Annual OSCE human rights conference opens in Warsaw

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Some 1,000 government representatives and civil society activists from the OSCE’s 57 participating States and partner countries will gather in Warsaw for a two-week conference beginning 23 September to review the implementation of the commitments adopted by their governments in the field of human rights and democracy, reports Armenpress.

Stavros Lambrinidis, the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights and former Greek Foreign Minister, will deliver a keynote address to open the conference organized by the Warsaw-based OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Senior representatives from the government of the host country, Poland, of the Ukrainian OSCE Chairmanship and of OSCE institutions will take part in the opening session. The conference scrutinizes the performance by participating States in honouring their human rights commitments, including in areas such as freedom of expression, free media and information, freedom of movement and other fundamental freedoms, the promotion of mutual respect and understanding, the rule of law, gender equality and combatting human trafficking. This year’s meeting will feature special sessions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of assembly and association, and democratic elections and election observation. The meeting will play an important role in setting the OSCE’s human rights agenda ahead of the annual gathering of OSCE foreign ministers, which will take place in Kyiv in December.

The conference is unique in that civil society groups have full access to working sessions and can discuss challenges with government representatives on an equal footing. On the margins of the meeting, more than 60 side events will be held by governments, civil society groups and OSCE institutions and field operations on specific topics of concern and country situations. Representatives of the OSCE’s 12 Partner States from the Mediterranean region, Asia and Australia have also been invited to participate in the conference. The conference is fully open to media representatives. Journalists are invited to attend the opening session, which will begin at 10:00 on Monday, 23 September, in the Sofitel Warsaw Victoria hotel, ul. Krolewska, Warsaw, and all regular working sessions and side events.