MINSK, 24 February (BelTA) - Belarus plans to submit a draft resolution "Preventing drug use among children and young people" to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the House of Representatives Andrei Savinykh told reporters, BelTA has learned.
The 20th Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly opened on 24 February and will be running till 26 February in a virtual format. Among its participants are members of the House of Representatives and members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus.
“The winter meeting is traditionally more of a technical nature. Reports of the secretary general, treasury and many other organizational issues are on the agenda. Nevertheless, the MPs will review the situation in the OSCE region and we plan to announce our initiative to submit a draft resolution on the prevention of drug abuse among young people for the OSCE PA summer session,” Andrei Savinykh noted. “As our research has shown, this topic has, unfortunately, not be given due importance. We hope that our initiative will draw more attention to this serious challenge of the 21st century."
According to the MP, during the 27th Winter Meeting the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegations will engage in a principled and open exchange of views on all issues on the agenda on the situation in the countries. It is not even about making any decisions. It is more about the exchange of views and the development of a unified view on the ways how the European region should move forward in the coming years,” he said. “I think we will find an opportunity to inform our colleagues about the situation in Belarus, about the results of the Belarusian People's Congress and about the process of political modernization, socio-economic development that we are set to implement.”
The problems in the region remain the same, Andrei Savinykh said. “We are concerned about the growing trends of terrorism and arms trafficking, about the sustainability of state systems in the region, and human rights issues. But not as a political tool of pressure on other countries, but as a tool to satisfy the interests of citizens. In general, the agenda is quite wide. There is no doubt that we will exchange views on all issues," he concluded.
