Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights - Elections

Profile

Hrair Balian joined the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as Head of the Election Section in 1999.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1948, he studied and practised as a lawyer in the United States before he moved to Europe in the 1990s to work on minority issues, human rights and conflict resolution.

Mr. Balian is author of the book "Stability in Multi-Ethnic States" (to be published in 2001).

Mr. Balian, what interests you in observing elections?

I see the observation of elections as a diagnostic tool to detect deeper structural problems in a country and as an early warning instrument.

It also provides the opportunity to get in touch with many actors of the society across the country and feel the pulse of the people. This helps to understand better societies in transition and identify areas where the international community can do something.

How would you assess the impact of the ODIHR's election activities?

In a number of cases, the ODIHR's mere presence made a difference, in particular with regard to the participation of opposition parties in elections.

Improving election processes and raising the confidence of the public in these processes are an important contribution to conflict prevention. People who are given the chance to participate in a democratic vote don't shoot at each other.

Our election reports contain detailed recommendations which can be used by national authorities and NGOs as well as by the OSCE and other assisting international organizations to work to improve the electoral framework in a given country.

How did you end up in the field of election observation?

I have been preoccupied with human rights and related issues during most of my life. Born in Beirut as part of the Armenian community, I was influenced by what my grandparents told me about Armenian history, by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the fragile inter-ethnic situation in Lebanon. I left Beirut in 1970 when the country was on the verge of civil war, and moved to the United States where I joined the anti-war movement and became a lawyer.
After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and seeing the growing number of conflicts in this region, I came to Europe in 1991 to work on public international law, minority rights, and conflict resolution, including in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Since I am convinced of the important role elections play in building sustainable democracy and preventing conflict, I decided to join the ODIHR, the lead agency in this field.

What are your plans for the future?

We have come a long way since the Office was created ten years ago, but much remains to be done. We are working very closely with governments and election administrations in a number of OSCE countries to bring the electoral framework in these countries up to OSCE standards.

We particularly focus on four key problems: lack of transparency in the election process, lack of accountability in the work of election commissions, interference by the authorities in the electoral process and restrictions of fundamental freedoms.

In our election observation efforts, we are venturing into new areas by paying more attention to the participation of national minorities and women in the electoral process.