Praxis participated at the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) two-week conference, the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), organized in the period from 29 September to 10 October 2008 in Warsaw. The conference is organized every year as a forum where OSCE participating States discuss the implementation of human dimension commitments, i.e. norms and activities related to human rights, rule of law and democracy. Civil society plays an essential role in the HDIM, giving NGOs an opportunity to present recommendations directly to OSCE states.

Praxis took active part in the Working Session 11 of the Conference, on 6 October 2008. This Working Session focused on humanitarian issues and other commitments including: migrant workers, the integration of legal migrants; refugees and displaced persons; treatment of citizens of other participating States. During the Working Session, Praxis Executive Director Ms Ivanka Kostic gave a statement on “Hostages of the Kosovo Conflict”, in relation to two major obstacles that IDPs in Serbia are facing in accessing their basic human rights and reaching a durable solution, access to documentation, both in Serbia and Kosovo, and access to property in Kosovo. Ms Kostic gave a brief overview of the background of the problems, their consequences for IDPs and difficulties they are facing in accessing their rights, as well as Praxis advocacy efforts to remedy the situation and offer systemic changes.

More on the Conference you can find here.

See the List of Participants here.