“With 56 member parliaments from Vancouver to Vladivostok, the OSCE PA is a key arena for dialogue. In a world which is becoming increasingly polarized, the OSCE has a vital role to perform in conflict prevention and resolution,” said Ms Henriksen.

Kari Henriksen has been one of the OSCE PA’s Vice-Presidents since 2018. As a member of the Storting’s delegation for the past eight years, Ms Henriksen has built up extensive experience in conflict prevention, developing democracies and human rights.

“To me, respectful dialogue is essential, and will be of great importance if I am elected by my fellow parliamentarians,” she continued.

Important principles

The principles of the organisation are founded on a broad definition of security. This, for Kari Henriksen, is one of the OSCE’s greatest assets.

“In the OSCE, collaboration on security extends beyond the political and military dimension. It also spans the economic, environmental, democratic and human dimensions,” she explained.

All the member states have signed up to these principles, and the OSCE PA assists them in adhering to their commitments.

Election observation

Before the OSCE PA’s plenary session and election takes place in July, Ms Henriksen will be in charge of another important mission. In late June, she will be heading the OSCE PA team of expert election monitors to Armenia. There, the team will work together with the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the parliamentary elections at first hand.

Uzbekistan, Georgia and Russia are among the states where Ms Henriksen has previously observed elections. During last year’s presidential elections in the United States, she chaired the delegation of observers from the OSCE PA. Since then, she has been among the initiators of a dialogue with American colleagues concerning reforms to the USA’s election laws.  

“We hope that this dialogue may serve as a model for how to follow up future election observation missions,” said Ms Henriksen.

About the OSCE PA

The OSCE PA was founded in 1991 and has 56 participating parliaments from Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Parliamentary Assembly contributes to inter-parliamentary dialogue and cooperation, supports the OSCE’s work on conflict management and the further development of democratic institutions in the participating states. Election observation is an important responsibility for the OSCE PA. The Parliamentary Assembly serves as an advisory body to the OSCE Ministerial Council.  

Read more about the candidacy of Kari Henriksen:

• English version
• French version
• Russian version