Delegations of the Public Chamber were not allowed to participate in the OSCE meeting

Delegations from the Russian Civic Chamber have been denied participation in the second Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, according to a statement on its website.

“On the eve of the event, without explaining the reasons, the organizers decided to cancel the registration of Russian public activists and refuse to allow them to attend the meeting, referring to some decision of the Polish OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office,” the statement said.

Poland is chairing the OSCE this year. The Chamber condemned the decision of the organizer of the meeting, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The organization emphasized that they had issued accreditation for their representatives in accordance with the rules, and the organizers themselves confirmed their right to participate in the conference. The accreditation was withdrawn only when the delegation from the chamber had already flown to Vienna. Poland, as the presiding country, and the organizers themselves, "ignored" the sent requests and did not specify the reason for such a decision, the chamber said.

A meeting on the topic "The functioning of democratic institutions in times of crisis" will take place on 16 and 17 May in Vienna. The Civic Chamber noted that they were going to tell colleagues from other countries about the experience of Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), whose activities are related to local self-government, freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, as well as about “best practices for developing democratic institutions” in RUSSIA.

The day before, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said that Russia itself had destroyed all channels for communication with the West, including through the OSCE. The only exception is Russian President Vladimir Putin's talks with foreign counterparts, she said. At the end of February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the country is always ready for him if he is able to return the parties "to justice and the principles of the UN Charter."