News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
Weekly Update from the OSCE Observer Mission at Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk based on information as of 17 November 2020
Publishing date: 17 November 2020
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...
Escalating police violence in Belarus unacceptable, says OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President, urging investigations
Publishing date: 16 November 2020
COPENHAGEN, 16 November 2020 – With widespread protests ongoing in Belarus for more than 100 days, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli reacted today to increasing reports of excessive and disproportionate force by law enforcement. Police have reportedly used flash grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas, the President noted, and more than 1,200 people were detained on Sunday after demonstrations commemorating the death of protester Raman Bandarenka, a 31-year old activist who died in a hospital last week after reportedly being beaten by security forces...
OSCE, local partners organize Moldova’s first anti-human trafficking hackathon
Publishing date: 16 November 2020
During a hackathon co-organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 6 to 8 November 2020, thirty-six young women and men from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River spent 72 hours designing innovative tech-based solutions to prevent and combat human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children in Moldova...
Well-managed presidential run-off in Moldova clouded by negative rhetoric and ineffective campaign finance rules, international observers say
Publishing date: 16 November 2020
CHISINAU, 16 November 2020 – Yesterday’s presidential run-off in Moldova was well managed in the challenging circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but negative and divisive rhetoric devalued the campaign amid ineffective rules on campaign financing, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement today...
Lack of hate crime recording means victims and their needs too often remain invisible, OSCE’s human rights office says
Publishing date: 16 November 2020
WARSAW, 16 November 2020 – With the publication of its annual Hate Crime Report on today’s International Day for Tolerance, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) underscores the need for police to record hate crimes in order to ensure that victims are recognized and receive the support they so urgently need...
ODIHR opens special election assessment mission in Romania
Publishing date: 14 November 2020
BUCHAREST, 14 November 2020 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has formally opened a special election assessment mission (SEAM) for the 6 December parliamentary elections in Romania. The deployment follows an official invitation from the Romanian authorities...
OSCE and UN Office on Drugs and Crime deliver online train-the-trainer course to enhance Albania’s capacities to financially disrupt terrorist networks
Publishing date: 13 November 2020
The OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department’s Action against Terrorism Unit, in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized an online train-the-trainer course from 11 to 13 November 2020, with the aim of further strengthening Albania’s capacities in countering the financing of terrorism...