Publications

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 2023 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.

The quality of laws is a direct consequence of how they are developed and discussed. Lawmaking procedures and practices should follow democratic principles, adhere to the rule of law and comply with international human rights obligations and standards. At the same time, they should be evidence-based, open and transparent, participatory and inclusive, and subject to effective oversight.

The purpose of this guide is to give Roma and Sinti activists an easily accessible overview of the relevant international and regional human rights standards on forced evictions, with a particular focus on the findings of international and regional human rights tribunals in relation to Roma and Sinti evictions. In addition, by including numerous references to the judgments and decisions of international human rights courts, Roma and Sinti activists can familiarize themselves with these decisions and draw them to the attention of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights lawyers with whom they cooperate. These can then be incorporated into their legal advocacy and litigation, rendering them more effective.

This tool is designed to support national parliaments in OSCE participating States in developing parliamentary integrity systems. It provides a concise roadmap for designing and implementing a code of conduct for MPs from scratch, as well as guidance for parliaments that want to improve their existing integrity systems.

Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women and gender equality have a unique potential for making women’s and men’s lives better and, more generally, making democracies stronger, more resilient and egalitarian. In these challenging times for democracy, institutional mechanisms play an important role in preventing the reversal of gender equality in practice.

Since the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the OSCE region has experienced a number of conflicts that have not only destabilized the region but have also had a very negative impact on human rights and fundamental freedoms, triggering grave humanitarian consequences and human suffering. Unfortunately, the tensions, crises and conflict situations continue to this day. In 2023, according to UNHCR, displacement has reached approximately 27 million, including internal displacement within the OSCE region. This number includes those displaced from Ukraine since February 2022. At times of conflict, protection under International and Regional Human Rights Law and International Refugee Law is complemented by the protection offered under International Humanitarian Law, all mirrored in OSCE Commitments.

In 2019, in response to numerous requests for guidance on issues related to judicial independence falling outside the geographic and thematic scope of the Kyiv Recommendations, ODIHR initiated a comprehensive consultative and expert-driven process to ensure that its recommendations on judicial independence respond effectively to current challenges. The inaugural meeting of a core group of experts convened in Warsaw, followed by extensive further assessment of the thematic areas in focus. The Recommendations on Judicial Independence and Accountability (Warsaw Recommendations) are the result of this review process.

Given the ongoing erosion of democratic and constitutional standards and the rule of law across the world, and declining public trust in democratic institutions, it is essential to strengthen democratic institutions and processes by promoting openness, transparency, inclusiveness and accountability in lawmaking. Contemporary lawmaking displays a number of weaknesses, including a lack of proper policy discussions, impact assessments or public consultations before drafting a law and the practice of sidelining democratic institutions throughout the legislative process. In principle, lawmaking procedures and practices should follow democratic principles, adhere to the rule of law and comply with international human rights obligations and standards. A democratic lawmaking process not only leads to better laws but usually improves the implementation of the adopted laws, ultimately enhancing public trust in democratic institutions and processes.

This factsheet explains the purpose of the Limited Election Observation Mission to Poland's 2023 Parliamentary Elections.

This publication has been developed to guide trainers leading 4-day in-person training courses for prison staff designed by the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Penal Reform International (PRI) in partnership with the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (SPPS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).