Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini (c), the head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the 4 March 2012 presidential election in the Russian Federation, announced the opening of the Mission at a press conference in Moscow, 26 January 2012. (OSCE/Egor Tilpunov)

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is based in Warsaw, Poland. It is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and rule of law.

Nicola Schmidt, Deputy Head of the ODIHR Elections Department (left), and Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, the head of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission at a polling station in the village of Marija Gorica during the 4 December 2011 parliamentary elections in Croatia.

ODIHR report says Croatia’s December elections pluralistic and transparent, recommends improvements to legal framework and compilation of voter lists

Croatia’s parliamentary elections on 4 December 2011 were pluralistic and administered transparently but further steps should be taken to improve the legal framework and the compilation of voter lists, concludes ODIHR's final report...

Janez Lenarcic, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, at a media briefing during the OSCE Summit in Astana, December 2010.

OSCE rights chief welcomes decision to release Zhovtis, but expresses concern about clampdown on Kazakh opposition

WARSAW, 1 February 2012 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today welcomed the decision by a court in Ust-Kamenogorsk to release prominent human rights defender Yevgeniy Zhovtis, but expressed concern about the continuing clampdown on opposition activities in Kazakhstan in the wake of December’s violence in Zhanaozen and parliamentary elections held earlier this month...

Switzerland’s elections to Federal Assembly vibrant and pluralistic, some concerns over regional variations, says ODIHR report

Switzerland’s elections to the Federal Assembly on 23 October 2011 demonstrated that Swiss democracy is deep-rooted and pluralistic but the decentralized system of government leads to some regional variations in electoral practice, concludes the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR election assessment mission...

Cover from report on the conference, on Electoral Good Practice, Political Participation, Justice and Legal Reform held 4-5 December 2011 in Vilnius.

OSCE and Mediterranean civil society groups recommend increased Organization engagement to support transitions in the Mediterranean region

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released on 26 January 2012 a report summarizing the discussions and the recommendations agreed at the OSCE - Mediterranean Partner Countries' Civil Society Conference, held in Vilnius on 4-5 December 2011 ahead of the OSCE Ministerial Council...

St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow. OSCE/ODIHR formally opened its observation mission to monitor the upcoming 4 March 2012 presidential elections in the Russian Federation on 26 January 2012.

OSCE/ODIHR opens observation mission for Russian presidential election

MOSCOW, 26 January 2012 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened its election observation mission to monitor the upcoming 4 March presidential election in the Russian Federation...

As a precaution against fraud, each voter's finger was marked with ink during Albania's 2009 parliamentary elections, Elbasan, 28 June 2009.

ODIHR working with Albania on planned election law amendments

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will provide expertise to Albania’s Special Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform, including through expert team visits to Tirana, in 2012...

A lion stands guard outside the presidential palace in Warsaw, Poland.

Poland’s parliamentary elections pluralistic and democratic, but some concerns over late legal amendments, says ODIHR final report

Poland’s 9 October 2011 parliamentary elections were pluralistic and democratic, although late changes to electoral laws impacted on the stability of the legal framework, the final report released by ODIHR on 18 January 2012 concludes...