ODIHR has played an important role in the OSCE reaction to the crisis in and around Ukraine from its outset, beginning with the Human Rights Assessment Mission deployed to the country in March 2014, in co-operation with the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities. The Office is actively involved in continuing OSCE efforts to resolve the crisis, including through election observation, further assessment of the human rights situation in the country, monitoring the situation of Roma and Sinti, strengthening dialogue between the government and civil society, and promoting security of religious or belief communities and others in Ukraine.
Human rights are truly inseparable from the notion of security. There can be no sustainable security without respect for human rights and resilient democratic institutions, as a culture of democracy is ultimately a culture of peace.
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, ODIHR Director