News and press releases

Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro partnered with representatives from media self-regulatory bodies in Montenegro to draft a Manual on effective media reporting during election campaigns with 22 concrete recommendations in line with OSCE and international standards, and the Code of Ethics for Montenegrin Journalists.

The Regional Forum "E-commerce in handicraft as a driver of key changes in women's entrepreneurship in Central Asia", held on 5-6 May 2023 in Termez, Uzbekistan, provided a platform to discuss the role information technology (IT) and digital solutions play in the development of the handicraft sector, in particular for businesswomen. The Forum, organized by the International Business Women Association of Uzbekistan (IBWA) in co-operation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz), brought together around 130 women entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as Afghan women established in Uzbekistan.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (Office) celebrated the World Press Freedom Day together with its national and international partners on 3 May 2023 in Dushanbe. This year’s theme "Shaping a Future of Rights. Freedom of Expression as a driver for all other human rights" created a platform for participants to re-engage, establish network, exchange experience, raise the awareness and discuss the current state of the media affairs in Tajikistan.

In support of an ongoing transformation of the national public service broadcaster – Radio Television Montenegro (RTCG), the OSCE Mission to Montenegro supported the development of the RTCG’s Development Strategy and Digital Transformation Strategy for the period 2023-2027, presented on 5 May in Podgorica.

PODGORICA, 5 May 2023- The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an observation mission for the 11 June early parliamentary elections in Montenegro, following an invitation from the national authorities.

The future of security in the Black Sea region was the focus of the first Security Dialogue organized by the Bulgarian Chairpersonship of the Forum for Security Co-operation, held on 3 May. Drawing on the gravity and long-term consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the meeting provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions about the state of play of security in the wider Black Sea region and its role as an integral part of European security.

The OSCE Moscow Mechanism mission of experts undertaken by Professor Veronika Bílková, Dr. Cecilie Hellestveit and Dr. Elīna Šteinerte presented their findings to the OSCE Permanent Council on 4 May 2023, collected in the report entitled ‘Report on Violations and Abuses of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, related to the Forcible Transfer and/or Deportation of Ukrainian Children to the Russian Federation’.