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Home Stories 25 years of defending human rights and promoting democracy: #ODIHR25
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25 years of defending human rights and promoting democracy: #ODIHR25

24 March 2016
ODIHR's 25th anniversary
(OSCE)

In 2016 the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Established by the 1990 Charter of Paris, and originally named the Office for Free Elections, ODIHR has grown over the past 25 years from its first, small office in Warsaw into the leading election observation institution in the OSCE region and an active provider of assistance to governments and civil society in OSCE participating States in promoting the strengthening of democratic institutions and respect for human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law.

Follow along here and on Facebook and Twitter over the next 25 weeks, leading up to the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, to be held in Warsaw over the last two weeks of September, as we trace the Office’s growth and highlight some of the many milestones over the 25 years of its existence.

Follow #ODIHR25 on Facebook and Twitter, and share updates below.

2016

Throughout 2016 as we've marked ODIHR's 25th Anniversary, the German OSCE Chairmanship has supported the important work of the Office assisting participating States in the implementation of their human dimension commitments.  

2015

In 2015, ODIHR launched a major, multi-year project in Ukraine to Strengthening Dialogue among Civil Society and with Key Governmental Stakeholders. 

2014

In 2014, ODIHR marked 20th anniversary of the Budapest Summit, when the #OSCE participating States signalled their commitment to improving the situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE region by creating a Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues. 

In 2014, Michael Georg Link of Germany became the director of ODIHR.

2013

In 2013, ODIHR published the Comparative Study of Structures for Women MPs in the OSCE Region. First of its kind in the OSCE region, the study provides guidance and recommendations on how to establish and effectively operate parliamentary women’s caucuses, which aim to promote gender equality and women’s representation.

2012

In 2012, ODIHR further strengthened its observation methodology with the release of two new publications – the Handbook on Media Monitoring for Election Observation Missions and the Handbook for the Observation of Voter Registration. They joined a collection now made up of 11 topic-specific election observation handbooks published by ODIHR over the years.

2011

In 2011, ODIHR marked its 20th Anniversary with a retrospective video. The former directors look back on how the office had grown over 20 years and discuss some of ODIHR's achievements and the challenges the Office faced.

2010

In 2010, the entire ‪OSCE‬ acknowledged the progress that was made in advancing human rights and democracy in the region since the adoption of the landmark Copenhagen Document 20 years earlier. The work implementing its commitments continues.

2009

In 2009, ODIHR published a groundbreaking book on Human Rights Educations in schools.

2008

Beginning in 2008, every two years the Criminal Justice Expert Forum in Central Asia has brought together some 60 to 80 criminal justice stakeholders from all OSCE participating States in the region to discuss current reform initiatives and common challenges and approaches to criminal justice law and practice; the Sixth Forum will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in November 2016.

2007

In 2007 in Kyrgyzstan, ODIHR provided expertise and technical assistance to civil society partners, helping develop a campaign to support women’s political participation.

2006

In 2006, ODIHR launched the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS) to share and promote practical initiatives, and to provide information on issues related to tolerance and non-discrimination throughout the OSCE region.

In 2006, ODIHR established the Panel of Experts on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, an advisory and consultative body to ODIHR. The Panel seeks to enhance the promotion and protection of the freedom of peaceful assembly in the OSCE region.

2005

In 2005, ODIHR published its first hate crime report, per its mandate to help states collect data on hate crime.

2004

In 2004, ODIHR hosted a regional meeting on how human trafficking affects ‪‎Roma‬ and Sinti.

In 2004, ODIHR created the Legislative Support Unit to support participating States by reviewing their lawmaking systems and relevant draft and existing legislation.

In 2004, with the adoption of the Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, ODIHR was tasked to help participating States with ensuring equal opportunity of participation of women in political and public life.

2003

Starting in 2003, ODIHR got engaged in discussing war crime justice with stakeholders in South-Eastern Europe. Between 2010 and 2015, ODIHR implemented the 2-phased War Crimes Justice Project.

