ANNEXES    43 Women made up 42% of participants at the 2016 Human Dimension Implementation meeting. In 2016, five human dimension meetings took place, with more than 2000 participants total. Participants included representatives of participating States (official delegations), OSCE Partners for Co-operation, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), international organizations, the OSCE institutions and executive structures, civil society and non-governmental organizations, as well as academics and media. One of unique features of human dimension meetings is that civil society representatives take active part in these meetings, forming the largest group of participants. In 2016, there was a record number of 970 various representatives of civil society attending – among them big international non-governmental organizations, small citizens groups and human rights activists and defenders. Their participation is important as the civil society plays a vital role in implementing and safeguarding human dimension commitments in the OSCE area, by reporting human rights violations and helping to translate human dimension IN THE SPOTLIGHT HDIM’S OPENING DEBATE ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OSCE AREA: 25 YEARS AFTER THE CHARTER OF PARIS FOR A NEW EUROPE In 2016 for the first time, the opening session of the Human Dimension Meeting featured a debate between Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, moderated by Anabelle Chapman, a Warsaw-based journalist. The discussion focused on the state of democracy and human rights 25 years after the OSCE Charter of Paris for a New Europe. During the debate, the three discussed the need for every country to have checks and balances to assist in addressing human rights challenges and possible violations. Panelists debated whether liberal democracy has been jeopardized by far right movements and noted that even established democracies seem to be prone to the introduction of laws that control media, for example, or enable political elites to get richer. Finding an alternative means of citizens’ participation, beyond civil society and political parties, through social media platforms, for example, should be considered and encouraged. All panelists agreed that a human dimension commitment implementation gap exists. Lack of consensus on many human dimension issues and budgetary challenges impose threats to institutions like ODIHR to monitor the human rights situation and report on it. Panelists also agreed on the need for greater co-operation among participating States to address the challenges posed by the refugee crisis among other issues. Nils Muiznieks and Dunja Mijatović and Kenneth Roth moderated by Warsawbased journalist Annabelle Chapman, at the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) 2016, 19 September 2016, Warsaw. (OSCE/ Piotr Markowski)