News and press releases

KYIV, 03 March 2021 — The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, made the following statement to the press after the regular meetings of the TCG and its Working Groups held through video conferencing:

MADRID, 3 March 2021 – Spain is stepping up its commitment and efforts in combating human trafficking. This is a great example of how a country can mobilize when the issue of trafficking is elevated to a political priority, said the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey, at the high-level first international seminar on trafficking in human beings in Madrid...

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

SOFIA, 2 March 2021 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened a limited election observation mission (LEOM) for the 4 April parliamentary elections, following an invitation from the country’s authorities.

An OSCE-supported international online conference “OSCE Astana Summit 2010: Historical Significance and Relevance” was held on 19 February 2021. The event was organized by the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Leader of the Nation (Elbasy), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan.

COPENHAGEN, 26 February 2021 – Meeting virtually today, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s committees on economic and environmental affairs and human rights and democracy discussed the impacts of COVID-19, as well as other pertinent issues. It was the first time that the two committees have met – albeit in an online format – since the coronavirus outbreak last year. The meetings featured speeches by committee leaders, presentations by high-level OSCE officials, and wide-ranging debates with the participation of dozens of parliamentarians from North America, Europe and Central Asia.

On 26 February 2021, the Council of Europe (CoE) convened the 8th meeting of the Protocol Drafting Plenary of the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T/CY), which represents the State Parties to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. The aim of the meeting was to prepare a 2nd Additional Protocol to the Convention.