Social

Home page

Social

OSCE human rights office celebrates 20th anniversary

17 May 2011 21:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today celebrated its 20th anniversary with a ceremonial event at the Officeâ€™s new premises in Warsaw, APA reports quoting the official website of OSCE.

Speaking at the ceremony, ODIHRâ€™s director, Ambassador Janez LenarÄiÄ, said the Office has played an important role over the past two decades in helping with the transition to democracy in many OSCE countries.

â€œAlthough there have been many success stories, our work is far from completed. Sadly, we continue to witness serious violations of human rights and democracy standards in the OSCE region,â€ he said.

LenarÄiÄ stressed that ODIHRâ€™s activities are not limited to transition countries: â€œFor many years now we have been working across the entire region, recognizing that democracy is a process that is not immune to setbacks and can always be improved, even in countries with longstanding democratic traditions.â€

The OSCEâ€™s Secretary General, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, said ODIHR has earned a reputation as a leader and a centre of excellence in helping participating States adhere to the rigorous standards they themselves have set. â€œIn implementing its mandate, however, ODIHR can at times face obstacles. Some participating States are increasingly open in challenging long established commitments and practices in areas such as electoral standards and freedom of expression,â€ he added.

Speaking for ODIHRâ€™s host country, Polish Foreign Minister RadosÅ‚aw Sikorski linked the Officeâ€™s presence in Warsaw with Polandâ€™s foreign policy goals: â€œDuring the last 20 years Poland has become one of the most important promoters of democracy and human rights.â€ He highlighted in particular the role of ODIHR in combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia and hate crimes.

In a message delivered by the Polish democracy activist and presidential adviser Jan LityÅ„ski, Polandâ€™s President BronisÅ‚aw Komorowski stressed the important role ODIHR played in the democratic transition process in Central and Eastern Europe. He said it was no coincidence that ODIHR is located in Warsaw: â€œWe are considering the choice of Poland as host country for the Office as the international communityâ€™s recognition of the Polish transition.â€

Evaldas Ignatavicius, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, said: â€œThis Office came to being in an era of monumental change in Europe. Even though Europeâ€™s face has been genuinely transformed during these last two decades, many of the challenges that we faced then still remain to be addressed today.â€

Created by the 1990 Charter of Paris, the Office began its work in Warsaw in the spring of 1991. Its mandate, initially focused on elections, was broadened in subsequent years. Today, ODIHR works to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law across the entire OSCE region and employs about 150 staff from over 30 countries.

In April, ODIHR moved to new premises in the historic MÅ‚odziejowski Palace in Warsawâ€™s Old Town.