III. Background and mandates Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE Participating States of the OSCE – the world’s largest regional security organization under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter – made several commitments regarding the protection of stateless persons, including their right to nationality and access to citizenship, registration and other relevant documents. This is articulated, for example, in the 1992 Helsinki Document – decisions in the Human Dimension21; the Charter for European Security adopted at the Istanbul Summit in 199922; in the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area (Maastricht 2003) 23; and in Ministerial Council Decision No. 10/07 on Tolerance And Non-Discrimination: Promoting Mutual Respect And Understanding (Madrid 2007) 24. Also of relevance are the provisions related to citizenship in the 2008 Bolzano/ Bozen Recommendations on National Minorities in Inter-State Relations 25, and the 2012 Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies 26. In line with its core mandate to assist OSCE participating States with the development of frameworks for the protection and promotion of fundamental rights as well as other civil and political rights, the support provided by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) focuses on administrative and legislative frameworks for civil registration. Such frameworks are of key importance in enabling the legal recognition of each individual, which is a precondition to accessing other important fundamental, civil and political rights. In line with its 2009 Guidelines on Population Registration27, ODIHR supports OSCE participating States, upon request, in modernizing their civil registration systems. Such support includes raising awareness among policymakers, conducting assessments of existing procedures, developing reform strategies, and providing policy advice. Building on its expertise in civil and residency registration, ODIHR also assists participating States in establishing the legal identity of citizens for the issuance of travel and identity documents, and in improving the quality of voter lists. Moreover, through its Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues established in 1994, ODIHR is specifically tasked to promote the human 24