OSCE/ODIHR Director disappointed by Ukraine’s decision to block participation of Russians in election observation mission

Warsaw, 7 February 2019 – Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today expressed her regret over the decision by the Ukrainian authorities to block Russian citizens from taking part in the ODIHR election observation mission for the 31 March presidential election in Ukraine.

In a letter to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ODIHR Director also expressed her deep disappointment at the passing today by the parliament of a law that would formalize such a restriction.

Gísladóttir wrote: “The decision to deny the possibility of accreditation to citizens of one participating State is without precedent and contravenes commitments made by all participating States to invite observers from any other OSCE participating States that may wish to observe election proceedings to the extent permitted by law …”.

She underlined that observers sent to take part in ODIHR election observations missions do not represent their respective countries, but rather the entire OSCE. They are obliged to follow ODIHR’s election observation methodology and are bound by the Office’s strict code of conduct for election observers, including remaining strictly impartial and not intervening in the election process in any way.

The ODIHR Director also stressed that the inclusion of election observers from all OSCE participating States that choose to contribute is a central principle of her Office’s election observation mandate. She highlighted that this was one of a concrete range of human dimension commitments the countries have made, such as in strengthening democratic institutions and practices, including democratic elections.

Urging further reflection on the issue, Gísladóttir wrote that these common commitments “establish clear standards for participating States’ treatment of each other and, without exception, apply equally to each participating State. Their implementation in good faith is essential for relations between states.”