News and press releases

WARSAW, 29 December 2021 – Following two Russian court decisions this week to close both the International Memorial Society and its sister organization Human Rights Center Memorial, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) expressed profound concern and called on the Russian authorities to ensure a safe and enabling space for civil society.

On 28 December 2021, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) co-hosted an award ceremony recognizing the winners of the Open Data Challenge 2021 hackathon, an IT contest to develop digital solutions based on open data. The ceremony and the hackathon were organized by the PCUz in collaboration with the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics (UZSTAT), the Technological Park of Software Products and Information Technologies (IT-Park Uzbekistan) and other national partners.

About twenty police officers, prosecutors, and representatives of the National Security Service and Investigative Committee of Armenia attended a training course on open-source IT forensics and network investigations held from 20 to 24 December 2021 at the Academy of Justice in Yerevan. The OSCE and the Council of Europe jointly organized the event, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina published the report “School names, symbols and manifestations at primary and secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A status update with recommendations” on 27 December 2021.

A four-day training workshop on issues related to the strategic trade control in Tajikistan, organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, concluded on 23 December 2021.

VIENNA, 20 December 2021 – In response to the recent parliamentary approval of a draft bill that excludes companies from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) to hold broadcasting licenses in Poland, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro today reiterated her concern for its wider implications for media freedom and called on President Andrzej Duda to veto it.

On 17 December 2021, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro met with the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the OSCE, Ambassador Michael Carpenter. They discussed current developments on media freedom and freedom of expression in the United States and the wider OSCE region.