Torture and Other Grave Breaches of International Humanitarian Law and Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law: Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting II
When
Where
Organized by
Topic
The second Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting of 2023 will provide a forum for an exchange of views on combating torture and other grave breaches of international humanitarian law and gross violations of international human rights law.
The first session will look at the specific obligations for States in connection with grave breaches of international humanitarian law and discuss the link between grave breaches of IHL and war crimes. It will examine the measures participating States should take to fulfil their IHL obligations, and how international organizations such as the OSCE contribute to ensuring accountability for grave breaches and respect for IHL.
The second session will examine the importance of investigating and documenting allegations of torture to ensure perpetrators are held accountable and victims obtain redress. Participants will discuss the main challenges in documenting torture in situations of armed conflict, how to collect evidence while ensuring that victims are kept safe and not re-traumatized, and how co-operation among participating States, international organizations and civil society can be strengthened.
While there are no formal definitions of what constitutes “gross violations” of IHRL, the term has been generally understood to encompass violations that affect the most basic human rights, particularly the right to life and the right to physical and moral integrity. The third session will discuss measures States can take to prevent gross violations of IHRL including in times of crisis, political instability and national emergencies, what redress is available, and the role national institutions, international organizations and civil society can play in responding to gross violations of IHRL in times of crisis.
Participants
The Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting will bring together representatives of 57 OSCE participating States, OSCE institutions and structures, international organizations, civil society, media and other stakeholders with relevant experience in the topic. 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.
This meeting will be held in person.
Registration
Registration is now closed.
Modalities
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 start with the opening session, to be followed by three working sessions and the closing session.
Interpretation will be provided into the six official OSCE languages: English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.
Side events
Side events are an opportunity for participants to discuss aspects relevant to the topic of the event, which have not been fully covered during the working sessions.
The schedule, and overview of side events as submitted by the conveners, is available below.
Contact
Meeting co-ordination: Mr. Martin Toplišek, Human Dimension Meetings Officer at martin.toplisek@odihr.pl
Programme enquiries: Mr. Andrew Gardner, Deputy Head, Human Rights Department at andrew.gardner@odihr.pl
Registration and other enquiries: hdmeetings@odihr.pl
More information about the event and how to participate will be published on this webpage.