OSCE Warsaw: HDIM 2012 Wrap-Up

In a series of articles earlier this month (see the bottom of this post for a complete list) we reported on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw.

The “Human Dimension” is one of three general categories within the OSCE. It gives governments, NGOs, and members of civil society in all the member states of the OSCE the opportunity to send representatives to meetings where human rights policies and initiatives are discussed.

Over the past few years Islamic groups have gradually taken over much of the HDIM proceedings. Working mainly through representatives of Turkey and the “’stans”, but also non-governmental Islamic immigrant groups from Western European countries, they have changed the emphasis from human rights as they are traditionally understood within a Western context to the “rights” laid out by the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam. The Muslim participants generally follow the strategies recommended by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), demonizing “Islamophobia” and demanding action to prevent “the defamation of religions”.

This month the extent of the Islamization of the OSCE was highlighted by the attendance of Salam al-Marayati, the founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), as the official representative from the United States government.

Fortunately for the Counterjihad, a team of seven dedicated opponents of shariah was dispatched to Warsaw this month to push back against the pressure from the OIC. They came from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Austria, and the USA, and represented ICLA, BPE, the Stresemann Foundation, and ACT! For America. The Islamic activists at the meeting seemed surprised by such intense resistance, and reacted with predictable antagonism.

Our team made presentations, issued responses, and held a side event to demand the abrogation of the Cairo Declaration. The presentations and responses were filed as conference papers, and all have now been officially posted as PDF documents on the OSCE website. A complete list of these documents is below.

International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA)
Official OSCE list of documents

• ICLA speech on dual interpretation of human rights (English)
• Answer to Mr Quaraishy from working session 10 (English)
• International Civil Liberties Alliance recommendation for working session 11 (English)
• Response to the US Delegation (English)
• 2012 Brussels Declaration (English)
• 2012 Brussels Declaration (Deutsch)
• Freedom of Religion (Français)

Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE)
Official OSCE list of documents

• The Right to be Silenced? (English)
• Right to Peaceful Assembly — Only For Some? (English)
• Which human rights? (English)
• Freedom of expression only for you or also for me? (English)
• Apostasy and its Consequences (English)
• Statement by Burgerbewegung Pax Europa-Austria (English)
• Position of BPE (Burgerbewegung Pax Europa) On Criticism of the German Interior Ministry’s Poster Campaign Against the Radicalization of Young People (Deutsch)
• Hate Crimes (English)

The Stresemann Foundation
Official OSCE list of documents

• Democratic states may not prohibit expression of opinion (Deutsch)
• There is no such thing as “Islamophobia” (English)
• There is no such thing as “Islamophobia” (Deutsch)
• Meinungsfreiheit — Menschenrecht oder Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit? (English)
• Meinungsfreiheit — Menschenrecht oder Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit? (Deutsch)

ACT! For America
Official OSCE list of documents

• Islamophobia, Occupation and Slander — A sane perspective (English)

Previous posts about the OSCE and the Counterjihad:

2009		Jul		25		A Report on the OSCE Roundtable
		Sep		30		ICLA Tackles Fundamental Freedoms at the OSCE Meeting in Warsaw
		Oct		1		The ICLA Meets the OSCE, Round 2
		Nov		5		The OSCE: Islam and Violence Against Women
				7		Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding Under Fire At OSCE Meeting in Vienna
				7		“Hate Speech” Accusations at the OSCE Meeting
				8		What is Medica Zenica?
				10		Report on the OSCE Supplementary Human Rights Dimension Meeting
2011		Oct		28		ESW: Liveblogging In Vienna
				28		Steering Public Discourse
				28		Fallacies That Deserve Correction
				29		Towards a “Responsible” Freedom of Speech in Europe
				29		Islamophobia, Islamic Slander, and the OSCE
		Nov		10		The OSCE Fights Racism and Xenophobia in Vienna
				10		When Good Intentions Go Bad
				12		ESW: The ACT! For America Interview at OSCE
				12		OSCE: The murky waters of political correctness
				29		ACT! For America: A Report on the OSCE Meeting in Vienna
2012		Oct		2		OSCE Warsaw: Which Human Rights?
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Apostasy and Its Consequences
				2		OSCE Warsaw: ICLA Demands the Abrogation of the Cairo Declaration
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Join the Brussels Process!
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Islamophobia, Occupation and Slander
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Islam as a Political Ideology
				2		OSCE Warsaw: A Thinly Veiled Threat of Violence
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Define Your Terms!
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Bashing Islamophobia
				3		OSCE Warsaw: The Battle Has Begun
				3		OSCE Warsaw: Tolerance and Non-Discrimination II
				3		OSCE Warsaw: “Hate Crimes”
				3		OSCE Warsaw: Kamal Fahmi on Freedom of Speech
				3		OSCE Warsaw: The ICLA Side Event
				3		OSCE Warsaw: An Advocate for Hamas Representing the U.S. Government
				4		OSCE Warsaw: “Threats Have No Place Here”
				8		OSCE Warsaw: The MPAC Connection
				12		OSCE Warsaw: A Response to Salam al-Marayati
				13		OSCE Warsaw: ICLA Side Event on the Cairo Declaration
				14		OSCE Warsaw: A Major Victory for Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa