EU Statement in response to the Report by the Director of ODIHR

As delivered by EU in response to the Report by the Director of ODIHR Maria Telalian at the 1541st meeting of The Permanent Council to the OSCE, Vienna, 6 November.

  1. The European Union warmly welcomes the Director of ODIHR, Maria Telalian, back to the Permanent Council and thanks her for her timely and comprehensive report. We highly appreciate the valuable work done by ODIHR throughout the year.
  2. The EU will continue to firmly support ODIHR’s autonomy and mandate for the promotion and protection of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in the OSCE.

  3. While the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act this year highlighted its continued validity, we deplore the ongoing, systematic violations of its core principlesand of OSCE commitments.

  4. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is ongoing, causing much suffering, increased civilian casualties and destruction. We call for accountability for all international crimes and human rights violations and abuses and we therefore commend ODIHR’s contribution through the Ukraine Human Rights Monitoring Initiative. The latest ODIHR interim report provided credible, impartial documentation of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law; we value the current work in view of the upcoming 8th interim report.

  5. The EU also deplores the shrinking space for civil society across a number of OSCE participating states, where legislation and policies are increasingly obstructing the work of civil society organisations and human rights defenders.

  6. We commend ODIHR’s valuable assistance to participating States on election observation, legislative reviews, strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, human rights and combating intolerance and discrimination.

  7. For 25 years, ODIHR has been supporting participating states strengthen their electoral laws to ensure the transparency and integrity of elections and to bring countries’ legal frameworks in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards. We also express appreciation for ODIHR’s continuous engagement in election observation across the OSCE region. We value that ODIHR’s work continues to adapt to new realities, including the increasing role of new technologies and the challenges posed by We recognise that ODIHR's updated election observation methodology assesses the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns, online political advertising, and cybersecurity measures.

  8. We reiterate that election monitoring by ODIHR is a valuable tool for the promotion of democratisation and respect for human rights across our region and we call on all participating States to honour their commitments in this regard. ODIHR election observation methodology is globally recognised and based on the principles of independence, impartiality and professionalism. In this context, we acknowledge Director’s public stance on Georgian authorities’ decision to invite ODIHR at a too late stage, thus preventing a credible and meaningful observation as ODIHR was therefore not in a position to deploy an election observation mission to Georgia’s local elections held on 4 October 2025.

  9. We thank ODIHR for providing assistance to the Finnish Chairpersonship in organising the 2025 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference. As consensus on the annual mandated Human Dimension Implementation Meeting was again hindered by Russia and Belarus, we deeply appreciated the opportunity to engage over two weeks with civil society representatives and other participating States on issues pertaining to our commonly agreed commitments. This platform is essential especially in times of shrinking space for civil society. We reiterate our call on all participating States to agree on the relevant decisions needed to hold the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. We reiterate our full trust in Poland as the host country of ODIHR and its events. We also thank Poland for its tireless efforts over the years to make Human Dimension events a success.

  10. We also call on all participating States to ensure that ODIHR is adequately staffed and resourced in order to carry out its vital work in accordance with its mandate that was agreed by all participating States.

  11. In conclusion, Director Telalian, we wish you and your engaged team continued success in implementing ODIHR’s mandate. We look forward to working with you in the years ahead.