28  •  Human Rights Hina Jilani, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, delivering the keynote address at opening of the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting in Vienna, 16 April 2015. (OSCE/Micky Kroell) on 19 November, at an event organized in co-operation with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s Freedom of Belief Initiative in Turkey, Istanbul Bilgi University’s Human Rights Law Research Centre, and the International Centre for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University. From 1 to 3 June, the Serbian Chairmanship of the OSCE and ODIHR organized a Human Dimension Seminar on the role of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in promoting and protecting human rights in the OSCE area. The event provided an opportunity for the exchange of information about the establishment and strengthening of NHRIs, co-operation among NHRIs and with other actors, as well as good practices in the functioning of NHRIs (e.g., legislative issues, organizational practices, efficient frameworks for addressing human rights complaints). On 2 and 3 July, the Serbian Chairmanship of the OSCE and ODIHR jointly organized a Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (SHDM) on “Freedom of Religion or Belief: Fostering Mutual Respect and Understanding”. Participants took stock of relevant developments in the OSCE region since the 2010 SHDM on Freedom of Religion or Belief. They discussed conditions for meaningful and sustained interreligious dialogue to ensure stability and security in the OSCE region and to advance freedom of religion or belief. ODIHR, jointly with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), published in July its Mapping Study: Ombuds Institutions for the Armed Forces in the OSCE Region, a document bringing together the experiences and good practices of ombuds institutions from across the OSCE region in overseeing the armed forces and ensuring that they operate in an accountable and transparent manner. In 2015, ODIHR also published the meeting report on “The Role of Military Associations in Protecting Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel in Central and Eastern Europe”. The document is based on an event co-organized by ODIHR and the European Organisation of Military Associations, held on 10 September 2014. ODIHR disseminated and promoted awareness of its Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. In 2015 the document was translated into French, Serbian and Spanish. “ We consider ODIHR’s Guidelines to be very important for the work of human rights defenders. Together with our partners from the region, we engage actively in their implementation.” Izabela Kisic´, executive director of Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia

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