News and press releases

SKOPJE, 5 November 2024 — Organized crime poses an urgent threat in South-Eastern Europe, with illegal arms trafficking and migrant smuggling jeopardizing regional and global security. To confront these issues and drive concerted action across the region, the OSCE Mission to Skopje, in co-operation with EU4FAST, is hosting a High-Level Police and Customs Co-operation Conference in Skopje from 5 to 7 November.

CHISINAU, 4 November 2024 – The 3 November second round of Moldova’s presidential election was administered efficiently and professionally, and offered voters a choice between genuine political alternatives, international observers said in a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions today. Candidates were able to campaign freely, but the quiet, ten-day campaign was marked by an increase in negative rhetoric from across the political spectrum targeting both contestants, often spread through online social networks. The challenges posed by foreign interference and vote-buying continued to reverberate during the run-off campaign, the statement says.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized a five-day training course titled “Facilitation and Conflict Prevention: Fundamentals and Practical Approaches”, which took place from 28 October to 2 November 2024. The course brought together 26 facilitators from the OSCE-supported Women's Resource Centres (WRCs), including 23 women.

From 31 October to 2 November 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (POiD), in co-operation with the Republican Training and Methodological Centre (RTMC) of the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defence (CoESCD), conducted a comprehensive training course in Khujand.

On 1 November 2024, nineteen officers from the Tajik Border Troops successfully completed an intensive three-week Operational Planning Training (OPT) course. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the OSCE’s efforts to strengthen border security along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border.

On 1 November 2024, the OSCE Presence hosted an insightful meeting of the International Election Working Group with some main civil society organizations actively working on elections.

The OSCE Presence in Albania has strengthened efforts in the fight against human trafficking by organizing a series of six local-level meetings with prosecutors and police officers throughout September and October 2024. The meetings aimed to address challenges in investigating and prosecuting human