On November 20, 2007, the Observatory was informed of the existence of a draft decision on NGO participation that Belarus, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan would intend to submit at the 2007 Ministerial Council of the Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to be held in Madrid on November 29 and 30, 2007.
This draft decision aims at creating new restrictive mechanisms for the participation of NGOs at OSCE meetings. According to this document, only NGOs that are officially registered in the State in which they operate would be allowed to take part in such conferences. The draft decision also provides that the delegation of the State in which the NGO operates, as well as all the other Participating States, would be automatically consulted throughout the OSCE registration process and would be able to deny accreditation at any moment.
The Observatory fears that the adoption of such a document might trigger the exclusion of leading NGOs, which have been considered by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and by many OSCE Participating States as key actors in the improvement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. In a number of countries, freedom of association has indeed been drastically reduced over the past years, subjecting NGOs to burdensome procedures, harsh reporting obligations and fiscal control, which has made it increasingly difficult for them get registration from the State authorities.
This draft decision is part of a broader strategy used by the Russian Federation and other States to exclude some NGOs, such as the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), from OSCE meetings. Indeed, on September 13, 2007, RCFS was - for the first time - denied registration at an OSCE High-Level Meeting, following intense pressure put on the OSCE Presidency by the Russian delegation[1]. The Observatory further recalls that on the occasion of the last OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, the Russian Federation publicly called for the exclusion of RCFS.
The Observatory insists on the importance of continuing dialogue between Participating States and civil society, and denounces the recent attempts to weaken one of the pillar principles of the Human Dimension. Over the past fifteen years, the increasing participation of NGOs in OSCE debates has proven essential for a better understanding of the day-to-day issues civil society is confronted to, as well as for the establishment of adequate protection mechanisms or programmes. NGO participation has further enabled Participating States and the ODIHR to be constantly informed of violations of OSCE commitments.
Given the essential role played by non-governmental actors, the Observatory calls upon the OSCE State delegations to maintain unhindered access of NGOs to OSCE conferences, in compliance with the principle laid down in the 1992 Helsinki Document on the role of non-governmental organisations. The adoption of such a decision would indeed create an extremely dangerous precedent by putting unprecedented conditions on NGO participation[2].
The Observatory further urges OSCE Ministerial Council to reject any draft decision or other document that would restrict the capacity of NGOs to take part in OSCE meetings or that would blatantly violate regional and international instruments on human rights that guarantee freedom of association, in particular the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, the 1992 Helsinki Document and the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1998.
The Observatory also deplores the increasing number of attacks on human rights defenders in some OSCE States, putting at risk the very existence of some NGOs and of the independent civil society in general. In 2007, the Observatory reported several cases of harassment, attacks, abductions, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment or killings in the OSCE area, as well as obstacles to freedom of association. On July 10, 2007, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly decided to “reaffirm the important role of human rights defenders and national human rights institutions in protecting and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms at the 2007 Ministerial Council [...]”[3]. The Observatory stresses that it is of fundamental importance that the draft Decision on Human Rights Defenders and National Human Rights Institutions[4] be adopted at the Madrid Ministerial Council, so that the ODIHR be able to further develop its protection activities towards human rights defenders.
For further information, please contact :
FIDH : Gael Grilhot: +33 1 43 55 25 18
OMCT : Delphine Reculeau : + 41 22 809 49 39