Join Ambassador Philip Reeker, Chair of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program, for a lively discussion with Matteo Mecacci, the Director of the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).  Together, they examine the continued importance of ODIHR’s election monitoring – especially in 2024, a “year of elections.”  What lessons can we learn from ODIHR’s election monitoring, and how can it strengthen democracy and the rule of law?  Is democracy itself under attack?  How have the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and ODIHR evolved over time, and what challenges do these institutions face today? 

The Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights was established in in 1992; since then, it has deployed more than 75,000 election observers across OSCE countries.