Recognizing the discrimination that Roma and Sinti face, Action Plan on Improving the Situation of ‪Roma‬ and Sinti was adopted in 2003, where ODIHR was tasked with assisting the participating States.

2002

ODIHR started its annual trial monitoring meetings in 2002. This year’s was in Albania.

2001

2001 marked ODIHR's 10th anniversary.

In 2001, ODIHR ran a public awareness campaign for the international anti-torture day: ‘Torturers print their own indictment’. Find out about ODIHR’s work on prevention of torture.

2000

In 2000, ODIHR organized a meeting on prevention of ‪‎torture‬, in co-operation with the OSCE’s Austrian Chairmanship.

ODIHR deployed an Election Observation Mission to observe the 2000 Parliamentary Elections in Croatia.

1999

In 1999, ODIHR appointed Nicolae Gheorghe, as its first Adviser on ‪#‎Roma‬ and Sinti Issues. Gheorghe passed away in 2013: www.osce.org/odihr/104255.

1998

In 1998, ODIHR appointed its first Adviser on Gender, working to strengthen gender-equality in all aspects of society, for example, in women’s participation in politics.

1997

In 1997, ODIHR went through restructuring to create the Democratization department (p. 6).

1996

Speaking during ODIHR’s 20th anniversary celebrations in 2011, Audrey Glover, OSCE/ODIHR Director between 1994 and 1997, reflects back on the birth and the growth of the Office.

Since its first Election Observation Mission to Albania for the 1996 Parliamentary Elections, ODIHR deployed over 300 missions. Anders Eriksson, the On-site Co-ordinator at the first mission, reflects back on their time in ‪Albania‬.

In 1996, ODIHR published its first Election Observation Handbook, which formalized its methodology. Currently, the handbook is in its sixth edition.

1995

Responding to the conflict in Chechnya, in 1995, ODIHR led a human rights experts group to the region: https://www.osce.org/odihr/52539. This drawing, from the same year, illustrates a child's perception of the war.

1994

Sixty-three judges and prosecutors from eighteen Central and Eastern European and Central Asian countries gathered together for the First Annual Warsaw Judicial Symposium in June 1994: http://bit.ly/1Qry6Do (page 4).

Following the report on Roma by the High Commissioner on National Minorities, and first ever Human Dimension Seminar, dedicated to Roma and Sinti in September 1994, with, what is called the Budapest document of December 1994, ODIHR’s Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues (CPRSI) was established to promote equal opportunities for, and protection of the human rights of all Roma and Sinti.

1993

In a Q and A, ODIHR’s first Director, Ambassador Luchino Cortese, reflects on those first three years of the Office’s existence, 1991-1993.

1992

Staff meetings at ODIHR today are large-scale affairs, bringing together more than 100 personnel. This staff meeting, attended by Ireneusz Stepinski, Joanna Porczynska, Elizabeth Winship, Jacek Paliszewski and Beata Dobrowolska in 1992, was a more modest event. Stepinski, Porczynska and Dobrowolska, continue to work at ODIHR to this day.

The first Human Dimension Seminar was held in Warsaw from 16 to 20 November in 1992 and focused on tolerance, including the role of education, local authorities and the media in promoting tolerance, all topics that remain a focus of ODIHR’s work today. The seminar was the first of some hundred human dimension events that ODIHR has organized over the past 25 years and set the groundwork for the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting that has become the Europe’s largest annual human rights conference.
View the summary document.

1991

Maria Łukawska, Senior Administrative Assistant at ODIHR, has been with the Office since its extablishment. For the anniversary, we took her back to ODIHR’s original offices to talk about the very first days.

When the Heads of State or Government of the 34 participating States of what was then still the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) gathered for the Paris Summit in 1990, they were faced with the challenges and opportunities created by the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, and were looking for ways to support democratic transitions in and co-operation with the new states created as a result. Among the results of their discussions was the decision to create the Office for Free Elections – today the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The Office began its work in Warsaw in the Spring of 1991, and the main institution promoting the “Human Dimension” of the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security was born!