Human Rights Without Frontiers

Greek Helsinki Monitor

Minority Rights Group International

Minority Rights Group - Greece

Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights

Administrative Center for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia

Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe

Baden Turk Dernekleri Koordinasyon Kurulu

European Human Rights Office, Church of Scientology

Slovak Helsinki Committee

International Helsinki Federation

European Roma Rights Center

Society for the Protection of National Minorities in Central Europe

The undersigned NGOs have all valued the Human Dimension meetings, throughout the years and in their various formats, as significant for both governments and NGOs to raise human rights concerns in the participating states. Consequently, they have actively participated in them with reports and interventions, and have been encouraging other NGOs to do likewise.

We, and many other NGOs, have therefore become concerned during the meeting’s first week with the significant decrease of the time limit for interventions: from the traditional seven minutes, always respected in recent years, to six, five, four or even two minutes during almost all sessions, often unequally distributed to the speakers (contrary to the "equal access" rule). This is the result exclusively of a combination of two factors. One fewer working day (nine instead of ten called by the 1992 modalities) and, for the first time, the presence of fifteen "Introducers" to the respective Session topics, plus a few rapporteurs from side activities.

The Moderator decided on Friday evening, October 20, to address these problems in the second week not by extending the sessions time but by curtailing the interventions to five minutes, hence introducing a formal 30% reduction. Such decision strengthens the impression that this year’s changes were made in order to limit the NGO interventions (as state delegations have plenty of opportunities throughout they year to exchange such information).

We appeal to all participating states to see that the traditional seven-minute time limit be restored during this and the next Human Dimension meetings. Otherwise, NGOs may have to reconsider their participation in such meetings, made at a considerable financial cost and sometimes assorted with sacrifices and risks for their work.

1. Human Rights Without Frontiers

2. Greek Helsinki Monitor

3. Minority Rights Group International

4. Minority Rights Group - Greece

5. Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights

6. Administrative Center for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia

7. Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe

8. Baden Turk Dernekleri Koordinasyon Kurulu

9. European Human Rights Office, Church of Scientology

10. Slovak Helsinki Committee

11. International Helsinki Federation

12. European Roma Rights Center

13. Society for the Protection of National Minorities in Central Europe