News and press releases

SARAJEVO, 5 February 2016 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) this week organized a series of short courses, which concluded today in Sarajevo, on the use of Internet and social media in developing counter narratives to online content promoting violent extremism...

The SMM observed a relatively low number of ceasefire violations in Donbas. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The Mission encountered freedom-of-movement restrictions, the majority in areas not under government control.* Zaitseve residents told the SMM that the nearby crossing point was closed to vehicular traffic. The SMM learned that a large number of people crossed the contact line near Stanytsia Luhanska...

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Armenia’s 6 December 2015 Constitutional Referendum concluded that the legal framework generally provides a solid basis for the conduct of referenda, but further steps should be taken to bring legislation closer in line with OSCE commitments...

WARSAW, 5 February 2016 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today called on OSCE participating States to strengthen their responses to female genital mutilation as a form of violence against girls and women...

VIENNA, 5 February 2016 – “On 25 July 2013, I got my first rape threat. That was a Thursday. By Sunday, police had collected 300 A4 pages of threats that had been made against me.”- Journalist Caroline Criado-Perez, on her experience with online abuse.

DUSHANBE, 5 February 2016 – Seventeen officers from the Main Directorate of Tajik Border Troops graduated today from a two-week training course on search and rescue at the Gissar Training Centre, Tajikistan. The course was organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

The SMM observed a number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, and several in Luhansk region. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The Mission encountered freedom-of-movement restrictions, the majority in areas not under government control.* It observed new mobile checkpoints in Luhansk region. The SMM continued to monitor the situation affecting the civilian population near the contact line, and saw civilians frustrated at checkpoint queues in Donetsk region. The SMM observed a demonstration in Odessa and visited a border crossing point in Kharkiv region...