News and press releases

Lessons learned and recommendations for further reforms in policy, legislation and practice developed over the course of a project to promote the security of religious communities in Ukraine were the focus of an event organized by the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Kyiv on 25 and 26 February 2016.

Tajikistan’s Government on 9 February 2016 approved a National Action Plan, drafted with the support of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004), on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their components and means of delivery. A corresponding resolution on the Plan’s further implementation by designated governmental structures was signed by the country the same day...

VIENNA, 26 February 2016 – The decision of the Constitutional Court to release journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül is a much needed step in the right direction in Turkey, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, said today...

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 20 December 2015 parliamentary elections in Spain notes that the legal framework provides a basis for the conduct of genuinely democratic elections. It recommends, however, that the legal framework be amended to ensure the full enjoyment of the rights of freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and to uphold the principle of equality of the vote.

A new publication examining the progress made in achieving gender equality in politics was presented by the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Micheal Georg Link on 25 February 2016 in Vienna, at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Winter Session.

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 25 October and 15 November 2015 local elections in Ukraine recommends a comprehensive review of legislation, including to ensure equality of the vote and to bring laws in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations for democratic elections.

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Croatia’s 8 November 2015 parliamentary elections recommends the harmonization of electoral legislation and ensuring equality of the vote among electoral constituencies, in line with OSCE commitments and international standards.