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Home Events Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (SHDM) I: Policies and strategies to further promote tolerance and non-discrimination
Events

Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (SHDM) I: Policies and strategies to further promote tolerance and non-discrimination

When

14 April 2016, 13:00 - 15 April 2016, 17:30

Where

Vienna

Organized by

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and German Chairperson-in-office
OSCE participating States strongly condemn racial and ethnic hatred, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and discrimination against anyone as well as persecution on religious and ideological grounds, and have committed to combat these phenomena in all their forms (Copenhagen Document 1990), including combating hate speech and hate crime, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief (MC Decision 10/05).Participating States have acknowledged the specificity of different forms of intolerance, while at the same time recognizing the importance of taking a comprehensive approach and addressing cross-cutting issues in order to effectively combat all forms of discrimination (MC Decision 10/07).

In accordance with these decisions, the German OSCE Chair-in-Office and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will organize the first Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (SHDM) of 2016 on the topic: Policies and strategies to further promote tolerance and non-discrimination. The meeting will take place on 14 and 15 April 2016 in Vienna.

The objectives of the meeting are to:

  • Review and assess current challenges facing participating States in the implementation of commitments in the area of tolerance and non-discrimination;
  • Exchange good practices aimed at combating intolerance and discrimination on any ground promoting mutual respect and understanding, including in the area of legislation, policy, law enforcement, education and dialogue among and between civil society, religious, belief or ethnic communities and state/public authorities; and
  • Identify recommendations for the OSCE participating States on combating intolerance and promoting mutual respect and understanding as well as to consolidate the role of the OSCE in this field.

More details on the topics together with the questions for discussion will be made available shortly.

Participants

Representatives of OSCE participating States, OSCE executive structures, representatives of inter-governmental organizations, representatives of civil society and researchers from 57 participating States that have an interest in the topic are invited to participate in the SHDM. The Partners for Co-operation are invited to attend and contribute with respect to their co-operation and links with the OSCE in the field.

Participation in the Seminar is free of charge, although all travel and accommodation costs should be borne by participants. Participants are kindly requested to make their own travel and hotel arrangements. You can find a list of a selection of hotels in Vienna in ‘The List of Hotels’.

Civil Society organizations can find more information in the document Information for Civil Society.

Registration

On-line registration for all participants is available at http://meetings.odihr.pl. Participants are kindly requested to register by 23 March. The registration will also be available after that date; however, early registration would be highly appreciated to facilitate the preparation of the meeting. 

Modalities & Logistics

The modalities of the meeting are set out in accordance with the decision of the Permanent Council (PC.DEC/476, 23 May 2002).

The meeting will take place in the Hofburg Congress Centre. It will start on Thursday, 14 April, at 15.00 with an opening session, followed by three working sessions and a closing session, and it will conclude on Friday, 15 April at 17.30. For details please see the General Information and Agenda documents.

The side events might take place on Thursday, 14 April between 13:00 and 15:00 and on Friday, 15 April between 12:00 and 14:00 – for details please check the Side Events Schedule on the SHDM website, prior to the meeting.

Interpretation will be provided into the six official OSCE languages: English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

More information on organization of the sessions, seating, guidelines for debate, display and distribution of documents, logistics, etc. is available in the document General Information.

Side events

Side events (SE) may be held over the course of two days during the SHDM. To book a side event, please register first in the ODIHR Registration System (http://meetings.odihr.pl.) and then proceed with to side event booking. The system will be open on Monday, 14 March 2016, at 12.00 (CET) and will close Wednesday, 30 March, 23:59 (CET). Detailed information on side event booking is available in the Side Events Information document.

In case of any questions, you may contact:

Overall co-ordination of meeting: Kamila Czerwinska at Kamila.Czerwinska@odihr.pl or +48 22 5200 657

Programmatic matters: Larry Olomofe, Advisor on Combating Racism and Xenophobia, at Larry.Olomofe@odihr.pl or +48 22 5200 784

Coordination of side events: Ireneusz Stepinski at Ireneusz.Stepinski@odihr.pl  or +48 22 5200 658

Registration of participants: Anna Sierant at Anna.Sierant@odihr.pl or +48 22 5200 627