DUBLIN, 4 October 2024 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 22nd Autumn Meeting closed today with a meeting of the Mediterranean Forum focused on the situation in the Middle East. Chaired by OSCE PA Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs Pascal Allizard (France), the debate included the participation of more than 40 parliamentarians from some 20 countries.
Special Representative Allizard opened the debate with remarks highlighting the urgency of ending the conflict through collective diplomatic mobilization to achieve a political solution.
“We cannot resign ourselves to the impotence of some or the lack of will of others to achieve such a political solution,” Allizard said. “There have been positive initiatives. But it is as if they have been ignored. The many courageous voices that were expressed in recent days, including at the United Nations, must be heard and we must, here in Dublin, add our own.”
Tijana Davidovac, representing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, also offered opening remarks, stressing the need to de-escalate the conflict and to promote all necessary steps needed to reach a long-term solution based on the two-state formula. Parliamentarians have a role to play in supporting governments in resolving the crisis on the basis of respect for the UN Charter, she said.
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The Mediterranean Forum also included interventions by delegates from the OSCE PA Mediterranean Partners present in Dublin, Algeria and Morocco, as well as a video address by a representative of the Palestinian National Council. The Israeli Delegation was unable to participate due to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
In the debate, parliamentarians raised concerns over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the many civilian casualties, the malign influence of Iran and its proxies, and the possibility of military operations – which have now expanded to Lebanon – to become a wider regional war. Members condemned the attack of 7 October 2023 and stressed Israel’s right to self-defence, but also highlighted the need for all parties to respect international law and adhere to the principle of proportionality, with a focus on limiting humanitarian suffering.
The plight of civilians, including Israeli hostages held by Hamas, was highlighted as a deep cause for concern, with Members stressing the need to exercise restraint, pursue an immediate ceasefire leading to a political solution, and ensure justice for victims.
(To watch the full debate, please click here.)
OSCE PA President Pia Kauma (Finland), in her concluding remarks, pledged to continue to leverage all tools of the OSCE PA for parliamentary diplomacy in order to contribute to collective diplomatic mobilization in the region. She noted that the Parliamentary Assembly exists to be a platform for open dialogue.
“We have lived up to this objective today,” she said. “In many ways we are divided in our opinions on the conflict taking place in the Middle East, but we are united in our determination to contribute to greater understanding as a way forward to a lasting resolution.”
In the OSCE PA’s Bucharest Declaration, adopted in the Romanian capital on 3 July 2024, the Assembly condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October 2023, and called for constructive dialogue aimed at resolving the conflict and releasing Israeli hostages through an immediate ceasefire, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.