News and press releases

Excessive use of detention on remand is a global issue that poses rule of law and human rights concerns, and Kosovo faces similar challenges.

SKOPJE, 24 October 2023 – Strengthening cyber-resilience and raising cybersecurity awareness were the focus of the cyber/ICT security conference hosted by the 2023 OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia in Skopje from 23 to 24 October.

THE HAGUE, 24 October 2023 – The institution of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) marked its 30th anniversary today with a high-level conference at the Peace Palace in The Hague. At the event, High Commissioner Kairat Abdrakhmanov also presented new recommendations on the effective participation of national minorities in social and economic life.

On 23 October, in Tashkent, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) – together with the National Human Rights Centre, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and its Regional Office for Central Asia, the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan and the Office in Uzbekistan of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation – organized an International Forum titled: "Youth Rights: Possibilities and Mechanisms of Protection". The Forum commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 30th anniversary of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights.

VIENNA, 23 October 2023 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, concluded a two-day official visit to London. During her visit, she engaged in a series of productive meetings with various stakeholders, including Sir John Whittingdale, Minister of State for the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, Lord Christopher Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice, Christian Rogg, Director for Development and Open Societies, and members of Parliament, including Vice Chairs of All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Media Freedom issues. The primary focus of these discussions was to address both current and emerging challenges to media freedom across the OSCE region, including discussions on the situation in the United Kingdom.

The role of Aarhus Centres in promoting public participation in environmental decision-making, transition towards green economy, and management of hazardous and toxic wastes took centre stage at the 2023 Aarhus Centres Annual Meeting, held in Dushanbe and online on 17 and 18 October.

On 17 October 2023, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) with the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), under the auspices of the 2023 OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia, organized a one-day Conference on Statelessness. The Conference was intended as an exchange forum for over eighty participants representing national authorities, civil society and international organizations, to facilitate practical and informative discussions aimed at sharing good practices to prevent and address statelessness in the South-Eastern Europe region.