OSCE, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 29: Reports and Draft Resolutions of the Three Committees of the OSCE PA

OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2022-23 (2. samling)
OSCE Alm.del Bilag 29
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AS (23) DRS 3 E

Original: English

DRAFT RESOLUTION

FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON

DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND

HUMANITARIAN QUESTIONS

Strengthening Regional Security by Fostering

Democratic and Inclusive Societies:

The Role of the OSCE PA

RAPPORTEUR

Mr. Johan Buser

Sweden

VANCOUVER, 30 JUNE – 4 JULY 2023

OSCE, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 29: Reports and Draft Resolutions of the Three Committees of the OSCE PA

DRAFT RESOLUTION FOR THE GENERAL COMMITTEE ON

DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN QUESTIONS

Rapporteur: Mr. Johan Buser (Sweden)

Reaffirming all previous human rights commitments undertaken by participating States

within the OSCE process, including respect for the freedoms of opinion and expression,

freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of conscience and

religion,

Concerned that respect for the full and equal enjoyment of fundamental freedoms and

human rights remains an aspiration rather than a reality for many people across the OSCE

region,

Deeply disturbed by the continued human suffering caused by the Russian Federation’s

war against Ukraine,

Recognizing the need for democratic and political processes that are responsive to the

needs and expectations of our populations, and in keeping with principles of the rule law,

Concerned that many minority populations and vulnerable groups lack protections that

would contribute to their well-being and to long-term stability within the OSCE region,

Recognizing the expanding impact of digital technologies on our enjoyment of human

rights,

Appreciating the active and positive contribution that civil society can make to the OSCE

process, as demonstrated in the Civic Solidarity Platform’s 2022 Łódź Declaration,

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly:

Easing the Suffering of those Impacted by War

Deplores the massive human casualty toll and physical and psychological suffering

resulting from Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine, as well as the devastating

impact that Russia’s attacks against civilian infrastructure such as energy, water and

heating have on the lives of Ukrainians;

Recognizes the disproportionate impact of the war on women and children, especially

unaccompanied and separated children, as well as persons with disabilities, the elderly,

and marginalized groups such as the Roma, and therefore, calls for increased attention to

the protection needs of these especially vulnerable categories of displaced persons and

the provision of support services to them - both within Ukraine and in refugee-hosting

countries;

Alarmed by testimonies of increasing sexual and gender-based violence linked to

conflict, used as weapons of war against Ukrainian women on the front line as well as

among displaced populations;

10.

OSCE, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 29: Reports and Draft Resolutions of the Three Committees of the OSCE PA

11.

Calls for increased attention to the mental health impacts of the war and the effect they

will have on recovery in the post-war period on the process of rebuilding a strong and

free Ukraine;

Condemns the mistreatment and torture of prisoners of war by Russian forces and their

mercenaries as war crimes and further evidence of Russian authorities’ disregard for

widely respected international humanitarian principles;

Applauds those within Russia and Belarus who have taken a public stance against

Russia’s war against Ukraine, and considers imprisoned anti-war protesters and

independent journalists reporting on the war to be prisoners of conscience;

Demands that Russia and Belarus immediately release and rehabilitate all political

prisoners;

Considers senior leaders in the Russian Government to be guilty of the crime of

aggression, as well as other war crimes, and calls for all OSCE participating States to

work towards holding them accountable through domestic or international court

proceedings;

Resolutely condemns the abduction of Ukrainian children and their forcible removal to

Russian territory, and calls for all OSCE participating States to place the best interest of

the child at the centre of their policies, including children’s right to preserve their identity,

and to work for their safe return to their families, as well as the accountability of those

Russian officials responsible for this odious crime;

Notes the contributions of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism reports of 13 April 2022 and

14 July 2022 that documented evidence of war crimes committed by Russia against

Ukraine since 24 February 2022, as well as the OSCE Moscow Mechanism report of 3

May 2023 on the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia;

Recognizes that the imprisonment of individual war criminals, while necessary and

important, is insufficient accountability for the many victims of war, and calls for the

OSCE to convene a conference dedicated to installing an accountability system that puts

victims of conflicts at the centre of its focus;

Calls on all countries to put the physical and mental well-being of individuals at the

centre of their refugee policy process, ensuring that they can continue their lives in a

dignified and safe manner, and work towards return to their homes, if they wish to do so;

Recommends a thorough review of migration related policies, to ensure that co-operation

with authorities in countries of origin and transit and the outsourcing of asylum

procedures to third countries does not result in further harm to those seeking protection;

Urges increased exchanges of best practice among participating States, including through

the OSCE, of efforts related to support for refugees, in the interests of enhanced solidarity

and improved burden-sharing among participating States;

Urges increased efforts to address the challenges faced by victims of war in other parts

of the OSCE, including in particular Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and notes the

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

OSCE, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 29: Reports and Draft Resolutions of the Three Committees of the OSCE PA

long-lasting impacts that conflict and occupation has had on large parts of these

populations;

Addressing Weakening Faith in Political and Democratic Processes

23.

