Democratization: Rule of Law gyzstan’s criminal-justice system and will also contribute to strengthening the role of defence lawyers in criminal proceedings. The ODIHR is also following other reforms ensuing from the adoption of a new edition of the Kyrgyz Constitution, which, inter alia, also requires a serious overhaul of the judiciary. The ODIHR co-sponsored an advanced training programme on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for lawyers in Kyrgyzstan. Implemented by the Youth Human Rights Group of Bishkek, the programme consisted of five training sessions that focused on administration of justice and fundamental freedoms. Twenty-three lawyers completed the programme in 2006, many of whom represent Kyrgyz victims of human rights violations in their communications to the UN Human Rights Committee. II. Criminal-justice reform A booklet about criminaljustice systems in the OSCE area. 28 In many states of the former Soviet Union and South-Eastern Europe, criminal-justice systems are being reformed in order to meet relevant international standards and OSCE commitments. All reform efforts in the area of criminal justice should be comprehensive, since all the individual parts of the system must work together. Just as work in the area of criminal justice takes place at different levels — the working level of lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement personnel, as well as the political level of criminal policy — so should reform assistance. This is the approach the ODIHR takes. At the working level, training is provided to judges and lawyers to help them improve their professional skills; opportunities to exchange experiences and skills are also created through the organization of seminars and conferences. And at the political level, the ODIHR provides advice and expertise to facilitate policy decisions to further uphold and strengthen the rule of law and human rights in criminal justice. Annual Report  War crimes The issue of war crimes and dealing with the past remains contentious in several participating States in South-Eastern Europe and continues to be reflected prominently in their political agendas. Transitional justice matters in SouthEastern Europe remain predominantly issues of war-crimes prosecutions and trials. In addition to being politically charged, most warcrimes trials are complicated by issues of crossborder co-operation, as witnesses, victims, and alleged perpetrators often do not reside in the same jurisdiction. In the past, the lack of effective cross-border co-operation between prosecutors and judges has hampered prosecutions, ultimately resulting in impunity for those who committed war crimes. In order to assist participating States to address this impunity gap, the ODIHR participated in, and contributed to, the Palic process, a series of OSCE-sponsored meetings for legal practitioners from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia to discuss and improve inter-state co-operation in war-crimes procedures. As a direct result of this process, several chief state prosecutors from the countries of South-Eastern Europe concluded agreements aimed at improving crossborder co-operation in war-crimes cases. Furthermore, some of the recommendations stemming from the Palic process resulted in amendments of domestic legislation in the criminaljustice sector. Another issue of concern identified by the ODIHR is the inadequate level of international assistance provided to defence lawyers. All too frequently, defence lawyers have not been included in assistance programmes aimed at supporting legal professionals involved in warcrimes proceedings: as attention has focused on the investigation, prosecution, and trying of war-crimes cases, international assistance has focused on judges and prosecutors. Equality of arms between the defence and the prosecution in courtroom practice is a fair-trial standard and requires the inclusion of the defence in assistance initiatives.