63rd Meeting of the PABSEC Committee for Legal Affairs and International Cooperation, Kachreti (Georgia), 20-21 April 2024

The 63rd Meeting of the PABSEC Committee for Legal Affairs and International Cooperation was held in Kachreti (Georgia) on 20-21 April 2024 upon the invitation of the Parliament of Georgia.

The Meeting was attended by the national delegations from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Türkiye and Ukraine, as well as a representative of the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat and the members of the PABSEC International Secretariat. The Meeting was chaired by Ms. Lidija Tasevska, Vice-Chair of the Committee (Republic of North Macedonia).

At the opening ceremony, the participants were addressed by Mr. Irakli Mezurnishvili, Head of the PABSEC Georgian delegation, Mr. Ramaz Nikolaishvili, PABSEC Vice-President, member of the PABSEC Georgian delegation, and Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General.

The Committee elected Ms. Lidija Tasevska, Head of the PABSEC delegation of the Republic of North Macedonia, and Mr. Mustafa Hamarat, member of the PABSEC Turkish delegation, to the post of Vice-Chair of the Committee for a two years’ term of office.

The Committee discussed the draft Report and Recommendation 197/2024 “The Role of Parliaments in Promoting Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in the Fight against Hate Speech”, which will be submitted to the 63rd Plenary Session of the General Assembly.

The Committee took note of the information on the activities of the BSEC Organization presented by Ambassador Merve Kavakci, First Deputy Secretary General of the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat.

The next 64th Meeting of the Committee will take place in October 2024 in Greece. It was proposed to discuss as the main issue “Legal Challenges of the Refugee and Migration Flows in the BSEC Region”. Mr. Mustafa Hamarat, Vice-Chair of the Committee, member of the PABSEC Turkish delegation, was appointed as a Rapporteur on this issue.