ODIHR: 20 years of working for democracy and human rights

The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights marks its 20th anniversary on 17 May 2011.

Created by the 1990 Charter of Paris, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) - then called the Office for Free Elections - began its work in Warsaw in the spring of 1991. ODIHR quickly developed from a small office of two international staff into the region’s leading institution for election observation and an important provider of human rights and democracy assistance to governments and civil society. It now has some 140 staff from more than 30 countries.

Institution building

Initially, the Office facilitated the exchange of information on elections. Against the backdrop of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the Office’s mandate broadened to include the full range of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Its main task was to assist the new democracies that emerged after the end of the Cold War in their transition processes. To reflect its new mandate, the name of the Office was changed in 1992.

ODIHR’s early experiences with observing elections, an almost entirely new field at the time, led to the development of one of the first comprehensive election observation methodologies.

In the late 1990s, ODIHR's work expanded to include areas such as promoting the rule of law, strengthening civil society, preventing torture, and combating trafficking in human beings.

In 1999, ODIHR appointed the first full-time international official to work solely on Roma issues. This was part of a significant strengthening of ODIHR's Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues, which, ever since, has been at the forefront of international efforts to promote the integration of Roma and Sinti in Europe.

The second decade

The first years of the new decade saw new additions to ODIHR’s portfolio. Increased international attention to counter-terrorism in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attack, for example, led to the creation of a programme on ensuring compliance with human rights standards while combating terrorism.

In recognition of the growing security risks emanating from hate crimes and other forms of intolerance towards minority groups, ODIHR set up a new programme aimed at assisting states in their efforts to combat manifestations of hate in society.

In tackling emerging region-wide challenges such as terrorism, intolerance, and human trafficking, ODIHR gradually expanded its geographic reach to countries with longer democratic traditions in Western Europe and North America. A growing recognition of the fact that electoral shortcomings are not limited to countries in transition prompted ODIHR to begin sending observers to longstanding democracies. Consequently, ODIHR has assessed elections in 52 of the 56 OSCE participating States.

Future role

Looking ahead, ODIHR faces a number of challenges. There remains a significant gap between the commitments participating States have agreed to and the reality in a number of countries. In some cases, this gap is widening.

ODIHR will continue to use and develop the tools it has at its disposal to monitor, report, and provide assistance to participating States – in the fields of election observation, democratization assistance, or human rights protection. It will continue to build trust with governments in all parts of the region. And the Office will continue to work with non-governmental organizations and civil society. The commitments negotiated and agreed by all 56 participating States remain the sole basis for ODIHR’s activities.