News and press releases

The Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and EU Special Representative in BiH, the US Embassy in BiH and the OSCE Mission to BiH welcome yesterday’s long-awaited adoption of the Revised National War Crimes Processing Strategy by the BiH Council of Ministers. The adoption of the Revised Strategy is an important step in delivering justice for all victims of war crimes and reducing the impunity gap, as well as a key requirement outlined in the European Commission Opinion on BiH’s EU membership application.

COPENHAGEN, 23 September 2020 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) and Secretary General Roberto Montella opened a web meeting today with Belarusian Head of Delegation Andrei Savinykh, Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and OSCE PA Bureau members by noting the importance of building dialogue for the benefit of all. Following weeks of increased polarization in Belarus characterized by street protests, violence and mass arrests, what is needed is to find common ground and pursue a way forward for the country, the PA leaders stressed...

COPENHAGEN, 16 September 2020 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s webinar today, entitled “From the Arctic to Global: The Political Role in addressing Climate Change,” featured the participation of some 50 parliamentarians and experts for a discussion on the effects of climate change in the Arctic and beyond. The PA’s Special Representative on Arctic Issues, Norwegian parliamentarian Torill Eidsheim, opened the event, followed by keynote addresses by the Arctic Council’s Adalheidur Thorsteinsdottir, the UN’s Daniele Violetti, and Prof. Tore Furevik, Director of the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research...

As Ukraine prepares for local elections scheduled for 25 October this year, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator started to upload materials on the online system Vyborkom to provide training opportunities for people administering electoral process at various levels...

TIRANA, 23 July 2020 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Edi Rama, welcomed the agreement reached yesterday by the Trilateral Contact Group, with the participation of representatives of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, regarding additional measures to strengthen the ceasefire, aiming to ensure compliance with a comprehensive, sustainable and unlimited ceasefire. The agreement is due to come into force from 27 July 2020 until the comprehensive settlement of the conflict...

ODIHR's recommendations on Azerbaijan 2020 elections ODIHR final report on the 2020 Azerbaijan early parliamentary elections A restrictive legal and political landscape meant that voters in the early parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were not provided with meaningful choice despite a high

VIENNA / STOCKHOLM, 16 July 2020 – With the current pandemic putting a severe strain on societies all over the world, Sweden will take on the OSCE Chair in truly challenging times. This calls for a focus on the very fundamentals of the OSCE: the European security order, the comprehensive concept of security and continued efforts to resolve conflicts in the OSCE region, said Sweden’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Robert Rydberg today, as he addressed the Permanent Council on the incoming Chair’s priority areas...