As delivered by Ambassador Daniel B. Baer to the Permanent Council
Vienna | September 8, 2014
The United States looks forward to a productive Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw, September 22 to October 3.
The United States welcomes adoption of this agenda, but regrets that a handful of delegations failed to act constructively in pursuit of a consensus agenda for the HDIM and prevented consensus on previous versions of the draft agenda for the meeting. While it is certainly difficult for any agenda to reflect all priorities of particular participating States, the United States, in the spirit of compromise, was prepared to accept a number of different iterations of this draft agenda in order to allow needed preparations for this very important meeting to move forward. We regret that a few participating States refused to accept text that had been agreed in previous years and failed to suggest constructive alternatives, pushing negotiations into and beyond the summer recess. When the agenda for HDIM is not adopted in a timely manner, planning is greatly complicated for ODIHR, delegations, and civil society alike.
Like others, we agree to this agenda as an exception. The format and titles of working sessions in this agenda should not be seen as setting any precedent for future HDIM agendas.
HDIM is the capstone of the year in the human dimension. It reaffirms the commitment of participating States to human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy, and rule of law, and recognizes these as essential factors for peace, justice, and the well-being of individuals, societies, states, and the international community. It provides an opportunity for participating States and civil society to hold each participating State to account for its implementation of commitments in the human dimension. The United States strongly reaffirms its commitment to the human dimension and the full implementation of those commitments.
I would like to request that this interpretative statement be attached to our decision and to the journal of the day.
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
