Three decades of upholding democracy and human rights

Copenhagen and Paris 30 years on: Progress made and challenges ahead

When

28 September - 6 November 2020

Where

Online webinar series

Organizers

The series of webinars is organized by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in cooperation with the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) and the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), and with the support of the 2020 Albanian OSCE Chairmanship.

Live streaming

Live streaming is provided for those interested to follow the meetings. The recordings to date are available here. 

Context

This series of webinars will focus on several topical issues related to human rights, democracy and the rule of law that are critical for maintaining and strengthening security throughout the OSCE region.           

It was 30 years ago in Copenhagen and Paris that the participating States of the OSCE committed themselves to further protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens and strengthen democracy and the rule of law. The 1990 Copenhagen Document and the Paris Charter for a New Europe set milestones in the history of the OSCE and represented landmark political agreements for our entire, vast region of more than a billion citizens. They cemented the Organization’s unique comprehensive concept of security in which only pluralistic democracies, based on the rule of law and respect for human rights, can bring lasting security to the region.

This series of webinars will provide a platform to look back at the achievements of the last 30 years, examine the challenges that have emerged since then and discuss paths forward to ensure that the OSCE and its participating States remain true to the principles and values enshrined in the commitments made three decades ago.

During a year impacted by the exceptional circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this series of webinars is not intended to cover the entire spectrum of issues ODIHR, RFoM and HCNM have been working on within their mandate, nor replace the annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, but will offer an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities related to human rights, democracy and the rule of law in our region.

Schedule and topics 

• Monday 28 September, 14.30 CET - Opening webinar with H.E. Ms. Tarja Halonen, former President of the Republic of Finland.
• Wednesday 30 September, 14.30 CET - Addressing Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance and Discrimination in the OSCE Region, with a Focus on Youth
• Monday 5 October, 14.30 CET - Combating Racism and Discrimination against the Roma and Sinti
• Wednesday 14 October, 14.30 CET - Defending and promoting rule of law principles: Challenges and ways forward
• Wednesday 21 October, 14.30 CET - Access to information and freedom of the media
• Wednesday 28 October, 14:30 CET - Democratic law-making: principles of law-making and public consultations
• Wednesday 4 November, 14.30 CET - The evolution and practice of multilingual education. From The Hague Recommendations to the digital era
• Friday 6 November, 14.30 CET - The role of human rights defenders and civil society in promoting and protecting human rights

For more information, see our Events section. 

Participants 

Representatives of OSCE participating States, OSCE institutions and OSCE executive structures, inter-governmental organizations, civil society and researchers from 57 OSCE participating States who are interested in the topics are welcome to register and take part in the webinars.

Registration

Registration for the series is by sending an e-mail to webinar.series@odihr.pl, stating your name, title, organization and clearly indicating which webinar(s) specifically you intend to attend.

Contact

Contact us for any questions you may have about the series at webinar.series@odihr.pl.

Please consult this webpage regularly, as further information will be added closer to each event.