Publications

The Centre for Democracy and Human Rights NGO in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro conducted this research for the period from September through November 2014 with two main goals: measuring a social status of journalists and journalists’ views on journalism as a profession.

The purpose of these Guidelines is to ensure that those involved in drafting and applying legislation in the area of the freedom of religion or belief, including civil society representatives, have at their disposal a benchmark document containing minimum international standards in the area of recognition of religious or belief communities. The document does not seek to challenge established agreements between states and religious or belief communities but, rather, to delineate the legal framework that would ensure that communities wishing to do so have a fair opportunity to be granted legal personality, and that the criteria established are applied in a non-discriminatory manner. This document elaborates on the issues of registration and recognition of religious and belief organizations, and supplements section II.F on “Laws governing registration of religious/belief organizations” of the 2004 Guidelines. The 2004 Guidelines do, however, remain valid in their entirety.

Based on the assumption that natural disasters can have different effects on men and women, the OSCE Mission to Serbia supported the development of a publication on the impact of May 2014 flooding in Serbia from a gender perspective. The research was conducted in order to identify and document gender-specific differences regarding flood risk, inform the public, formulate a set of recommendations and offer them to responsible authorities to improve gender sensitive planning in emergency management. Results of the research show that the most vulnerable groups during natural disasters are the elderly, people with disabilities, single mothers and women who live alone in their households. Illiterate residents (mostly women and Roma) are also among the vulnerable categories. The research also reveals that the basis of community vulnerability in emergency situations lies in an undeveloped systemic approach to dissemination of information during natural disasters and lack of community training on practices of effective reactions during floods. The publication is available in both Serbian and English.

The purpose of this handbook is to provide better guidance to ODIHR election observation missions and teams on how to approach campaign finance as part of the overall observation of an election. While ODIHR has included campaign finance in its general observation methodology, this handbook aims to establish a more systematic and comprehensive approach to observing this important part of the election process. It has been developed on the basis of extra-budgetary contributions as part of ODIHR’s continued effort to improve its methodology and to increase professionalism in the observation of certain specialized aspects of elections.

In this issue: Stepping up against Corruption; For a New Mediterranean; Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina: Innovate against Hate.

Compilation of consolidated summaries from the 22nd Economic and Environmental Forum

Recommendations on improving availability, quality and compatibility of migration data in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan. Published by the OSCE and the International Organization for Migration. Not available in English.

The compilation includes 54 decisions made by the Criminal Chamber of the Cassation Court of Armenia in the course of 2013. It is the 5th book of a series. The Cassation Court of Armenia acts to guarantee uniformity in the application of the law and ensure the consistency of the courts’ interpretations of legal acts. It is designed to serve as a reference tool for judges and lawyers.

The joint OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission Guidelines on Freedom of Association aim to offer advice and expertise on how to legislate on freedom of association-related matters, in a manner that is compliant with international human rights standards and OSCE commitments. They also reflect evolving good state practices, and are intended to enhance awareness of the above right in general. They will offer a practical toolkit to legislators tasked with drafting laws which regulate or affect associations, but also to associations, members of associations and human rights defenders, to support advocacy in this field of human rights law.

Proceedings and winners of the Max van der Stoel Award ceremonies of 2011 and 2014. The Max van der Stoel Award Commemorative Award 2014 Programme and 2011 Commemoration provides an overview of the award ceremony. It features the winners of the award in 2011, the Nansen Dialogue Centre Skopje, and in 2014, Spravedlivost (a human rights NGO from southern Kyrgyzstan) and their activities to improve the position of national minorities in their respective OSCE participating States.