Stresses the importance of ensuring that political systems are responsive to the needs and

will of our populations and are in line with our fundamental principles and the rule of

law;

Condemns violence against women politicians as a significant barrier to increasing

women’s political participation, and calls on all OSCE participating States to prioritize

this as a challenge to representative democracy, and to involve men and boys in the

discourse about gender equality, stereotypes, and the toxic masculinity which fuels

violence;

Calls on national parliaments, as well as domestic political parties, to conduct gender

audits of their structures, work and processes, on the basis of OSCE PA-OSCE/ODIHR

guidelines and in close consultation with the OSCE/ODIHR;

Considers a robust and independent civil society with minimal state intervention as

necessary for a healthy democratic process;

Regrets the steps taken in a number of OSCE participating States that restrict the space

for civil society to function, particularly through the imposition of burdensome

administrative processes and efforts to vilify organizations through labels such as

‘foreign agents’ or ‘undesirable organizations’;

Calls on all national parliaments to re-examine their procedures, in close consultation

with the OSCE/ODIHR, with a view to ensuring broad possibilities for civil society

experts’ input on draft legislation in all relevant stages;

Calls on all national parliaments to take necessary steps to ensure greater transparency of

parliamentary work, including through making better use of new information

technologies and improving access and working conditions for journalists in parliaments;

Notes the dangers posed by populist movements that tend to downplay the importance of

long-held principles in favour of short-term electoral victories, and further notes their

general inability to deliver real results;

Further stresses the importance of ensuring that electoral processes are adapted to modern

lives and are as accessible and convenient as possible to all voters;

Calls for national parliaments, with the support of the OSCE/ODIHR and in broad

consultation with experts from civil society and academia, to undertake reviews of

existing national electoral processes to ensure they are both in line with OSCE

commitments and also convenient for populations and modern lifestyles;

Notes the need for careful consideration within the modern context of electoral processes

such as timing and locations of voting, timing and regulation of electoral campaigns and

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

OSCE, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 29: Reports and Draft Resolutions of the Three Committees of the OSCE PA

appropriateness of campaign silence periods, and regulation of social media during

campaigns;

34.

Stresses the importance of prompt follow-up to post-election recommendations proposed

by the OSCE/ODIHR, and supports enhanced co-operation between the OSCE PA,

national parliaments, and the OSCE/ODIHR in this regard;

Standing Up for Minorities’ Rights and Vulnerable Groups

35.

36.

Reiterates previous OSCE commitments to protect and promote the ethnic, cultural,

linguistic and religious identity of national minorities;

Calls for OSCE participating States to expand such protections beyond those legally

recognized as traditional national minorities, to include other minorities whether based

on ethnicity, linguistic traditions, religion or sexual orientation;

Deplores the increasing persecution including through legalistic means in some

participating States of minority populations, most notably of LGBTI people, and calls for

greater protections for them under both domestic and international law;

Further calls for sustained support for refugees and forcibly displaced persons, who are

all too often placed in vulnerable situations when on the move and particularly vulnerable

to being trafficked or to falling victim to serious crimes and human rights violations, and

urges all OSCE participating States to put the well-being of such individuals at the centre

of refugee-related policies;

Considers trafficking in human beings to be a modern form of slavery requiring legal and

political attention of the highest order to eliminate this practice which preys on innocent

victims;

Calls upon participating States to enact processes in national institutions working on

human trafficking ensuring that they learn from the experiences of survivors of human

trafficking and exploitation to more effectively support victims and survivors;

Further calls on national parliaments, in consultation with the OSCE/ODIHR, to revise

their policies in order to actively promote the political participation of persons with

disabilities, who remain underrepresented in governing structures and decision-making

positions across the OSCE region;

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

Impact of Technology and Digitalization on People’s Rights

42.

43.

Welcomes the empowerment of individuals’ freedom of expression that has occurred as

a result of digitalization and the internet;

Notes that information technologies and computer coding are having an ever-increasing

impact on our daily lives and are influencing our populations’ thinking, including on

issues such as political polarization, tolerance toward others, and perception of violence,

often with little or no democratic oversight by parliaments;

OSCE, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 29: Reports and Draft Resolutions of the Three Committees of the OSCE PA

44.

Calls on national parliaments to examine ways to promote the inclusion of respect for

fundamental freedoms and human rights within technology coding processes, with close

involvement of civil society experts and oversight by appropriate parliamentary bodies;

Calls for national parliaments to offer all parliamentarians training related to IT coding

and artificial intelligence to ensure that Members of Parliament are adequately equipped

to provide democratic oversight of modern communication systems;

Recognizes that with the increased role that social media is having as a reference source

for our populations, increased attention, and potentially regulation, is needed to ensure

that accurate and reliable information is promoted and that social media platforms can

contribute to a well-informed population;

Concerned with efforts to justify censorship on the basis of misinformation and

disinformation, and reiterates previous calls upon all OSCE participating States to act in

accordance with the General Principles outlined in the March 2017 Joint Declaration on

Freedom of Expression and “Fake News”, Disinformation and Propaganda of the UN

Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative

on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States Special Rapporteur on

Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information;

Regrets the pervasiveness of disinformation in the digital era, and recommends reviews

of educational curricula with the aim of ensuring they can equip coming generations with

the tools needed to identify and defend themselves from disinformation.

45.

46.

47.

48.

OSCE, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 29: Reports and Draft Resolutions of the Three Committees of the OSCE PA

GENERAL COMMITTEE ON

DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN QUESTIONS

PROPOSED AMENDMENT to the DRAFT RESOLUTION

STRENGTHENING REGIONAL SECURITY BY FOSTERING DEMOCRATIC

AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES: THE ROLE OF THE OSCE PA

[Set out text of Amendment here:]

Principal Sponsor:

Mr/Mrs

Family Name in

Capital Letters

Country

Signature

Co-sponsored by:

Mr/Mrs

Family Name in

Capital Letters

Country

Signature