OSCE/ODIHR and Polish Foreign Ministry sign host country agreement

WARSAW, 28 June 2017 – Witold Waszczykowski, Poland’s Minster of Foreign Affairs, and Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), signed an agreement today establishing relations with the OSCE within Poland, including the legal basis for ODIHR’s operations in the country.

The Arrangement on the Legal Status of the OSCE in Poland was signed at a ceremony at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Poland highly appreciates ODIHR’s numerous achievements and its major role in strengthening democracy and fostering human rights across the OSCE region. We hope that this crucial Arrangement will also enhance the legal framework of the Organization itself,” said Foreign Minister Waszczykowski. “I would like to express my deep appreciation of the excellent cooperation with ODIHR under the leadership of Director Link, which led to a successful conclusion of our talks in this regard.”

“ODIHR has always benefitted from the strong support and co-operation of the Polish authorities, dating back to the establishment of the Office in Warsaw in 1991,” said Director Link. “The negotiation and signing of this agreement is only just the latest example of that co-operation.”

In establishing the legal basis for the OSCE’s operations in Poland, the agreement does not substantively alter the treatment currently enjoyed by ODIHR officials and staff.

“The decision to base ODIHR in Warsaw was in recognition of the first democratic elections held in 1989 in Poland, which marked the start of a democratic re-shaping of Europe and Poland’s commitment to democracy,” said Director Link. “I want to thank the officials we have been working with here, and Foreign Minister Waszczykowski personally, for their efforts in the process of negotiating this agreement and for their continued commitment to our Office.”

ODIHR was originally created as the OSCE Office for Free Elections in Warsaw in 1991.The name was changed to its current form with the first expansion of its mandate by OSCE participating States in 1992. Over the 26 years of its existence, ODIHR has grown into the OSCE’s principal human rights body, providing assistance to governments and civil society in the implementation of human dimension commitments undertaken by the OSCE’s 57 participating States.

The Office currently has a staff of 180, from 35 different countries.