SHDMIII – Inclusion as a way to promote tolerance and non-discrimination
Session 1: Addressing intolerance and discrimination in the OSCE region in a comprehensive and inclusive manner
Remarks by Dave Elseroad, Human Rights House Foundation
2 June 2025
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Thank you moderator.
What has perhaps been missing from this discussion is the key role that human rights defenders play in successful counter-strategies to intolerance and discrimination and how systematic attacks on HRDs and their organisations can – indeed, are designed to – obstruct their work.
In Georgia, HRDs and organisations have been raising the alarm for over a year about systematic steps being taken by the Georgian Dream government to close civic space, criminalise legitimate human rights work, target independent civil society, and silence dissenting and opposition voices. On Saturday, two days ago, the Georgian interpretation of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) took effect. The law introduces criminal penalties for civic activists, HRDs, and NGOs that refuse to register as foreign agents and profoundly escalates the crisis for human rights initiated by the Georgian Dream government.
We reiterate the calls made by our Georgian colleagues almost 2 months ago to initiate the Moscow Mechanism to provide independent, international reporting on the growing human rights crisis and steps participating States can take to address it in a meaningful way.
Should international pressure fail to encourage the Georgian Dream government to reverse course, one can look only to Georgia’s neighbor, Azerbaijan, for an indication of what is to come.
On April 29 we marked the one year anniversary of the arbitrary detention of our colleague Anar Mammadli of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre. He was detained following advocacy at the OSCE and UN Human Rights Council, highlighting gross human rights violations and a major crackdown launched by the Azerbaijani authorities against HRDs and civil society ahead of last year’s climate conference. Anar Mammadli’s arrest and arbitrary detention is part of what the European Parliament has called “Azerbaijan’s longstanding domestic and extraterritorial repression of activists, journalists, opposition leaders,” among others. His arrest is also a stark reminder that the OSCE has no mechanism for tracking or reporting on reprisals against HRDs for engaging with the organisation in the promotion and protection of human rights.
We also draw this body’s attention to the case of independent journalist Ulviyya Ali, who was arrested on May 7 on spurious charges, following months under a travel ban. During her arrest, OC Media reports that Ulviyya was beaten by Azerbaijani security forces and has faced serious subsequent health issues. Ulviyya is targeted by the Azerbaijan authorities for her activism, tireless documentation of human rights violations in Azerbaijan, and her efforts to amplify the voices of the vulnerable and marginalised. Her arrest and detention, as well as that of dozens of other independent journalists in Azerbaijan, render Azerbaijani victims of rights abuses even more invisible and voiceless.
We call for the immediate release of Anar Mammadli and Ulviyya Ali and the hundreds of other political prisoners illegally detained in Azerbaijan.
Moderator.
Against this backdrop, I’d like to ask the panelists to further articulate the role that HRDs and independent civil society organisations play in the promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination and what steps States should take to protect them.
Thank you.
