The September meeting of the Board of Governors, at which the Director-General reports, among other things, on the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the General Conference the previous year on nuclear safety, nuclear security and nuclear science, technology and applications, always takes place before the General Conference (16-29 September 2024). The familiar non-proliferation issues regarding Iran, the DPRK, Syria and AUKUS were also debated in detail again. Once again, a central topic was the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine. The conflict in Gaza was also the subject of a series of debates. The agenda also included the item proposed by KAZ on the ‘homeless states’. Somalia was admitted as the 180th member state of the IAEA.
The third Warsaw Human Dimension Conference (WHDC) took place from 30 September to 11 October with around 1,500 participants. The conference provided an opportunity for OSCE member states to engage in lively exchanges with representatives of international human rights organisations.
The conference was organised by the Maltese OSCE Chairmanship and provided an important platform for the exchange and critical examination of the implementation of OSCE commitments. The conference was opened by the President of Malta, Myriam Spiteri Debono (via video message) for the OSCE Chair-in-Office, the Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, as representative of the host country, and the Finnish Deputy Foreign Minister Outi Holopainen, on behalf of the 2025 OSCE Chairmanship. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Tim Enderlin, head of the FDFA's Directorate of Political Affairs, emphasised the importance of accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, and expressed concern about the decline of democracy and the restriction of fundamental freedoms in the OSCE region. Switzerland also addressed the topics of freedom of expression, torture prevention and democratic institutions, and organised a side event together with the Danish delegation on the prevention of torture in detention centres.
As in previous years, delegations and civil society representatives expressed their concerns in the plenary sessions about the human rights situations in Russia and Belarus, as well as the impact of the war against Ukraine. In addition, the spread of restrictive laws that limit the work of NGOs and media professionals, as well as the restriction of minority rights (especially LGBTIQ+ rights), was increasingly focussed on as an early warning sign of anti-democratic steps.
