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The 30th Annual Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) continued yesterday in Vancouver.
In her intervention at the plenary session, the Special Representative on Combating Corruption, Ms Irene Charalambidou, presented a report on her most recent activities.
She referred to her participation as a speaker at the Global Forum organized by the World Bank on 26 and 27 June in Washington DC on the general theme of Fighting Corruption for Development. She informed the OSCE JC members that at that Forum she stressed the importance the Assembly attaches to violations of freedom of expression and freedom of the media, and explained that investigative journalists can provide information that members of parliaments can use in the exercise of parliamentary scrutiny.
Stressing the importance of developing synergies between international bodies active in the field of anti-corruption, Ms. Charalambidou informed about the World Bank's initiative to create a "Global Partnership" in order to consider the possibility of the participation of the OSCE CSO.
Stressing the importance of maintaining the fight against corruption as a priority for the Assembly, Ms. Charalambidou requested that during the upcoming Autumn Session a thematic debate be devoted to examining the challenges in fighting corruption and promoting transparency and good governance.
In addition, the Vice President of the OSCE CSO referred to her participation in the Women Political Leaders Summit held last June in Brussels, noting that she participated as a speaker in a thematic discussion on the representation of women in politics and moderated another discussion organised by the World Bank on the World Bank's Gender Strategy.
Moreover, in the context of the discussion on the OSCE CSO Election Observation Missions, Ms. Charalambidou referred to the mission to observe the early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan in March 2023, for which she was appointed Special Coordinator of the OSCE Mission.
Presenting a summary of the conclusions of this mission, Ms. Charalambidou noted that there have been some welcome improvements in Kazakhstan's electoral legislation, but the stated political goal of democratic development requires further extensive reforms.
She stressed in particular that more attention is needed to protect fundamental freedoms and the freedom of the media. He said that the Final Report of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) would be published soon and would include a number of recommendations which he hoped would serve as a basis for further aligning the country's electoral framework with international standards for the conduct of democratic elections.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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