Democratization k Migration/freedom of movement: To promote freedom of movement and enhance respect for the rights of migrants, the ODIHR facilitates regional and sub-regional co-operation and exchanges of experience between participating States, assists in the introduction of population registration systems that are in line with international standards, and raises awareness of migration issues among policy makers and the public in OSCE states. k Legislative support: The ODIHR provides legislative assistance to participating States, usually taking the form of a review of draft legislation to ensure compliance with international standards, particularly OSCE commitments. The Office also maintains a free-of-charge online database (www.legislationline.org) that contains more than 5,000 pieces of domestic and interna- tional legislation related to the human dimension, such as human rights, elections, gender, and rule of law. This has become an important source for lawmakers throughout the region. In addition to its programmatic work, the ODIHR organized a number of mandated meetings in 2006 dealing with various democratization-related issues: the Human Dimension Seminar on “Upholding the Rule of Law and Due Process in Criminal Justice Systems”, the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on “Democratization: Strengthening Democracy through Effective Representation”, and the special day on access to justice during the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. Lesson No. 6: Address multiple aspects of democratization in a wide-reaching programme Any item of democracy support can be addressed in isolation, for example, one could try to support the political participation of women by providing training on effective lobbying strategies. However, programmes will have more impact if they cover multiple dimensions. This is the essential characteristic of a programme as opposed to the narrower focus of a project. In the case of a programme on the political participation of women, one could include a parliamentary dimension by including female MPs; one could try to establish issues for lobbying, possibly addressing problems related to the rule of law; alternatively, one could address the aspect of equal gender participation in the context of an existing parliamentary project. One should also try to find partners for such a project that could provide it with continuity (e.g., parliament, parties, an NGO, a think tank, or an academic institution). Lesson No. 7: Local needs and OSCE capacity must match Democracy programmes in transition countries are often“imported”in the sense that nothing similar existed before (for example, trial-monitoring). However, new initiatives can only work when they respond to specific local needs and when OSCE expertise is permanently available. A standard project management approach, heavily reliant on outside expertise, will not suffice for carrying out complex democratization programmes. Furthermore, where there is no local perception of a need, there can be no sense of local ownership, to the detriment of sustainability and effectiveness. (As former World Bank Chief Economist Lawrence Summers put it:“Nobody has ever washed a rented car.”) Lesson No. 8: International support should not erode or substitute domestic capacities Following from the previous lesson, there is a risk that international actors will develop activities that do not correspond to local demand and are therefore never locally owned. In some cases, there is a risk that international actors will erode or substitute domestic capacities for policy debate and formulation. Erosion can take place on the administrative level (qualified staff joining international organizations) or in relation to tasks that were carried out by local organizations before the arrival of international actors (for example, legal aid). At the political level, erosion or substitution may occur when international bodies become the focal point for local grievances, to the detriment of domestic conflict management (for example, parties becoming unwilling to talk to each other, or to use the court system as a means of redress). This underlines the need for undertaking programmes in close cooperation with local partners. Lesson No. 9: Co-operation among international bodies increases effectiveness Partner governments have to deal with a wide range of international actors trying to support democratization. It may be difficult for a single institution, such as the ODIHR, to ensure the focus of partners on a given project. Therefore, it is generally preferable that programmes form part of a more broadly defined and agreed international agenda, in which several organizations can play their respective roles. Annual Report  23