The OSCE admitted on Tuesday (September 7) that it was unable to organize the annual human rights conference the day after Western countries accused Russia of preventing the meeting.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse, the Swedish chairman said that the Swedish chairman “does his best to reach a consensus on the decisions of the conference,” which is called HDIM (Human Dimension Implementation Conference).
“Despite extensive consultations and negotiations with participating countries, the Permanent Council failed to reach a consensus on holding this year’s HDIM as planned.
“It’s very unfortunate,” it added, while saying that it will continue to work hard.
On Monday, the US Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe released A statement The European Union, the United Kingdom and several other European countries have signed agreements condemning Russia.
They said that they and the Swedish chairman of the OSCE have been working hard since the beginning of the year to agree on the details of the “largest human rights incident in the region.”
“We deeply regret that our flexibility, constructiveness and sincerity have not been rewarded by the Russian Federation.”
HDIM has attracted hundreds of senior government figures, international experts in the field, activists and rights organizations.
During the event, the 57 member states of OSCE assessed the rights situation in their regions.
The joint statement stated that despite its importance, Russia has been evading responsibility. The signatories urged Moscow to change its position and reach a consensus on the disputed points.
HDIM is usually held every September, but due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, it had to be cancelled last year.
The OSCE was established during the Cold War as a forum for resolving security and human rights issues. Its members include European countries, Turkey, the republics of the former Soviet Union, the United States and Canada.
In December 2020, the Western powers agreed to Russia’s request to allow Kazakhstan to hold one of the four senior diplomatic positions in the leadership of the OSCE.
Although they hope to maintain Moscow’s cooperation on human rights issues in exchange, President Vladimir Putin said that the organization should focus on security rather than rights issues.
