News and press releases

Participants at today’s OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group discussion shared experiences and best practices in addressing the specific needs of women, girls and vulnerable groups during natural and man-made disasters, including those resulting from armed conflict.

VIENNA, 28 April 2022 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, expressed her concern today over the recent targeting of media workers in Serbia, urging the competent authorities to take effective measures to identify and prosecute all those responsible.

Promoting women’s participation in the Uzbek energy sector was at the centre of an event organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, jointly with the Kazakh-German University and the Tashkent State Technical University on 28 April in Tashkent.

WARSAW/VIENNA, 28 April 2022 –OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister of Poland Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid have today announced that the OSCE would take immediate steps to implement the closure of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.

Strengthening Albania’s capacity to designate and impose targeted financial sanctions against individuals and entities associated with terrorist groups was the focus of a three-day training course, which concluded on 28 April 2022 in Durres, Albania. The training course was jointly organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the support of the OSCE Presence in Albania.

The introduction of advanced technologies and innovative solutions for the development of hydrogen energy and the implementation of energy-efficient approaches were discussed at an online seminar organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat on 28 and 29 April 2022. This event is a continuation of a

A four-day workshop with the Central Election Commission (CEC) on reviewing electoral rules concluded in Struga, North Macedonia, on April 21. The aim was to review and align these rules with the current Law on General Elections and other related laws in Kosovo, as recommended by international observer organizations and the OSCE Mission, based on lessons learnt from previous electoral processes. During the workshop the CEC, supported by the Mission’s Election Team, identified issues that require legal change and prepared a set of recommendations for future reference by the Assembly of Kosovo ad-hoc Committee on improving and strengthening the electoral process and its advisory group. The CEC looked into the most important rules related to the registration and operation of political parties, the certification of political entities and their code of conduct, the election observers, as well as the electoral rules relating to the voter list and out-of-Kosovo voting. They were also briefed on international standards and good practices on elections. “Clear electoral procedures help both the CEC in smooth delivery of elections but also the public in increasing their confidence in the overall election processes,” said Nathania Tabone, the Mission’s Senior Election Legal Adviser. The changes to the electoral rules agreed upon by the CEC during the workshop will be finalized by the CEC in the coming weeks. The final draft regulations should be subject to a public consultation with other key electoral stakeholders, such as specialized civil society organizations on elections and Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel. The Mission will continue to provide the CEC, the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, and their Secretariats with technical advice and expertise in line with international standards and follow up on the implementation of recommendations made by international election observation missions.