"I have co-operated with the ODIHR on legal reform for years and have seen the importance of such work being carried out. This relates particularly to introducing practical changes in prison practice and policy, building criminal policy based on international standards, and helping to make those standards part of actual practice and not only ideology and in the letter of the law. 1. Criminal-justice reform "I have found the work supporting the establishment of legal clinics run by NGOs and universities to be extremely important. Such work empowers those co-operating with the ODIHR in the field to build a genuine, open society and to make the letter of the law become reality. It builds up a legal culture of authentic, not just rhetorical, law and order and gives those involved the confidence to continue." In transitional states of the former Soviet Union, the criminal-justice system has been, and continues to be, in need of expert advice and assistance to develop and meet relevant international standards and OSCE commitments. Work in the area of criminal-justice reform occurs at multiple levels Monika Platek is a law professor in Warsaw and has worked extensively with the ODIHR on issues related to prison reform, clinical legal education, and criminal-justice reform. that range from the working level of lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and law-enforcement personnel to the political level involving policy changes in dealing with crime (including decriminalization of certain offences and increasing alternative sentencing). Therefore, the ODIHR Rule of Law Unit provides ongoing advice and training at the working level and at the political level to encourage longer-term reform in criminal- best practices in other OSCE participating States and to the justice systems. The assistance provided includes training, potential for applying these in Uzbekistan. conferences, seminars, and direct advice on legislative reform. Some of the specific issues that the ODIHR regularly The ODIHR has also provided ongoing assistance with re- works on include assistance to combat torture, to encourage spect to developing and implementing national action plans ongoing prison reform, and to encourage greater use of al- to combat and prevent torture in Georgia and Uzbekistan. It ternative sentencing. has encouraged other countries to put torture prevention higher on their political agenda and has made it clear that comprehensive approaches are needed for real long-term results. For example, the Unit supported the conference “On Torture the Prevention of the Use of Violence During Pre-Trial DeIn many countries in the OSCE region, torture remains a tention and Investigation” in Dushanbe in December. standard technique of investigation, since getting a conviction often relies on the use of a confession as primary evi- The OSCE's Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting in dence. Thus, the ODIHR's anti-torture work in 2003 focused November was devoted to the prevention of torture. With on the pre-trial stage of the judicial process. some 224 participants, including 83 representatives of 57 non-governmental organizations, the meeting emphasized The ODIHR provided practical training and programmes to that the use of torture remains a serious concern in many give lawyers and human rights workers additional tools to OSCE participating States despite their reiterated commit- combat torture in their own countries. An example is the ment to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial, and conference “Redress for Torture, National and International other measures to prevent torture and other forms of ill- Mechanisms”, which was held in Uzbekistan in July. This treatment. The particular focus of the meeting was on the conference provided a forum for representatives of non-gov- prevention of torture in the course of criminal investigations. ernmental organizations to learn about how to hold tortur- The topics selected for discussion included provision of pro- ers legally responsible for their acts in other countries. Par- cedural safeguards during detention, prohibition of the use ticipants and representatives of state bodies also discussed of evidence obtained by torture, as well as effective investi- concrete steps that could be taken to minimize or eliminate gation and prosecution of acts of torture. The meeting re- the use of torture and to end impunity for torturers. The sulted in a number of recommendations for OSCE partici- conference was followed by a roundtable in October that fo- pating States and the OSCE institutions and field missions. cused on fair-trial guarantees, which are indispensable for These recommendations are a useful indicator for the ODIHR the protection of individuals from inhuman treatment. The in deciding priorities and possible new initiatives aimed at meeting gave participants a chance to become familiar with preventing or combating torture. 20