News and press releases

Innovative methods for researching unreported hate crimes and hate incidents were the focus of a training session for criminal justice and human rights professionals organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 20 and 21 March 2019 in Warsaw.

SARAJEVO, 21 March 2019 – An assessment of the work of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) institutions in combating discrimination, prepared by the OSCE Mission to BiH, was presented today in Sarajevo, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination...

VIENNA/STRASBOURG/WARSAW, 21 March 2019 – Too many people with an ethnic or migrant background are still being held back in the job market. This is despite laws against racial discrimination and for equal opportunities in employment that have been in place for decades, the heads of three European human rights institutions said in a joint statement on today’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission followed up on the explosion of a device in Luhansk city. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM spotted for the first time anti-tank mines near government-controlled Novoselivka. The Mission continued to observe hardship faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a permanent storage site and a heavy weapons holding area in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region and near non-government-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on reports of arson at two stores.

VIENNA, 20 March 2019 – Best practice examples of and perspectives on Security sector governance and reform (SSG/R)- a priority theme for both Slovakia’s 2019 OSCE Chairmanship and the Swiss Chairmanship of the FSC – was discussed at today’s joint meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) and the Permanent Council in Vienna...

MINSK, 20 March 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today concluded a three-day official visit to Minsk. In his discussions with the Belarusian authorities, he called on the government to undertake the reforms necessary for developing a more favourable and pluralistic media environment...

Promoting gender-sensitive legislation in Albania was the focus of discussion at a workshop in Tirana on 20 March 2019. The event was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania and the parliament of Albania.