OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities dedicates bench to The Hague for hosting HCNM office for 30 years

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Kairat Abdrakhmanov dedicated a bench to the city of The Hague on 18 January 2024 in gratitude for hosting the office of the HCNM for 30 years.

High Commissioner Abdrakhmanov thanked the Mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, for the city’s long-term support for the office of the HCNM. He also expressed gratitude to the Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands.

“With this bench, we wish to express our thanks to the city of peace and justice that has hosted us for the past 30 years and, at the same time, create a special space in the park near our office to inform the general public about the presence of the institution of the HCNM here and its important work,” said Abdrakhmanov.

“The High Commissioner on National Minorities is one of the key players in the ecosystem of peace and justice in The Hague. We are proud to host this important organization in The Hague,” said Mayor van Zanen.

Representing the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador for International Organizations Paul van den IJssel said: “The Netherlands strongly believes in the work of the office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities as a conflict prevention mechanism and we are honoured to have been a host nation for the past 30 years.”

The OSCE HCNM has a unique mandate: to provide “early warning” and, as appropriate, “early action” at the earliest possible stage with regard to tensions involving national minority issues within the OSCE participating States. The first High Commissioner, eminent Dutch statesman Max van der Stoel, shaped the institution into a principled, respected, quiet force in the field of conflict prevention. The successive High Commissioners and their staff have continued to honour the mandate, methods and commitments established by Max van der Stoel in addressing minority rights and security.

As a small institution with a unique approach to conflict prevention, the HCNM has benefited greatly from being a part of the international centre of peace and justice, with its active community of human rights experts, lawyers, diplomats, academics and other international organizations. The rigorous discourse on peace and justice feed into the HCNM’s daily work of conflict prevention throughout the OSCE region. 

The office of the HCNM in The Hague was established in 1993. The HCNM organized several activities throughout 2023 to mark its 30th anniversary. The presentation of this bench in January 2024 is the concluding event of this series of activities, and commemorates the long-standing relationship between the OSCE HCNM and the Netherlands.

The bench is in Walther Boerweide Park, Haagse Bos. The plaque reads, in English and in Dutch: Integration with respect for diversity; In gratitude to the City of The Hague and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for hosting and supporting our work for thirty years.

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Municipality of The Hague, the Foreign Ministry, and the Dutch Forestry Service, as well as several bilateral ambassadors to the Netherlands.