News and press releases

On 5 and 6 June, the OSCE Gender Issues Programme, in collaboration with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), organized a regional meeting for women peacebuilders in Istanbul, Türkiye. The event that marked a milestone of the nearly three-year partnership brought together prominent women peacebuilders from Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus and representatives from   the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), UNFPA and UN Women.

The Western Balkans Trial Monitoring report “From Paper to Practice”, developed within the regional project implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, was published today with recommendations on how judicial response to organized crime and corruption cases in these five jurisdictions can be improved.

In a significant step towards gender equality and the elimination of violence against women, Presidents of Women’s Forums and representatives from 10 political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have reached a consensus on the Principles for Political Engagement. The OSCE Mission to BiH facilitated this crucial meeting in Sarajevo, where the finalized text of these principles was agreed upon.

BELGRADE, 3 June 2024 – Serbia’s local elections were well run and freedom of expression and assembly were respected, but the dominance of the ruling party as well as the fragmentation of the opposition reduced their competitiveness, while allegations of widespread pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources favoured the ruling coalition, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement today.

The OSCE Secretariat Transnational Threats Department and the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan held a regional workshop dedicated to protecting soft targets from terrorist attacks in Astana on 27 and 28 May 2024 with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana.

Georgia’s newly approved law “on transparency of foreign influence” contains serious deficiencies that make it incompatible with international human rights standards and the country’s commitments as an OSCE state, and it should be rescinded, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human

Switzerland's 2023 federal assembly elections were competitive and well organized, and new campaign finance regulation increased transparency, but donation and campaign spending limits are lacking and reporting on spending is regrettably not required. The redesigned internet voting system