Our Advocacy Advisor, Neringa Tumėnaitė, recently participated in the OSCE Warsaw Conference on the Human Dimension, a platform for member states and civil society organisations to discuss issues related to democratic governance and fundamental freedoms — freedom of assembly, expression, and human rights — in the region. This year high on the agenda were concerns surrounding political repression: the imprisonment of human rights and environmental activists sparked several intense debates.
As a founding member, UNITED also participated in the Civic Solidarity Platform meeting, a broader civil society gathering held alongside the main conference. In our group discussions, we emphasised the growing challenge of shrinking civic space, which significantly affects both human rights defenders and environmental activists. To address this issue sustainably, we underscored the need to transform the global neoliberal system as part of a broader solution. Furthermore, we highlighted the importance of ensuring that international humanitarian and human rights laws are consistently upheld, not only within the OSCE region but also by its member states when addressing international conflicts.
In this framework, we will be actively supporting two working groups: the Working Group on Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance, and the Working Group on Climate Justice. Both aim to foster collective advocacy and strategic cooperation.
We encourage those interested in contributing to these or similar working groups to consider joining our Delegates Programme. By registering, you can explore the opportunity to participate in future initiatives as UNITED representative, shaping our advocacy efforts at international forums and promoting our shared mission to #StayUNITED.
To see OSCE session recordings, visit the dedicated website.
