ANNUAL REPORT 2004 Democratization Civil Society and Democratic Governance arranges and mediates local meetings on both sides of In 2004, the ODIHR helped NGOs take part in three the border on a monthly basis; and it has been gradu- Supplementary Human Dimension Meetings and one ally engaging human-rights defenders, lawyers, the Human Dimension Seminar, as well as the two-week media, and local authorities. In addition, the United Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in War- Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) has in- saw. In total, the Office facilitated the participation of vited the AGMF to join the bilateral Georgian-Abkhaz some 470 participants from 360 NGOs in these events, Dialogue Group on conflict resolution. where non-governmental actors were able to have dialogue with governmental delegations. Thanks to the In order to enhance human contacts and the informa- voluntary contributions of OSCE participating States, tion flow between NGOs in Georgia and Abkhazia, as the ODIHR was in a position to finance the participa- well as in the breakaway regions of Ajara and South tion of 41 NGOs in human dimension events through- Ossetia, the ODIHR, jointly with the Helsinki Founda- out the year. tion for Human Rights, brought together 22 NGO representatives in a prolonged exercise of networking and Future priorities bridge-building. This project served two purposes: (1) to provide joint There exists a growing recognition of the interrelation between democracy and democracy assistance, on the one hand, and stability, security, economic growth, and cultural values, on the other. The OSCE Human Dimension Seminar on Democratic Institutions and Democratic Governance provided the necessary background for the ODIHR’s formulation of its priority areas of activity in strengthening democratic processes in the OSCE region in 2005 and beyond. training and exercises aimed at getting NGOs from different regions to work together with the objective of creating lasting relationships; and (2) to increase participants’ skills in human-rights monitoring and reporting techniques, their effectiveness as NGOs in interaction between local governments and the public, and their negotiation skills through conflict-analysis and conflict-resolution mechanisms. As part of the project, participants also developed joint project proposals that Three important areas for strengthening democratic aimed to achieve shared goals. governance have been identified: UNOMIG and the OSCE Mission to Georgia have picked
Open legislative practices: OSCE commitments require that domestic legislation be developed through an open and transparent process. Consultation mechanisms at various levels of the legislative drafting process would increase transparency and accountability, as well as foster genuine, inclusive public participation; up on this civic-diplomacy project in formulating their priority areas of activity for 2005. 3. NGO participation in OSCE events
Active citizen participation: this requires an alert and well-informed citizenry, as well as effective partic- The ODIHR is dedicated to maintaining close relations with non-governmental organizations. The relationships formed are valuable for both sides: the ODIHR needs the expertise, monitoring reports, and information from NGOs on the ground in order to provide a more complete picture of how OSCE participating States are complying with their commitments; at the same time, the ODIHR provides NGOs with a visible international political platform to engage partners in their respective issues. ipatory mechanisms; and
Political parties should be stable and effective in order to ensure the proper functioning of legislative structures, which, in turn, is a necessary precondition for the promotion of inclusive democracy. Indeed, if political parties are to effectively foster democratic governance, they need to govern themselves democratically as well. 29