When a Roma camp in the northern, Serbian part of Kosovo’s divided city of Mitrovica was found to have lead contamination, the government built new houses for those affected in the south of the city. The new housing has gone unoccupied, however, as Roma have balked at moving into a new community without talking with residents in advance about how they would integrate into the area's economy, education system and other aspects of community life.

A year-long examination of freedom of assembly in Kazakhstan found the government cracking down on nearly all forms of political expression, according to a report released in December by the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, a partner organization of NDI.

Somali citizens are eager for peace and security to prevail in their country. They favor a strong national government based on Islamic law, and they see clan divisions as perpetuating the ongoing conflict. They are also evenly divided on the merits of democracy as a political system.