Participants at OSCE/ODIHR conference exchange good practices on promoting migrants’ political participation

Promoting greater political participation for migrants was the focus of a conference organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the European University Institute (EUI), on 18 and 19 June 2015 in Florence.

The conference "Exploring challenges to political participation of migrants in the OSCE region" gathered some 30 senior public officials and academics from across the OSCE region as well as the representatives of ODIHR and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities.

"The participation of all members of society, including migrants, in political decision-making is crucial to the legitimacy of democratic political systems," said Marcin Walecki, Chief of ODIHR's Democratic Governance and Gender Unit. "ODIHR supports OSCE participating States in sharing their experiences and know-how in broadening political participation opportunities for migrants."

The event provided a forum for participants to exchange good practices and analyze challenges and lessons learned in implementing relevant OSCE commitments and international standards focused on the political participation of migrants.

"Opportunities for migrants’ political participation depend on non-discrimination in the exercise of political liberties, access to citizenship status, and voting rights for non-citizen residents," said Professor Rainer Bauböck, Chair in Social and Political Theory at EUI’s Department of Political and Social Sciences.

The conference was organized as part of ODIHR’s broader support to participating States in implementing relevant OSCE commitments in the areas of democratic governance and migrant integration.