News and press releases

From 9 to 12 May 2023, the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD), in co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, organized an introductory training course on cybercrime and digital evidence at the Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan.

The inaugural event on launching these two projects, entitled “Improvement of SALW and CA life-cycle management capacity of Ministry of Defense of Kyrgyz Republic” and “Reducing risk of illicit SALW, ammunition and explosives proliferation across border of Kyrgyz Republic”, took place on 15 May 2023 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Tirana, 15 May 2023 – Albania’s 14 May local elections were generally well-administered, competitive and held with the participation of the country’s key political forces, but the process was characterized by continued polarization between the two main political parties in the country and deep divisions among the opposition, the international observers said in a statement today. Contestants could campaign freely, but issues of importance for local communities barely featured in the campaigns. Cases of the misuse of public resources at both the national and local levels, allegations of pressure on voters and public sector workers, in particular, and of vote-buying were of concern, the observers said.

ANKARA, 15 May 2023 – Characterized by a high turnout, Türkiye’s general elections were well-managed and offered voters a choice between genuine political alternatives, but the current president and the ruling parties enjoyed an unjustified advantage. Continued restrictions on fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression hindered the participation of some opposition politicians and parties, as well as civil society and independent media, international observers said in a statement today.

TOKYO, 15 May 2023 – OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concluded a visit to Japan, where she met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and other officials and also took part in the Munich Security Conference Leaders’ Meeting hosted by Japan ahead of the G7 Summit.

A needs assessment to evaluate the fire mitigating measures in Montenegro concluded on 12 May, conducted by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) for the Ministry of Defense and with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan – together with the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Uzbekistan and experts from the Centre de la Protection Internationale (Centre of International Protection) – organized the training titled “International Mechanisms for the Protection of Human Rights in the UN System”, held from 4 to 9 May in Samarkand. The event aimed to further develop the capacity of lawyers to protect and defend and human rights.