Human Rights Defenders in the Czech Republic: Findings and recommendations of ODIHR’s assessment visit
When
Where
Organized by
On 17 and 18 May 2021, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will hold a multi-stakeholder online meeting to discuss the findings of ODIHR’s 2019 assessment visit to the Czech Republic, focusing on the situation of human rights defenders. The event will also provide a platform to discuss ODIHR’s recommendations to the Czech Republic and the possible ways forward for their implementation.
Participants
The meeting will gather around 50 participants, including representatives of state bodies, the Public Defender of Rights and civil society organizations from the Czech Republic. Other participants will include representatives of the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Office of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (tbc).
Objectives
This event aims to provide a forum for dialogue among different stakeholders on addressing identified gaps and challenges in the protection of human rights defenders in the Czech Republic. Discussing recommendations and how to implement them in a gender-sensitive, inclusive and sustainable manner is another important objective of the meeting.
Mandate and background
This initiative is in line with ODIHR’s mandate to monitor the implementation of OSCE participating States’ human dimension commitments (Helsinki 1992; Budapest 1994; Oslo 1998; Maastricht 2003).
In 2018, ODIHR launched its first country-specific assessment cycle focusing on the situation of human rights defenders. In this framework, from 23 to 29 April 2019, ODIHR conducted an assessment visit to the Czech Republic. This was in order to assess gaps and challenges in the protection of human rights defenders, as well as identify good practices in this area.
Alongside the Czech Republic, in 2018 and 2019, ODIHR also conducted assessment visits to Georgia, Italy, Mongolia and Montenegro.
The online event will be the fourth out of five country-specific discussions taking place in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, ODIHR will also publish the final report of the first assessment cycle on the situation of human rights defenders (a public report). This document will provide an overview and analysis of the findings of all country visits undertaken within the first cycle, as well as recommendations to all OSCE participating States.