News and press releases

As part of its ongoing efforts to develop and refine its election observation methodology, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) launched a new handbook on observing election administration on 3 October 2023, during the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference. Election

On 30 September, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) concluded a three-month-long, nation-wide small grants programme in Ukraine with the aim of supporting civil society organizations and the private sector in creating digital solutions addressing war-related challenges. The programme, titled Open Data Unbroken, supports the use of open data to encourage civic participation through innovative technology approaches and tools, establish partnerships among various sectors, and enhance information exchange and networking among local authorities, grassroots initiatives, and public activists.

Fifteen officials from the Ministry of Interior are equipped with the knowledge and skills to create and upload training content to the police e-learning platform, developed with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro. This was the outcome of two training cycles the Mission organized this year- from 3 to 7 July and from 25 to 29 September.

The May 2023 local elections in Albania were generally well-administered, competitive and held with the participation of the key political forces, but the process was characterized by continued polarization between the main political parties and deep division within the opposition. Contestants

Türkiye’s 2023 general elections offered voters a choice between genuine political alternatives and voter participation was high, but the incumbent president and the ruling parties enjoyed an unjustified advantage, including through biased media coverage. The continued restrictions on fundamental

From 25 to 29 September, the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, the Mobile Training Team and the OSCE Presence in Albania, conducted an intensive training programme in Tirana, Albania, focusing on behavioural analysis, interviewing techniques, and crisis management. It benefited twenty border and counter-terrorism officers, as well as representatives from the Security and Investigation Academy of the Albanian State Police.

Fourteen members of the Albanian State Police (ASP) participated in a training programme titled “Synthetic Drugs Trafficking- A Global Growing Threat” from 27 to 29 September 2023. The training was organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania with the support of the US Justice Department International