News and press releases

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) final report  on Armenia’s 2 April 2017 parliamentary elections noted that fundamental freedoms were generally respected and candidates were able to campaign without restrictions. Noting an overall lack of public trust in the

COPENHAGEN, 10 July 2017 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (Austria) made a number of appointments today to fill key roles in advancing the Assembly’s work on counter-terrorism, migration and Mediterranean issues...

VIENNA, 10 July 2017 – Some 150 representatives of OSCE participating States and OSCE Partners for Co-operation, including government authorities and experts from drug-related agencies, as well as international, regional and civil society organizations and the private sector, met today in Vienna for the start of a two-day conference to discuss the links between illicit drugs, organized crime and terrorism...

MINSK, 9 July 2017 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted the 2017 Minsk Declaration today with recommendations to national governments, parliaments and the international community to help shape policies in the fields of political affairs, security, economics, environment, and human rights. More than 260 parliamentarians from 55 OSCE countries and several Partners for Co-operation participated in the five-day Annual Session in Minsk held under the theme “Enhancing mutual trust and co-operation for peace and prosperity in the OSCE region”...

MINSK, 9 July 2017 – Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen was elected to a second term as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today at the OSCE PA’s Annual Session in Minsk. Upon her re-election, the President thanked the Assembly for its support and pledged to continue the work that she has pursued since being elected in Tbilisi last year...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including fewer explosions, in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period. In Luhansk city the SMM heard two explosions. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas. The SMM’s access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Olenivka and twice near Kreminets where, on one occasion, an armed man pointed a rifle at the SMM and demanded it to wait.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Zaichenko. The SMM visited three border areas not controlled by the Government in Donetsk region...

ULAANBAATAR, 8 July 2017 – The first ever runoff in a presidential election in Mongolia, on 7 July, took place against a backdrop of legal uncertainty. Positively, the General Election Commission (GEC) issued clarifying regulations and administered the election in an efficient manner, and polling station staff facilitated voting on election day in a professional manner, the election observation mission from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement released today. The law was widely interpreted as prohibiting campaigning. Calling on voters to cast blank ballots in protest was a distinct feature of the runoff, the observers said...