legislative process and in the process of parliamentary scrutiny.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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