Time to open new chapter in relations, OSCE human rights chief tells Russian officials

MOSCOW, 9 September 2008 - The director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, today called for a new chapter to be opened in the relations between his office and the Russian Federation as he concluded a two-day visit to Russia.

"Unfortunately, our relations have been marked by a certain measure of mistrust and suspicion in the past," said Lenarcic, who took over as Director of ODIHR in July.

"It is now time for a fresh start. We need to build trust and overcome suspicion. For this we need an open and constructive dialogue. I see my visit to Moscow as a very good start in this respect."

Lenarcic emphasized that the basis for co-operation between ODIHR and the Russian authorities must be the OSCE commitments made by all participating States.

"The OSCE commitments apply equally to all OSCE states. There can be no double standards," he said.

Lenarcic also stressed that ODIHR has considerably developed its activities over the past years, also taking into account concerns expressed by the Russian Federation. He noted that ODIHR observes elections across the entire OSCE region, drawing on experts and monitors from a wide range of participating States.

"We now have an opportunity to break the cycle of exchanging the same old allegations and lift our relations to a new qualitative level," he said.

He recalled that ODIHR already closely works with the Russian authorities and civil society on several human rights issues, such as combating human trafficking and fighting hate crimes.

During his visit, Lenarcic met Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko, Russian Central Election Commission Chairman Vladimir Churov and Konstantin Kosachev, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Relations, as well as other officials and representatives of civil society.