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

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

During the sessions, participants discussed equal access to political and public life, role of civil society in the protection of human rights, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of movement, assembly, and association, counteracting racism, xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance, including based on religion or belief. Important topics of deliberations were also media freedom and safety of journalists, rights of persons belonging to national minorities, equal opportunities, rights of women and men, violence against women and children, as well as humanitarian issues, also in armed conflict.

In the context of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, much attention was paid to human rights in conflict situations and humanitarian consequences of war. On the margins of the conference, nearly a hundred side events were held, devoted to various topics such as the destructive impact of war in Ukraine on the condition of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the ongoing refugee crisis and the increased risk of human trafficking.

Warsaw Human Dimension Conference was a two-week event filled with discussions, meetings, and informal networking with broad participation of civil society, including this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners: Russia’s Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties human rights organisations.

 

Łukasz Jasina

MFA Spokesperson