Publications

This publication is designed to clarify the interrelationship between freedom of religion and security in light of the OSCE’s comprehensive framework for peace and security. It further explains the nature, status and scope of freedom of religion or belief as enshrined in OSCE commitments and international and regional standards. Finally, it provides guiding principles, practical guidance and recommendations to address a number of issues of note at the intersection of freedom of religion or belief and security in the OSCE region.

The purpose of this publication is to improve the understanding of sexual and gender-based violence on the part of state actors and civil society, including an understanding of how such violence manifests in places of deprivation of liberty. It also identifies many of the factors that increase the vulnerability of persons deprived of their liberty and aims to contribute to the reduction and eventual elimination of sexual and gender-based violence in places of deprivation of liberty. The publication is primarily intended for policymakers, lawmakers and practitioners from criminal justice systems, including lawyers, prosecutors, judges and anyone else involved in arresting, investigating, interrogating or detaining suspects, those accused of a crime and prisoners or detainees.

These present guiding principles are intended for use by state authorities and civil society bodies, as well as inter-governmental organizations in the OSCE region involved in developing, applying, evaluating and reforming national laws, policies and practices related to trafficking, in particular to the return of trafficked persons. They provide the target audience with guidance that can be used to direct policies, procedures and practices on the return process, as well as an overview of relevant international standards. The guiding principles can also serve as an advocacy tool for civil society organizations that support a rights-based approach to combating trafficking.

Coalition building is about individual organizations amplifying their voices by working together. Anti-Semitism, intolerance and discrimination are deeply embedded across the OSCE region and addressing them requires the combined efforts of many communities and organizations. It cannot be accomplished in any large measure by just one group acting on its own.

This publication presents a comprehensive, but not exhaustive, list of indicators that suggest a crime may have been bias-motivated. The eight sections in this document correspond with the main types of bias indicators developed and recommended for use by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Each of the sections includes a set of questions to guide investigators in deciding whether a particular bias indicator type is present in the case before them.

This Guide provides practical advice on recognizing, recording and investigating hate crimes in Ukraine. As a brief and practical reference tool, it complements the efforts of the National Police Main Investigation Department, which drafted a detailed Methodological Recommendation on Investigating Hate Crimes, and will assist prosecutors overseeing the investigation process.

This report describes the ten short projects implemented by civil society organizations throughout the OSCE region in 2016 and 2017. The projects aimed to address anti-Semitism through education or coalition building in innovative ways, and were intended to inspire the development of new tools within the framework of ODIHR’s “Turning Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism” project.

This paper offers analysis and recommendations for building a more inclusive justice system in the OSCE region, drawing on results of a needs assessment study carried out by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in 2017. The study, which relied on both desk-based research and the collection of field data, was structured around two separate but interlinked themes: a) gender and diversity among justice system actors, in terms of recruitment and selection of a diverse workforce and ensuring workplace equality; and b) the effects of gender and diversity among justice system actors on the fairness of outcomes, as perceived by end users of justice systems. This paper outlines specific challenges identified by the needs assessment study and highlights some of the good practice solutions used to address them.

Based on standards established in international commitments, these Guidelines to Promote the Political Participation of Persons with Disabilities are a practical resource for OSCE participating States to strengthen the ability of democratic institutions – namely, political parties and parliaments – to engage and empower persons with disabilities in political processes.

This report provides a summary of key activities carried out by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in 2018.