Feedback On 4 December 2024, the OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference took place in Malta. The conference was organised by the Civic Solidarity Platform (CSP), a network of over a hundred human rights NGOs in the OSCE region. ADC Memorial expert spoke in a panel discussion on minority rights and contributed to the development of the conference’s outcome document.
The conference participants called for the reform of the OSCE, protection of civil society space, and mobilization to support Ukraine and resist Russian aggression:
“The OSCE suffers from acute diversion of positions of participating States on key matters of international relations and common security. This diversion created a dramatic situation of a lack of consensus as a direct consequence of the abuse of its decision-making procedures by a small minority of participating States which are at the same time the main violators of the Helsinki principles and the OSCE commitments. This has essentially paralysed and decapacitated the organisation. The OSCE institutional framework relies on the foundational principles of the inviolability of borders, interconnectedness of all three dimensions of security, the binding nature of UN human rights norms, and the essential importance of multilateral cooperation in addressing common problems. These principles are underpinned by the recognition that the human dimension commitments “are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the State concerned” and on the acknowledgment of civil society as a key partner in the advancement of the Helsinki principles and the implementation of OSCE commitments.”
ADC Memorial expert participated in the panel discussion “Discrimination of and hate crime against vulnerable groups: A blow to the universality of human rights and the democratic fabric of our societies” . The panel addressed such issues as xenophobia, discrimination, and migrantophobia in Russia and the impact of Russian policies on other countries, as well as discrimination against minorities in the region. It also included migrantophobia and the growing influence of far-right political parties in Europe, the rise of anti-Muslim racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism in the OSCE region, and the persecution of LGBTIQ people in Russia and beyond. The discussion highlighted widespread discrimination, violations of minority rights, and the exclusion of vulnerable groups in many OSCE member states:
‘Russian government and its propaganda demonstrate aggressive and xenophobic attitudes to the people from other countries – first of all to Ukrainians, but also to migrants from Central Asia and Southern Caucasus, as well as to people from the so-called “collective West”, and at the same time support nationalistic and homophobic discourse towards people from Russia itself, targeting ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTIQ people, and even attacking the rights of women.
Russia exports these policies to other countries. Xenophobic and homophobic laws and practices are imposed not only on those under the control of the Russian regime, but also on neighbouring countries through political, ideological and economic influence, supported by local conservative (in some cases religious) groups and politicians. It concerns Georgia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan which adopted discriminatory laws very similar to the Russian ones’.
The final documents of the conference have been published and include the Malta Declaration, which highlights the need to strengthen and reform the OSCE in times of crisis. It also emphasizes the importance of ensuring a greater role for civil society in upholding the Helsinki principles, protecting civil society space, and safeguarding security of human rights defenders, combating torture and enforced disappearances in both peacetime and conflict, the OSCE’s role in tackling climate change and environmental degradation as a multidimensional security crisis. For civil society representatives, it is evident that fundamental reforms of the OSCE are necessary. Participants emphasized that the OSCE should place particular focus on conflict prevention:
‘We emphasise that the OSCE focus should be on preventing conflicts. Disarmament, demilitarisation, reduction of military spending, curtailing the international arms trade and arms production, and eliminating nuclear weapons should be named as specific measures used to that end. The paragraph on this subject should also reflect the gendered, racialised, and other power dynamics as part of the root causes of armed conflict and violence, and highlight the role of imperialism, economic dominance, and resource extraction in conflict dynamics. Imperative for this paragraph is also the inclusion of a gender lens and support for movements that are working towards peace.
We see a strong need to include analysis of gendered power dynamics or patriarchy, because it is not enough calling for “gender equality” and participation of women for transformation of gendered power structures.’