Following OSCE PA President Margareta Cederfelt’s words of welcome, the participants were addressed by Committee Chair Kristian Vigenin. The topic of the meeting was the situation in Afghanistan in terms of humanitarian needs and migration management.

Astrid Sletten of the Norwegian Refugee Council and Elizabeth Colett, Special Adviser to the International Organisation for Migration Director General, presented the current humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the OSCE and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly recommendations for action.

MP Vesna Markovic addressed the participants saying that Serbia is following the developments in Afghanistan with great attention. She briefed the participants on the official data concerning the presence of migrants originating from Afghanistan in Serbia. In the first six months of this year, the number of immigrants from Afghanistan almost doubled. As she said, the problem anticipated by all the countries of the European continent, both EU members and non-members, is a new migration wave from Afghanistan. According to Vesna Markovic, this situation requires a common solution and a special focus should be placed on the suppression of irregular migration, with absolute respect for human rights in the implementation of these measures.

"I believe that only by finding a solution together, can the crisis, which we will most certainly soon be facing, be overcome. A joint strategy for coping with the migrant crisis inevitably appears as the most realistic and hopefully the most efficient response, one which would mitigate the negative effects of the crisis", said Vesna Markovic at the end of her presentation.