Christian Strohal (born 1 May 1951) is an Austrian diplomat. He was formerly the director of the

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) dealing with the " human dimension" of security. The Office, originally named Office for ...

from 2003 to 2008.

Early life and education

Strohal studied Law, Economics and International Relations in London, Geneva and Vienna, where he received his doctorate in 1975.

Career

From 1976 onward, Strohal worked as a diplomat for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was, inter alia, to London, Geneva and Rabat. He was a member of the Delegations of Austria at the conferences of the Helsinki Process, which was constituted at the time by the organization known as the CSCE (now the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

). From 1985 to 1988 he worked as head of the section of Human Rights. From 1988 to 1992 he was Deputy Head of the Austrian Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. In 1992/93 he was special envoy for the preparation of the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. In 1994, he was appointed Head of the Human Rights Department of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Strohal held this post until 2000, when he was appointed Ambassador to Luxembourg. In March 2003 he took up his post as the new director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR / ODIHR) of the OSCE in

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-cen ...

. In 2008 he became Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations in Geneva, 2013 Permanent Representative to the OSCE in Vienna. In 2016, he was Special Representative for the Austrian Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2017. As part of his professional duties, Strohal undertook various tasks at the United Nations. He was chairman of the Western Human Rights Group of the

United Nations Human Rights Commission The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of t ...

(UNHRC) from 1990 to 1992, and vice president of the UNHRC in 1997/98. He served as Vice President of the UNHRC from 2011-2012 and President of the Governing Bodies of the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM was ...

(IOM) and President of the Compensation Commission of the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

(2009-2010). Between 2007 and 2012 he also served as Austria's independent adj. member of the Administrative Council of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Fundamental Rights Agency The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, usually known in English as the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), is a Vienna-based agency of the European Union inaugurated on 1 March 2007. It was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/20 ...

. He has published a number of articles on questions of human rights and international security policy, and lectured i.a. at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, the Geneva Academy on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and the European Inter-University Center for Human Rights in Venice, as well as at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. For his commitment to human rights, Strohal was awarded the 2008 Felix Ermacora Human Rights Award and the Pro Merito Medal of the

European Commission for Democracy through Law The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berl ...

from the

Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...

. He is a member of the International Institute for Human Rights.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strohal, Christian 1951 births Austrian diplomats Living people Austrian human rights activists OSCE ODIHR directors Permanent Representatives of Austria to the United Nations