Foreword: Our Collective Conscience Human rights defenders in any participating State are at the forefront of efforts to secure human rights and hold governments to account. They are the lifeblood of a vibrant civil society and are the essence of any democratic society. They serve as our collective conscience. The March 2006 Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting entitled “Human Rights Defenders and National Human Rights Institutions: Legislative, State and Non-State Aspects” identified a number of issues affecting human rights defenders. These included physical attacks on human rights defenders, restrictive NGO laws and government interference in the functioning of NGOs, limitations of freedom of association and freedom of assembly, and restrictions on freedom of movement. The meeting also saw a number of recommendations that reaffirmed the need for the OSCE to support human rights defenders. As a result, in October 2006 the ODIHR established a Focal Point for Human Rights Defenders and National Human Rights Institutions, while monitoring more closely the situation of human rights defenders across the entire OSCE region. As part of this effort to enhance its support for human rights defenders and highlight issues affecting them, the ODIHR has produced this report. It reviews developments in four broad areas in the year following the March 2006 SHDM. Consistent with the ODIHR’s mandate to monitor the implementation of participating States’ human dimension commitments relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms and to assist them in implementing these commitments, the report includes recommendations to participating States relating to the situation of human rights defenders. A draft of this report was sent on 12 September 2007 to all OSCE participating States, as well as to a number of ombudsmen and national human rights institutions, international organizations, and NGOs, including all those whose reports provided sources for this report. As a result, where provided, state responses to individual cases cited have been incorporated into the report. We are grateful to those who commented on the content and balance of the report. This will serve to guide us in our future work, and I am looking forward to continuing the exchange of information and of response strategies with all stakeholders concerned. vii