Minister Zbigniew Rau meets with the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
16.04.2021
- Poland, as ODIHR’s host country, is particularly interested in active and effective functioning of the institution. We are proud to support ODIHR in its mission to enhance democracy and advance human rights in the entire OSCE region - said Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Zbigniew Rau during his meeting today with Matteo Mecacci, a newly appointed Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw.
The talks focused on the main areas of cooperation between Poland and ODIHR in the fields of democracy promotion, the rule of law, and human rights, also in the light of Poland’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2022. Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Zbigniew Rau thanked Director Mecacci for ODIHR’s active engagement in human rights in Belarus, especially for expressing his concern over discrimination of the Polish minority in this country and the recent repression against it by the Belarusian authorities.
The latest developments in Belarus prove that ODIHR’s agenda remains invariably relevant. The international community needs institutions which will guard our common values of democracy and respect for human rights. This is why we care about the effectiveness of ODIHR’s activities - said the head of Polish diplomacy.
The Office is based in Warsaw. It is also in Warsaw where the annual Review Meeting of the OSCE Human Dimention takes place—Europe’s largest regular conference on human rights and promotion of democracy.
Matteo Mecacci was appointed Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights during the OSCE Ministerial Council in Tirana in December 2020.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Office
Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA
