ANNUAL REPORT 2004 Introduction
“Respect for human rights and fundamental free- more than 130 staff members from some 30 different doms, democracy and the rule of law is at the core of countries who are dedicated professionals in an array the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security” (Istan- of areas of expertise, including lawyers, elections ex- bul Document – Charter for European Security, 1999). perts, and anti-trafficking specialists; individuals with experience in the fields of human-rights education, The participating States have also agreed that human monitoring places of detention, and minority rights, in- dimension issues are not internal affairs but matters of cluding staff with both academic and hands-on field immediate and legitimate concern to all other partici- experience. pating States. In fact, they have "categorically and irrevocably" declared that the "commitments undertak- This diversity of backgrounds and experience are what en in the field of the human dimension of the OSCE are make the ODIHR the flexible, responsive and dynamic matters of direct and legitimate concern to all partici- institution that it is. Recent years have witnessed inter- pating States and do not belong exclusively to the in- nal reforms that allow the ODIHR to provide long- ternal affairs of the State concerned" (Moscow Docu- term, country-specific programmes that meet the ment, 1991). needs of individual participating States, while never losing sight of individuals at the heart of our efforts. The Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the main OSCE institution One example of how this works in practice is the use of for the human dimension, meaning that it has the pri- experts and consultants with local knowledge and lan- mary task of seeing that commitments such as those guage skills, who provide a tremendous resource for mentioned here are more than mere words. It does this implementing any programme, not only in terms of both by monitoring their implementation by respective their expertise but also with respect to their ability to states and by conducting its own programmes that are gain the trust of their target group, which more often aimed at helping states develop and uphold a demo- than not includes individuals with similar backgrounds. cratic culture that will in and of itself respect and pro- When conducting legal-reform activities in the Com- mote the ideals expressed in those commitments. monwealth of Independent States, for example, the ODIHR relies almost exclusively on lawyers with train- To do this, the ODIHR develops and implements a ing and experience in the CIS, most of whom come broad range of programmes aimed at protecting from Russia. This practice has no doubt added to the human rights, strengthening democratic institutions, effectiveness of our efforts. respecting the rule of law, promoting democratic electoral processes, combating intolerance and discrimina- But this rule applies equally to our full-time staff. Of tion, and fostering civil society in all participating the professional staff members, more than one-third States. come from countries of the CIS, while the rest come from all parts of Europe, as well as North America. This There is one underlying value behind all of the ODIHR’s internal community of nations is a reflection of the programmes: namely, that of protecting and promot- make-up of the greater organization and represents ing the human rights of every individual in the OSCE the common values of all 55 of the OSCE’s participating region. To achieve this lofty goal, the ODIHR employs States. 7