News and press releases

KYIV, 3 August 2022- During their visit to Kyiv, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau, and OSCE Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid have announced a new OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine.

Eighteen specialists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan completed a three-week regional Explosive Ordnance Disposal course (EOD level 1) at the Regional Explosive Hazards Training Centre (REHTC) of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence in Chimteppa, on 29 July 2022.

WARSAW, 2 August 2022 – Governments need to go beyond their responsibility to remember the Roma and Sinti genocide of 1944 to ensure that school curricula and other educational initiatives engage with young people to discuss the potentially dangerous consequences of racist ideologies, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said on today’s Roma Genocide Remembrance Day.

During his official visit to Kyrgyzstan from 24 to 27 July 2022, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov discussed the country’s inter-ethnic policy and the importance of multilingual education with representatives of the government and civil society, including national minorities.

The parliamentary elections and referendum in Hungary were well run, but marred by the absence of a level playing field. While contestants were largely able to campaign freely, there was a pervasive overlap between ruling coalition and government messaging and activities. Candidate registration was inclusive, offering voters distinct alternatives, but biased news coverage limited voters’ opportunity to make an informed choice....

An OSCE-organized regional training workshop on countering illicit trafficking of cultural property took place from 26 to 28 July 2022. The three-day event, held in a blended format, aimed to strengthen further regional co-operation to combat all forms and aspects of trafficking in cultural

THE HAGUE, 26 July 2022 – The Social Justice Center (SJC) from Georgia has been selected as the winner of the 2022 Max van der Stoel Award. The Award recognizes its work to support and empower vulnerable groups, including national minorities, in Georgia.