News and press releases

STOCKHOLM, 23 December 2021 — The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Ann Linde, welcomed the strong determination to fully adhere to the Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire agreement of 22 July 2020 expressed at yesterday’s meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group.

KYIV, 22 December 2021 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Mikko Kinnunen, made the following statement to the press after the regular meetings of the TCG and its Working Groups held through video conferencing:

On 15 December 2021 in Nur-Sultan, Volker Frobarth, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan and Nail Akhmetzakirov, Head of the Department for Provision of Courts’ Activity under the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the extra budgetary project on Improving the Effectiveness of the Justice System in Kazakhstan.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Independent Media Commission (IMC) have launched a campaign to engage the public in contributing to better audio-visual media content, and ensuring broadcasters abide by the law and code of conduct.

Four OSCE diplomats received the OSCE’s White Ribbon award for their work promoting gender equality. The awards went to Annika Söder (Sweden), Marina Wyss (Switzerland), Fiel Vanthemsche (Belgium) and Sebastian Gahnström (Finland). The winners were announced in Vienna on 9 December and the awards were handed over at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 16 December 2021.

VIENNA, 15 December 2021 – Building trust, improving military transparency, countering the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, and improving the participation of women in the armed forces were at the centre of Austria’s Chairpersonship of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC). This was the message emphasized by Dieter Kandlhofer, Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Defence, at the last meeting held under the Austrian FSC Chair.

Despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governing Board of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), under Montenegro’s presidency, delivered their programme for youth in the region in 2021. As it prepares for 2022, RYCO will continue to build up its effectiveness and visibility to provide more opportunities for youth.