Open exchange of views vital to protecting human rights, strengthening democratic institutions, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Special Representative, OSCE Secretary General and ODIHR Director say at close of Warsaw Conference

WARSAW, 30 September 2016 – The free and open exchange of views and information is vital to helping governments protect and promote human rights, fundamental freedoms and tolerance and non-discrimination, as well as to improve and strengthen democratic practices and institutions, Gernot Erler, Germany’s Special Representative for the 2016 OSCE Chairmanship, Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General, and Michael Georg  Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said today on the occasion of the closing of a two-week OSCE conference in Warsaw.

The OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) brought together representatives of the governments of the 57 OSCE participating States and of civil society from across the OSCE region to assess and exchange ideas on the implementation of commitments made within the OSCE’s human dimension of security.

“HDIM is an essential platform for dialogue between governments and civil society, even if this means to face and bear criticism,” Special Representative Erler said. “We are grateful for the strong participation of civil society representatives and brave human rights defenders from all over the OSCE region. We all share the obligation to respect and protect the integrity of all participants – before, during and after this conference. ”

Secretary General Zannier stressed the importance of the issues focused on during the Meeting.

“In our increasingly interdependent world, we must work together to tackle the complex and interconnected security challenges we are facing. In this challenging environment, the promotion of human rights, democratic institutions and the rule of law remains central to our mission to work towards peace and stability,” he said.

“The important role of civil society in assisting governments in promoting human dimension commitments, as well as in drawing attention to where action is needed, has been explicitly recognized by all OSCE participating States,” Director Link said. “The great value of this annual meeting is to provide a platform for the exchange of information and views in this area, and unduly restricting the opportunity for civil society voices to be heard can only undermine the very purpose of the meeting.”

Held this year for the 20th time, the Meeting drew a record 1,500 representatives of OSCE participating States and civil society from across the OSCE region as participants.

In addition to standard sessions focusing  on democratic institutions, fundamental freedoms, humanitarian issues and tolerance and non-discrimination, special sessions this year were devoted to  international covenants on human rights and their importance for the OSCE human dimension, freedom of assembly and association and the rights of the child. A total of 92 side events were organized during the Meeting, focusing on specific human rights concerns and country situations.