Fourth regional civil society conference

The fourth and final regional workshop with representatives of civil society took place in Tbilisi, Georgia, within the framework of the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship. Under the banner of "implementing human rights commitments to improve peoples’ lives", around 40 participants from the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) are taking part in discussions on the topics of preventing torture, the independence of the judiciary, and discrimination and hate crime. The workshop is being organised by the local NGO Analytical Centre for Interethnic Cooperation and Consultations in close collaboration with the FDFA's human security adviser stationed in Tbilisi. The Swiss ambassador to Georgia, Günther Bächler, opens the workshop together with representatives of partner NGOs.

The four regional workshops formulate recommendations for the OSCE participating States and institutions. These recommendations will be addressed to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr Didier Burkhalter, at the end of the civil society conference, which will precede the Ministerial Council meeting at the beginning of December 2014 in Basel. Enhanced and systematic involvement of civil society in the work of the OSCE is one of the priorities of the Swiss Chairmanship in 2014.

Press release (OSCE)