Human Rights Urdur Gunnarsdottir The Head of the Swedish Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Walburga Habsburg Douglas (right); ODIHR Director Christian Strohal (centre); and Aliaksandr Bialiatski, Vice President of FIDH, at the launch of a report on attacks on human rights defenders, Vienna, 10 December. ODIHR assists participating States in several ways to address the threat of terrorism so that they respect human rights. For example, ODIHR conducts a training programme for senior public officials that brings together policy makers from various ministries to raise awareness about relevant international standards and to assist them in applying these standards in their daily work. This training is designed to allow policy makers to discuss and develop multifaceted strategies to prevent and combat terrorism. In 2007, national training courses were carried out in Ashgabat, Baku, and London. In addition, ODIHR completed work on a manual on human rights and counter-terrorism that provides in-depth background on the rights at stake in counter-terrorism and the relevant standards that apply in the OSCE region. Recent experience has shown that civil society organizations can give states valuable support in the fight against terrorism and can address its root causes, particularly intolerance and incitement. In March, ODIHR, in co-operation with the Fundació CIDOB (Centre for International Relations and Development Studies), organized an informal working-level meeting on the role of civil society in preventing terrorism with a view to strengthening partnerships and cooperation with civil society on issues relating to the protection and promotion of human rights in counter-terrorism. The objectives of the meeting were twofold: first, to identify how civil society can render practical assistance in the prevention of terrorism; and second, to identify challenges to the participation of civil society in this work, including the implications of governmental counterterrorism law and policy. Some thirty NGO participants joined ODIHR, the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Annual Report 2007 43