Publications

Anti-Roma racism and discrimination against Roma and Sinti communities continues to persist in various forms across the OSCE area. We often witness human rights violations and racist and discriminatory practices that impede the participation of Roma and Sinti in all walks of life.

Parliamentary oversight is one of the core tasks of parliaments and, alongside their legislative and representative roles, is a fundamental element of any effective system of democratic governance.

This factsheet explains the purpose of the Limited Election Observation Mission to Poland's 2025 Presidential Election.

Supporting and strengthening democratic institutions and processes is the objective of ODIHR’s project Stronger Democratic Institutions in Eastern Partnership Countries: an ODIHR project supported and funded by the EU. The project aims to increase public trust in democratic institutions and foster more inclusive, accountable and transparent governance, with respect for human rights and the rule of law. Stronger democratic institutions contribute to more effective responses to current crises while building resilience to future challenges.

Adults and children from any cultural, socio-economic, ethnic and religious background can become victims of trafficking in human beings (THB). Victims may have had nurturing families, access to secondary and tertiary education or professional careers before being trafficked, but understanding any pre-existing vulnerabilities should also give a better understanding of the categories of people most often targeted by traffickers.

This report highlights the impact of activities carried out by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in 2024.

Launched in 2021, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) CHANGE project employs a transformative approach to promoting gender equality, women’s human rights and safety. It integrates a broad range of elements from across ODIHR's mandate to address obstacles to achieving gender equality.

The advancement of gender equality aims to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women and men, as well as the just distribution of power and resources. Gender equality should enable both women and men to shape politics, and it is increasingly accepted that politics and decision-making processes should embrace the participation and contribution of the people they affect. To secure truly transformative change towards gender equality, there is now an urgent need to engage male politicians meaningfully in gender equality work, forging more just and equitable political institutions that work for all.

ODIHR’s publications, factsheets, and practical guides are vital tools to assist all those working to strengthen democracy and human rights across the OSCE. The Office's 2024 publications covered a wide range of topics, including human rights, strengthening democratic institutions, parliamentary integrity, election observation, combating hate crime, combating human trafficking, Roma inclusion, and many more. Others were translated for the first time into other languages of the OSCE region.