On 1 December 2021, a representative of UNITED for Intercultural Action attended the OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference and the Ministerial Council in Stockholm, Sweden. UNITED participated as part of the Civic Solidarity Platform.
The Parallel Civil Society conference was held for civil society representatives from across the OSCE area, prior to the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council. Representatives presented their recommendations to strengthen the OSCE’s approach to conflict prevention.
During the conference, speakers touched on many important topics. An important topic were the threats that civil society organisations are facing in the countries in the OSCE region. One of the sessions also covered how migrants moving within the European Union face hate crime and hate speech. The speaker argued that governments are not doing enough against the systematic hate these migrants are facing.
In addition, speakers brought up a wide variety of topics. To name a few: the impact of covid on human rights, face recognition technology, political prisoners, migration, and corruption.
At the end of the conference, attendants gave their recommendations to the participants of the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting. During that session, UNITED raised the issue of Covid-19 protocols and vaccinations in refugee camps in and at the borders of Europe. This issue, along with the other recommendations, were published as an outcome document by Civic Solidarity Platform. The recommendations were also sent to Poland, which is taking over the Chairmanship of OSCE in 2022.
Here are a few more impressions of the conference:
