REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS - THE OSCE HUMAN DIMENSION
Keywords:
CSCE/OSCE human dimension, Vienna mechanism, Moscow mechanism, the Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, the Representative on Freedom of the MediaAbstract
The term ”human dimension” is used in OSCE terminology to describe the set of norms and activities related to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The human dimension is regarded within the OSCE as one of three dimensions of its concept of comprehensive security, together with the politico-military and the economic and environmental dimensions.
A fundamental concept of the OSCE’s human dimension is that human rights and pluralistic democracy are not considered the internal affair of a state. The participating States have stressed that issues relating to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law are of international concern, as respect for these rights and freedoms constitutes one of the foundations of the international order.
The OSCE has created a large set of human rights commitments that are generally reflective of traditional human rights norms and concepts as enshrined in other international human rights treaties and declarations. Building on these, however, the OSCE has also developed a number of standards that are highly innovative both in terms of style and substance.
This article will elaborate the evolution of CSCE/OSCE human dimension, the so-called human dimension mechanism, as well as, the OSCE institutions with relevance to the human dimension.
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