News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
OSCE PA President, human rights Chair welcome Azerbaijan pardons
Publishing date: 18 March 2016
COPENHAGEN, 17 March 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) and the Chairperson of the OSCE PA Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today welcomed the release of 148 individuals serving jail terms in Azerbaijan following a pardon decree issued by President Ilham Aliyev...
OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports armed forces to maintain security of small arms and light weapons in Kyrgyzstan
Publishing date: 18 March 2016
BISHKEK, 18 March 2016 – Some 20 military personnel from the Northern Regional Command and the Southern Regional Command of the Kyrgyz Armed Forces completed an OSCE-supported one-week training-course on maintaining an electronic database system for the management, record-keeping and tracing of small arms and light weapons and stockpiles of conventional ammunition...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 16 March 2016
Publishing date: 17 March 2016
The SMM continued to observe ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The SMM monitored a border area not controlled by the Government where it observed long lines of cars and trucks. The SMM was restricted in its freedom of movement in areas not controlled by the Government. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential infrastructure. In Kyiv and Odessa, the SMM observed gatherings marking the second anniversary of the annexation of Crimea...
OSCE event at UN Commission on the Status of Women’s session stresses need to change cultural norms in order to provide equal security for women and men
Publishing date: 17 March 2016
The implementation of existing gender equality commitments and changing deep-rooted cultural norms are crucial for creating stable, safe and peaceful societies for all, said participants at a side event organized on 16 March 2016 in New York by Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Gender Section, on the margins of the 60th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)...
OSCE Office in Yerevan supports public discussion on draft Electoral Code
Publishing date: 17 March 2016
The first public hearing of the new draft Electoral Code, organized by the Armenian Justice Ministry with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, took place on 11 March 2016 in Yerevan...
OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to join the Group of States against Corruption
Publishing date: 17 March 2016
STRASBOURG, 17 MARCH 2016- The OSCE Centre in Bishkek supported the participation of the Kyrgyz delegation at the 71st Plenary and Working Group Sessions of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) in Strasbourg, France...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 15 March 2016
Publishing date: 16 March 2016
The SMM continued to observe ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The SMM monitored border areas not controlled by the Government. It was restricted in its freedom of movement, including at a heavy weapons holding area and at a border crossing point in an area not controlled by the Government. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential infrastructure. The Mission continued to monitor the situation affecting internally displaced persons. The SMM spoke to organizers of the upcoming Festival of Equality in Lviv...