1 DE AGOSTO DE 2015

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Debate o período de debate, que se centrou no 40 anos da Ata Final de Helsínquia, a Deputada Nilza de

Sena afirmou:

“Allow me to congratulate all those that have participated and contributed to the Helsinki +40 Project but

especially President Kanerva, my good friend and colleague Joao Soares and, of course, our Secretary-

General Spencer Oliver.

The conclusions are far reaching and courageous. I hope that Vienna and the Permanent Council can listen

to us.

Forty years after the Helsinki final Act what have we achieved?

We have spread democracy and the respect for Human Rights to more countries and regions; we have

demolished walls that separated us; we have reached higher goals of human development. And a good part of

this was achieved thanks to the CSCE, that we all call today the OSCE. Our OSCE.

The path was difficult, with many obstacles, but I do believe that it was worth. If we look behind we have

many more positive than negative outcomes.

But now it's time to look to the future, to see beyond our daily problems and to try to understand what we

need to do to honor the Spirit of Helsinki.

Our Organization has some real added values that we must preserve and reinforce.

In the economic and environmental dimension of the OSCE has succeeded in achieving relevant results

with a cross-dimension importance, namely in the construction of free and democratic societies from the

economic point of view.

The cooperation between participating States in such different and relevant areas as anti-money laundering,

transport security, migration, developing more efficient border and customs policies, water management,

climate change and sustainable energy is the result of OSCE efforts in the last 40 years.

These are areas that really matter for the daily lives of our citizens. Sometimes we may speak about

fundamental rights, freedom of speech or free and fair elections, but if our citizens don’t have access to clean

water or if they are affected by droughts or natural disasters their priorities change. This is why our work, and

the work of the OSCE as a whole in the economic and environmental sphere, is so important.

And this is an area where the OSCE can make a difference. Our field missions have a know-how that is a

real added value. The area of cross-border cooperation in water management, for example, is a true example

of that.

The participating States of the OSCE can benefit from a framework of multilateral co-operation; by sharing

their comparative advantages in the fields of water treatment and water reclamation; by engaging partners

through practical projects, educational seminars, and the transfer of technology, water management can

facilitate broader co-operation in a real and pragmatic way.

Economic and environmental co-operation remains an essential element of the OSCE. By increasing co-

operation in this dimension, the participating States can make a substantial contribution to tackling other threats

to security.

Finally let me highlight one area that I consider to be of the upmost importance for the future of the OSCE:

the cooperation with the Mediterranean Partners.

This is an area where our attention is more important than ever. I don’t need to remember you what is

happening with the refugee crisis, the thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean Sea that affect Italy and

Greece primarily, the war in Syria and the consequences in the neighboring countries and the deteriorating

situation in Libya.

We are all saying that action is needed but the situation is getting worst every day.

Maybe the OSCE is not big enough to have a leading role but I believe that we can make a difference.

Our Organization has the experience to help in specific areas: nation and institution building; resettlement of

refuges and IDPs; cross-border cooperation; risk and disaster management; border management; and fight

against human trafficking, among others.

If we are all looking for a meaningful future for the OSCE we have to think about the Mediterranean as an

area where the new threats to security are real and dangerous.

It is up to us, as parliamentarians, to make sure that each one of our governments has the political will to

act.”