Box 2.1 8shows that not all OSCE participating States maintain regular armed forces. In cases where countries with regular armed forces failed to reply to the questionnaire, it was nevertheless sometimes possible to describe parts of their human rights policies and practices in the armed forces by using information obtained from open public sources, NGOs, the media, and academic institutions. Box 2.1 The ODIHR-DCAF Questionnaire on Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel in OSCE Participating States Within the framework of the project on human rights of armed forces personnel, a background study of the 2004 Information Exchange on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security was undertaken. Due to the great disparity in the quality and nature of information available, it was necessary to develop a detailed questionnaire to obtain data on laws, policies, and practices concerning human rights of armed forces in the OSCE region. Both English and Russian versions of the questionnaire, which included 85 questions, were distributed among the permanent missions of the OSCE participating States at the end of 2005. The questionnaire is available online at www.dcaf.ch. 1. Extensive replies were received from the following countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro,8 Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 2. A note verbale was received from: Liechtenstein (without regular armed forces), Tajikistan, and the Holy See (without regular armed forces). 3. The following countries did not reply to the questionnaire: Albania, Andorra (without regular armed forces), Armenia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Iceland (without regular armed forces), Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco (palace guard with ceremonial function), the Netherlands, Romania, San Marino (without regular armed forces), Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. 2. ODIHR-DCAF roundtables In order to collect information on practices and policies, ODIHR and DCAF held two roundtables on selected issues that were organized in co-operation with the governments of OSCE participating States. The first, in September 2006, entitled “Citizen in Uniform: Implementing Human Rights in the Armed Forces”, was jointly organized with the German Defence Ministry, and the second, in October 2006, on “Military Unions and Associations”, was jointly organized with the Romanian Defence Ministry and the European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL). These roundtables contributed both to the handbook and to an informed debate on relevant issues among representatives of OSCE participating States.9 3. Input from NGOs and OSCE field operations During the project, the authors of the handbook profited from the valuable experiences and insights of NGOs and OSCE field operations, which provided a specific insight into the reality of the human rights of armed forces personnel. Among others, good use was made of information and documents from NGOs such as EUROMIL, the Moscow Office of Hu8  The survey was conducted before the separation of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006. 9  More information about the ODIHR-DCAF roundtables on human rights of armed forces personnel is available on the project website: <http://www.dcaf.ch/odihr/_events.cfm>. 20 Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel