News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
On International Roma Day, OSCE/ODIHR Director calls for greater efforts to improve co-operation between police and Roma communities
Publishing date: 8 April 2014
WARSAW, 8 April 2014 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), called today for greater efforts to improve relations and co-operation between police forces and Roma communities. On the occasion of International Roma Day, he further called on law-enforcement authorities to ensure effective police responses to violence against Roma and Sinti people in the OSCE area...
Although parliamentary elections in Hungary offered voters a diverse choice, ruling party enjoyed undue advantage, say international observers
Publishing date: 7 April 2014
BUDAPEST, 7 April 2014 – The 6 April 2014 parliamentary elections were well administered and offered voters a diverse choice, but a number of factors provided undue advantage to the ruling party, international observers said in a statement issued today. These included the manner in which a large number of changes to the legal framework were passed, restrictive campaign regulations, biased media coverage and the blurring of the separation between a ruling political party and the state...
National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security in focus at OSCE workshop
Publishing date: 4 April 2014
Experts from OSCE participating States, and representatives of academia and civil society came together for a workshop in Vienna on 4 April 2014 to discuss the first study on existing National Action Plans on implementing Women, Peace and Security commitments in the OSCE region...
OSCE Head of Centre speaks at NATO conference on Central Asian security
Publishing date: 3 April 2014
Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, spoke on the OSCE’s role in regional security at a conference in Astana on 3 April 2014, dedicated to the function of international organizations in Central Asian security...
Communiqué by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media on denial of entry of journalists from one OSCE participating State to another
Publishing date: 3 April 2014
Over recent years the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media has reacted on a number of occasions when an OSCE participating States denied entry to journalists from other countries. Following recent instances where journalists from Russia were denied entry into Ukraine, as well as reports of de facto authorities in Crimea denying entry to a number of journalists crossing the border of the peninsula, the Representative would like to restate her position on this issue...
OSCE and Tajikistan outline priorities for co-operation in 2015
Publishing date: 2 April 2014
DUSHANBE, 2 April 2014 – The annual forum of the OSCE–Tajikistan Task Force took place today in Dushanbe, where high-ranking officials from the OSCE and the Tajik government as well as representatives of civil society highlighted their recent major achievements and identified priorities for national and regional co-operation in 2015...
OSCE Mission to Montenegro trains municipal workers on gender budgeting
Publishing date: 1 April 2014
The strategies and benefits of effective gender budgeting were highlighted at a training course in Podgorica on 31 March and 1 April 2014 for gender focal points from municipal authorities across Montenegro...