ANNUAL REPORT 2003 Democratization Civil Society with one another. With support from the international com- litical momentum, the ODIHR, together with OSCE field mis- munity, including the ODIHR and the OSCE Mission to Geor- sions, gathers the relevant authorities - government, min- gia, this organization is now able to ensure safe travel be- istries, and parliament - international and domestic experts, tween Abkhazia and Georgia; it arranges and mediates local NGOs, and the media in order to highlight the initiative and meetings on both sides of the border on a monthly basis; and push the process forward. The purpose of these exercises is it has been gradually engaging human rights defenders, to establish mid- to long-term links between governments lawyers, the media, and local authorities. and relevant civil society actors and representatives in order to form a practice of mutual consultation and expert assistance on issues affecting the whole country. 2. Human rights monitoring and reporting training The ODIHR organized four conferences in Central Asia in 2003, including an international conference in Almaty that brought together government officials, legal professionals, Representatives of NGOs, especially those working in the and NGOs to work towards strengthening human rights field of human rights, need to carry out responsible research guarantees of all parties in the criminal process. and sound monitoring in order to produce credible reports that are based on reasoned arguments and that contain re- The ODIHR also organized a roundtable in co-operation with alistic recommendations. In areas where civil society is still at the OSCE Centre in Almaty and the Kazakh Ministry of Infor- an early stage of development, training and education are mation, Culture, and Social Accord to discuss Kazakhstan's essential to avoiding what could be a long, arduous process draft law on NGOs, which suffered from poor definitions, of trial and error in terms of research and reporting. contradictions, and duplications of other legal acts, as well as unequal treatment of NGOs. Subsequent reaction by partici- In close collaboration with OSCE field missions and the pants, the ODIHR, and the OSCE Centre in Almaty led to a Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw, the ODIHR decision by President Nazarbayev to drop the draft law. has been training human rights defenders in the area of human rights monitoring and reporting since 2000. In con- In late September, the ODIHR co-operated with the OSCE ducting this work, the ODIHR's purpose is to help build a Centre in Bishkek to fund a conference organized by the strong and sustainable foundation of credible NGOs, as NGO Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society and the Cen- NGOs are a vital part of the social dialogue that citizens and tral Election Commission in Issy-Kul that provided a con- governments need to conduct in order to move forward, structive forum for dialogue on improvements to the Elec- whether it be in the area of social reform, economic reform, tion Code. or the protection of human rights (see box on p. 30). The fourth conference was organized in Issy-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, in close co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and 3. Civic dialogue two local human rights NGOs on the human rights situation in Kyrgyz orphanages, as well as the process of the place- Civic Dialogue is a bridge-building programme. It identifies ment of abandoned children throughout the country (see cases where there is political will to incorporate reforms with box on p. 30). the support of local NGOs in compliance with OSCE commitments. The ODIHR's function is to bring governments and NGOs together to make decisions that are in the interest of the entire country. Upon identifying the necessary po- 25