Didier Burkhalter, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for 2014 and Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, at the Permanent Council in Vienna, 16 January 2014.

OSCE Chair says Crimean referendum in its current form is illegal and calls for alternative ways to address the Crimean issue

BERN, March 11 2014 – In its current form the referendum regarding Crimea scheduled for March 16, 2014, is in contradiction with the Ukrainian Constitution and must be considered illegal, Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chair Didier Burkhalter said...
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović, at the Permanent Council in Vienna, 16 January 2014.

OSCE media freedom representative concerned about new steps to restrict media plurality in Ukraine

VIENNA, 11 March 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about demands that cable operators in Ukraine stop transmitting certain Russian television channels...
Ukrainian military personnel in protective suits during an exercise held as part of an OSCE project that will help Ukraine safely dispose of thousands of tonnes of the toxic rocket fuel component melange. Kalynivka, Vinnytsya region. 18 November 2009.

Toxic rocket fuel component now fully removed from Ukraine with OSCE support

A train carrying 490 tonnes of mélange, a toxic rocket fuel component, known as “Melange”, which was being stored in deteriorating containers in Ukraine, safely arrived today at a disposal facility in Russia, marking the successful completion of the removal operation of a project implemented by the OSCE, Ukraine and a Russian contractor.
Participants of the first visit try to enter Crimea. The group was unable to move beyond checkpoints at the administrative border.

Ukraine requests continuation of visit by unarmed personnel

*** UPDATE for 11 March, 15:30 - Twenty-one OSCE participating State responded positively to the second request of Ukraine and are sending their personnel: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA.*** VIENNA, 11 March 2014, 12:00 - A continuation of the visit by unarmed personnel has been requested by Ukraine, this time to cover the south and east of the country...

Regional organizations, co-operation, women are crucial for effective mediation, says OSCE Secretary General

Effective co-operation between regional players and international organizations and the adequate representation and participation of women are crucial for effective mediation, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told a meeting of the Initiative on Mediation in the Mediterranean Region in Brdo, Slovenia, on 11 March 2014...

Does peace need women?

Moldovan Army Lieutenant Colonel Olga Scripovscaia at the first training seminar on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security held by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and ODIHR, Chişinău, 8 December 2011.
Women often play a crucial role in peace-building in communities which have been riven with conflict, but are excluded from formal negotiations.

What are military facility visits?

Major General Almaz Dzhumakeev, Commander of the 36th Air Storm Brigade, speaks with a representative of the German Verification Centre at a simulated inspection at a regional training event in support of the Vienna Document, Astana, 24 May 2013.
Vienna document visits take place frequently. All OSCE participating States have agreed to a number of confidence and security-building measures...

Model OSCE 2014

Model OSCE video thumbnail.
The 2014 Model OSCE isn't just a simulation; it's putting the real negotiation skills of Youth Ambassadors to the test.