Statement by the Delegation of Iceland, also on behalf of Canada, Norway and Switzerland, on the tolerance and non-discrimination in the Russian Federation

Prior to taking up the agenda, the Chairperson informed the Permanent Council that the Chairperson-in-Office, in a letter issued on 10 February 2012 (Annex 1), had announced the adoption, through a silence procedure, of the Ministerial Council decision on the OSCE consecutive Chairmanships in 2014 and 2015 (Serbia, also on behalf of Switzerland, Annex 2; the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, also on behalf of Montenegro, Annex 3). Permanent Council Decision No. 1030 on the OSCE 2011 Year-End Unified Budget Revision. Ministerial Council Decision No. 1/12 on the OSCE consecutive Chairmanships in 2014 and 2015 (interpretative statement, see attachment to the decision). Presidential elections in Turkmenistan, held on 12 February 2012. Freedom of expression in some European Union member States and the United States of America. Formation of the Council of Ministers in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 10 February 2012. Recent developments in South Ossetia. Tolerance and non-discrimination in the Russian Federation (Holy See, Annex 4). Freedom of assembly in the United States of America. Presidential and congressional elections in the United States of America, to be held on 6 November 2012.