 • Human Rights Defenders in the OSCE Region 1. Allow human rights defenders to operate freely by respecting and protecting their rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression. 2. Ensure that legislation affecting human rights defenders is in conformity with international human rights standards and in particular with the UN GA’s Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and OSCE commitments. 3. Ensure security to human rights defenders by preventing and adequately responding to harassment and attacks on them and their families; effectively investigating cases of threats, violence, ill-treatment, and torture; and punishing those responsible. 4. Refrain from extraditing human rights defenders to countries where they face the risk of torture and ill-treatment. 5. Ensure that all human rights defenders are afforded the right to an effective remedy, including by properly establishing the facts of any complaint and, where the complaint is upheld, offering an appropriate form of redress. 6. Use diplomatic and other direct channels to follow up on incidents of violations of the human rights of defenders, and monitor investigations and trials against human rights defenders; allow such monitoring by civil society groups. 7. Co-operate with the ODIHR, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, and relevant Council of Europe bodies, and exchange information on cases of intimidation and harassment of defenders. 8. Encourage courts, prosecutor’s offices, the police, and national human rights institutions to promptly review complaints concerning restrictions being imposed on association, assemblies, and expression, and ensure that such bodies have adequate powers and resources to do so. 9. Expedite visa requests for foreign defenders who urgently need to leave their country of origin as a result of threats to, or actual attacks on, their personal security.