News and press releases

In close co-operation with parliament’s Gender Equality Committee, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized a training course for MPs and parliamentary staff on gender responsive budgeting, on 29 and 30 November 2021.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is proud to support the exhibition on “Missing Works of Art” together with partners, the International Republican Institute, the Group of Friends of Members of Parliament on European Integration and Security and the Centre against Trafficking in Works of Art that opened at the BiH Parliamentary Assembly on 30 November 2021. The exhibition focuses attention on the importance of protecting cultural property and works of art in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the steps needed to ensure such protection.

“We don’t share stereotypes, we share responsibilities” is the title of the campaign the OSCE Mission to Montenegro launched in co-operation with the Directorate for Gender Equality of the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights on 29 November 2021.

BISHKEK, 29 November 2021 – Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections were competitive, but they lacked meaningful voter engagement due to a stifled campaign, constitutional changes weakening parliament and extensive legislative changes to key aspects of the election. Generally adequate election legislation was undermined by limitations on civil and political rights as well as diminished separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. Voters had a wide range of political options to choose from. Election preparations were handled efficiently by the election administration, and election day was peaceful, international observers said in a statement today.

On 25 November, the OSCE Mission to Moldova organized an annual Donors’ Forum online for more than 100 representatives of a wide range of initiative groups and civil society organizations (CSOs) from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River, and development partners.

STOCKHOLM / VIENNA / WARSAW, 25 November 2021- On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based violence, OSCE leaders called on participating States to increase their efforts and resources to combat violence against women and girls, including violence enabled by digital technology.

On 23 November 2021, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro met with Ambassador Vesa Häkkinen to discuss current developments on media freedom and freedom of expression in Finland and the wider OSCE region. They addressed several topics, including the importance of promoting media literacy as a tool to counter dissemination of misinformation and strengthen freedom of opinion and expression. They agreed that an official visit by the Representative to Finland would be an excellent opportunity to gain first-hand insight into Finland’s experiences in media literacy.