The UK and others recall that human rights and fundamental freedoms are essential for lasting peace and security.
Thank you, Mr. Chair,
I am delivering this statement on behalf of Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and my own country the United Kingdom.
Against the backdrop of Russia's ongoing, war of aggression against Ukraine, and Russia's repeated efforts to destabilize our region through disinformation and hybrid threats sustaining the OSCE's focus on security cooperation has never been more vital.
From the Helsinki Final Act to the Charter of Paris to the Astana Declaration participating States have affirmed repeatedly that security is comprehensive in nature; that human rights are not peripheral; that they are at the core of this Organization's work and our commitments.
Moreover, since the Moscow Meeting of 1991, participating States have expressly confirmed that human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and rule of law are "matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the State concerned."
As we mark Human Rights Day in 2025, we must all reaffirm our commitment to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and recall that they are the underpinning of lasting peace and security.
Discussing human rights is essential to our work; it is part of the dialogue needed to restore security in our region.
It is in this context that we express our deep concern about the following situations.
Seven interim reports of ODIHR's Ukraine Monitoring Initiative and multiple Moscow Mechanism expert missions have concluded that, in relation to its war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian Federation has repeatedly violated international humanitarian law and international human rights law notably in its treatment of Ukrainian children, civilian detainees and prisoners of war.
Domestically, internal repression in Russia - which targets opposition, civil society and independent journalists, among others - is clearly linked to external aggression.
In Belarus, the authorities have pursued a relentless campaign to shut down civil society, silence independent media and eliminate any form of political opposition. Thousands have been unjustly detained, subjected to torture and ill-treatment, or forced into exile.
In Georgia, restrictions on civil society and media independence threaten to suffocate public dissent, and the lack of investigation of reports of excessive use of force against peaceful protesters creates a dangerous atmosphere of impunity.
In Serbia, police raids on civil society organizations and repeated incidents of violence surrounding the ongoing protests contribute to a shrinking democratic space.
In Azerbaijan, although there have been positive steps towards peace with Armenia, severe local restrictions on civil society and independent media continue to cause deep concern.
And in Turkmenistan, the lack of information about historic cases of enforced disappearances and intimidation continue to raise deep concern.
No participating State has a perfect human rights record, but it is our shared responsibility to ensure that human rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled across our region.
