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On September 16 the 43^rd meeting of the Cultural, Educational and Social Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) was held in the National Assembly. The NA deputy Aram Manukyan represents Armenia in the Committee.

The RA NA Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov opened the meeting with a welcoming address. He has underlined that the RA National Assembly highlights the strengthening of cooperation within the framework of PABSEC, which is the one of the important bodies of boosting the cooperation in the Black Sea region. According to the NA Deputy Speaker, it is important that the organization react the vital interests of all the participant states. For Armenia it is first of all the lifting of the blockade of closed border with Turkey. “It is paradoxical, but fact that Turkey, pretending to the membership to the EU, has shut the border of the neighbouring country, when the borders of the European Union have already become a history long ago, and free move - a fundamental principle,” Eduard Sharmazanov.

The NA Deputy Speaker, touching upon the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, noted that Armenia is consistent for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem only by peaceful means and highlights the establishment of atmosphere of trust by the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. “On the basis of the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem should be the recognition of the right of self-determination of the Karabakh people and execution of that right,” the NA Deputy Speaker noted in his speech.

Eduard Sharmazanov also touched upon the crime perpetrated at state level by the Turkish authorities in 1915, which is known in the history of humanity as the first Genocide of the 20^th century. In his word, the genocide has no period of limitation, and ahead of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide he also once again highlighted the recognition and condemnation of the unprecedented crime by the international community. “Turkey, striving for joining the European Union, continues to avoid facing its own past, evade from the responsibility and distort the history with its denying policy for decades,” the NA Deputy Speaker stressed.

Ioan Vulpescu, the representative of the Romanian delegation, Chairman of the PABSEC Cultural, Educational and Social Affairs Committee in his opening speech presented the agenda items of the meeting and wished the participants of the meeting effective work.

After approving the agenda and the adoption of the minutes of the 42^nd meeting of the Committee the delegates passed onto the discussion of the agenda items. The representative of the Russian delegation Liudmila Bokova delivered a speech on the draft report “Gender Equality in the BSEC Region: Achievements and Challenges.” She presented the problems of the gender equality in the region, the national policy of the member states in that sphere, and the international legal basis in the sphere of protection of women’s rights. She underscored that, as a result of legal reforms in the BSEC region, the legislation concerning the gender equality had been improved during the recent period. To her assessment, new approaches are necessary in that sphere.

The participants of the meeting approved the draft report. Mrs Bokova will present this item in the General Assembly.

Ioan Vulpescu expressed his views on the draft recommendation on “Gender Equality in the BSEC Region: Achievements and Challenges.” He has stressed that the PABSEC highlights the presentation of the concrete recommendations on the problems regarding the gender equality, considering necessary the elaboration of new approaches on gender and family problems. The Committee Chairman has noted that the PA proposes the parliaments and governments of the member states to submit recommendation and solutions for improving the legislative base, work out a unified system, which will take into consideration the national features, institutional mechanisms, promote the implementation of the events aimed at the rise of the women’s role.

As a result of discussions the delegates approved the draft recommendation. Mr Volpescu will present the item in the General Assembly.

At the end of the meeting a decision was made that the next 44^th meeting will take place in Ankara on April 15-16, 2015. In that meeting as the main agenda item will be discussed the theme “The Role of Sport in Strengthening the Employment and Society Solidarity in the BSEC Region.” The representative of Greece Gavriil Avramidis was appointed the key rapporteur on this item.

Exhausting the agenda, the meeting ended its work in Yerevan.