Human Dimension Conference concludes in Warsaw

WARSAW, 7 October 2022 – The Warsaw Human Dimension Conference concluded today. Over a thousand participants representing international organizations, governments, and civil society from across the OSCE area gathered to examine the implementation of the OSCE Human Dimension commitments at the ten-day event.  

The Conference was organized by the Polish OSCE Chairmanship with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. It was inaugurated on 26 September 2022 by OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.

Daily plenary sessions covered democratic institutions, fundamental freedoms, tolerance and non-discrimination, rule of law, as well as humanitarian issues.

Among the topics raised during those sessions, participants discussed equal participation in political and public life, the role of civil society in the protection of human rights, freedom of religion or belief, movement, assembly and association, addressing racism, xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance, including based on religion or belief, media freedom and safety of journalists, rights of persons belonging to national minorities, equal opportunities and rights for women and men, violence against women and children, humanitarian issues, including in the context of armed conflict and more. The discussions were intense, often not pleasant, and sometimes emotional but very much needed.

Given the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, a lot of attention was paid to human rights in the situation of conflict and the humanitarian implications of the war. The conference served also as a stage for almost 100 side events on a wide range of more specific topics. Many of them focused on the devastating impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine on the condition of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the ongoing refugee crisis and an increased risk of falling victim of trafficking in human beings.

The Conference’s attendees also had a chance to directly interact with the heads of the OSCE institutions: Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Matteo Mecacci; OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro; OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Kairat Abdrakhmanov as well as with the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt.

Warsaw Human Dimension Conference was an intense two weeks of discussions, dynamic interactions and extensive informal networking with broad participation of civil society, including the Russian human rights organization Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties, which was just awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

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Videos from the sessions

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