News and press releases

GENEVA/MOSCOW, 13 October, 2020- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) released the following statement today:

COPENHAGEN, 12 October 2020 – Some 100 election observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy later this month to the United States for the 3 November general elections. They will work with about 40 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights who are already in the country and deliver a joint assessment following election day. The mission will mark the eighth time the PA has observed the vote in the U.S. since 2004...

The role of parliament in oversight of the security sector in Uzbekistan was the focus of an OSCE event in Tashkent on 8 October 2020. Twenty members of the Oliy Majlis (parliament), coming from both the Legislative Chamber and the Senate, took part in the event. The workshop was organized, in a blended format, jointly by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, and supported by speakers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly...

WARSAW, 9 October 2020 – Ahead of tomorrow’s World Day against the Death Penalty, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) emphasized in its new report that individuals facing the death penalty must have access to fair trial guarantees, the right of pardon or commutation, and equal protection of the law without discrimination...

VIENNA, 5 October 2020- How to address organized crime through strategic partnerships among law enforcement agencies, national institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector, was the focus of an OSCE conference held in Vienna and online today. Over 250 representatives of government institutions from the OSCE participating States, the OSCE’s Partners for Co-operation, and experts from academia, civil society, the UN and other international and regional organizations, took part...

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, 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...