OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier meets President of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini

VIENNA, 22 December 2015 – OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today met the President of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies, Laura Boldrini, to discuss ongoing co-operation between Italy and the OSCE and key security issues of common concern, including the current refugee and migration emergency, radicalization and violent extremism, the situation in the Western Balkans and human trafficking.

Secretary General Zannier said that the OSCE is increasingly focused on the refugee and migration emergency and that he will hold a Security Days event on the evolving link between migration and security with the aim of proposing a positive narrative to avoid a securitization of the debate on this issue. This event will also provide an opportunity to strengthen dialogue with other international and regional organizations to build more effective partnerships. Secretary General Zannier invited President Boldrini as a keynote speaker at this Security Days event, which will take place on 4 March 2016 at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation in Rome.

He stressed that the OSCE aims to contribute to migration-related issues such as addressing its root causes, providing an effective and human-rights conscious response at the border, and fighting crimes taking place along migration routes, including human trafficking. They agreed that the OSCE plays a key role in promoting the comprehensive concept of security as a fundamental right of all individuals across the OSCE region.

The OSCE Secretary General thanked President Boldrini for agreeing to act as “sponsor and patron” of the OSCE’s proposed Combating Human Trafficking along Migration Routes project. This initiative aims to promote practical and human-rights compliant co-operation among relevant actors in addressing the scourge of human trafficking in the context of migration.

Secretary General Zannier and President Boldrini also discussed the current security situation in the Western Balkans, expressing concern in particular for the recent developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and stressing the need to continue fostering dialogue and reconciliation at the regional level.