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At Munich summit, a focus on democracy versus autocracy

Human rights has become "a major flashpoint in the growing systemic competition" between competing ideologies and governance systems, according to the summit's annual report.

Hotel Bayerischer Hof where the 2023 Munich Security Conference is being held
Hotel Bayerischer Hof where the 2023 Munich Security Conference is being held (AN/Sabrina Weisser)

Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago inevitably overshadows the Munich Security Conference, which warns that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has made the clash of competing visions a brutal and deathly reality."

In its annual report on Monday, the world's self-described leading forum for debating international security policy noted Russia's full-scale assault on its neighbor has not only caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties, forced millions to flee their homes and inflicted massive war damages.

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