OSCE/ODIHR Director highlights vital role of domestic election observers at launch of declaration at UN

UNITED NATIONS, 3 April 2012 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today welcomed the launch of the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations at a ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Speaking at the ceremony, which was hosted by the UN Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD), Lenarčič stressed that, while international bodies can play an important role in election observation, the citizens of a country are the main stakeholders in ensuring genuine and democratic elections.

“Their activity and involvement are crucial to the honesty and integrity of any electoral process,” he said. “It is therefore heartening that so many domestic observer organizations have come together to support and promote the principles behind democratic elections – principles such as equality, universality, fairness, freedom and competitiveness.”
 
Participants in the ceremony included National Democratic Institute Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, UN Under-Secretary-General B. Lynne Pascoe, Organization of American States Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin and representatives of more than 30 participating intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.

In accordance with its OSCE mandate, ODIHR has observed more than 250 elections since its establishment in 1991. The Office has engaged actively with domestic organizations involved professionally in election observation, including through the publication, in 2003, of its Handbook for Domestic Election Observers.