Stop Russia’s war against Ukraine, strengthen international security, say civil society groups ahead of Łódź Ministerial Council

ŁÓDŹ, 30 November 2022 – Today, civil society representatives from across the OSCE area presented their recommendations that focused on stopping the war in Ukraine and overhauling the international security architecture at the annual OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference held in Łódź.

The Łódź Declaration was adopted during the Civil Society Conference, which brought together human rights and peacebuilding NGOs from across the OSCE region, as well as representatives of the participating States. The Declaration was submitted to the OSCE’s political structures and institutions, as well as to the organization’s 57 participating States on the eve of the 29th OSCE Ministerial Council.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau emphasised that: “This year has been tragically marked by the brutal, unprovoked and unjustified Russian aggression. It led to an immense humanitarian and human rights crisis in Ukraine. Severe restrictions of fundamental freedoms in Belarus and Russia had further devastating effect.”

Minister Rau summed up the activity of the Polish OSCE Chairmanship within the Human Dimension: “Last year in this forum we declared to closely cooperate with the civil society and to maintain Human Dimension matters high on our agenda. With three Supplementary Human Dimension Meetings focusing on consequences of the Russian aggression as well as the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference we provided the civil society with relevant fora for joint discussion and work. ”

“This gathering is truly emblematic of what the OSCE stands for. It is clear that civil society plays a vital role and that sustainable peace and security demand our co-operation,” said OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid.

The event was also attended by Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Kairat Abdrakhmanov, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM).

The Parallel Civil Society Conference, organised by Civic Solidarity Platform, is held annually on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council meetings since 2010, with the support of the respective OSCE Chairpersonship.