ANNEX to Note Verbale No. 257/06, 30 May 2006 1. Given that the participating States have taken on the duty to implement all human dimension commitments in good faith, what are seen as the most effective mechanisms put in place by participating States to fulfil their commitments undertaken in the OSCE framework? What are, specifically, mechanisms to ensure maximum access of the public to decisions taken by the OSCE? How can the participating States best comply with their responsibility of holding each other accountable on human dimension standards? Would the introduction of mandatory written reports by the participating States on implementation of OSCE commitments contribute to a fuller implementation of such responsibilities? More specifically, through which measures could a systematic follow-up to commitments and undertakings contained in OSCE documents of broad and fundamental nature such as Action Plans be ensured, both at the national and at the OSCE level? Should methodologies be developed in this regard? How do the participating States see their implementation of the specific commitments to collect and maintain reliable information and statistics about hate crimes and to report periodically to the ODIHR? 2. Should participating States commit themselves to more explicit obligations on critical areas in the human dimension, where shortcomings are persistent and even backwards trends have been noted? Which substantive areas are seen most relevant in this regard? 3. The ODIHR has been mandated to observe elections and report on them in order to assist States to better implement their commitments on democratic elections. Through which measure could a more systematic follow-up to ODIHR observation recommendations be achieved? With regard to technical aspects of observation and follow-up assistance, should a questionnaire be developed for detailed and systematic participating States’ input? How are the ODIHR, and the participating States as a whole, to act in cases of persistent and open denial of the right to genuine democratic elections? Some participating States have expressed an interest in broadening election-related activities, in particular with regard to observations in a larger number of participating States. 94 Common Responsibility: Commitments and Implementation