News and press releases

“The promotion of good governance and reforms facilitates harmony among diverse groups in society,” said OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov during his visit to Moldova from 24 to 26 January 2022. In Chisinau, the High Commissioner met with government representatives,

A roundtable discussion on forced begging and labor exploitation in the Central Asian context concluded on 28 January 2022. The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan organized the online event in partnership with the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office.

On 28 January 2022, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, concluded an official visit to Luxembourg.

Ambassador Artur Dmochowski, Special Envoy of the Polish OSCE Chairmanship, visited the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and met with Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Deputy Head of the Mission, on 24 January 2022.

On 26 and 27 January, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in co-operation with the Federal Agency for the Management of Seized Property and the Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized a training course on asset recovery for 30 judges from cantonal and municipal courts, for departments for fighting organized crime. Representatives of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina also participated in the training course.

On 24 January 2022, the Gender Equality Committee of Montenegrin Parliament unanimously adopted the new Action Plan for a Gender-responsive Parliament 2022–2024. The document was developed with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, as part of a long-standing co-operation with the Committee in promoting gender equality principles.

Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, welcomed the commitment by the State Election Commission (SEC) to amend internal rules and procedures to ensure its meetings are public. This has been a long-standing recommendation by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). “This decision will result in greater openness and accountability of the SEC, which is a necessary step in ensuring a transparent election management body,” said Leirtroe, adding that the Mission will be working with the SEC in the coming months to ensure all meetings can be livestreamed. According to the Survey on Public Perceptions and Confidence in Election Management Bodies in Montenegro, commissioned by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and published in November 2021, there was a need to further strengthen the transparency and professionalism of election management bodies. As many as 87.3% of citizens believed that opening sessions to the public would contribute to greater public confidence in the work of the SEC and the election process as a whole.