Norway extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Maltese Chairmanship and ODIHR for organizing the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, and to Poland for its warm hospitality.
Today, we are especially grateful to the courageous civil society activists who have enriched our discussions. We value your crucial role in holding governments accountable. Your firsthand insights and personal stories deeply inspire us.
Let me pay particular tribute to the civil society representatives who took significant risks to join us these two weeks - you have traveled to Warsaw this year to fight discrimination and injustice, and to defend people and principles.
No country comes to this table perfect. As long as there is injustice or unfairness in our region, and as long as our changing world presents new challenges, the need for dialogue between states and civil society remains essential. This conference provides the vital forum for such conversations.
However, it is important that we uphold our common commitments, which our countries have voluntarily undertaken. In the past two weeks, we have received alarming reports of international humanitarian and human rights violations, including crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. We emphasize that there must be no impunity; all responsible parties must be held accountable.
Norway will steadfastly support human rights defenders and oppose democratic backsliding and the diminishing space for civil society in the OSCE region.
As we prepare for the Valletta Ministerial, we must focus our efforts on upholding the Helsinki Principles, fulfilling our shared commitments, and strengthening OSCE institutions. This is the only way to rebuild and sustain our common security.