News and press releases

Hate crimes targeting Christians remain a concern across the OSCE region, affecting not only individual victims but also the sense of safety and belonging of entire communities. At a side event of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) launched its new guide Understanding Anti-Christian Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Christian Communities.

The film That Boy, screened today at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, follows the journey of Toby, a former Roma refugee, and Mirek, a former neo-Nazi, as they confront the roots of hate and explore the possibilities of dialogue and reconciliation. It revisits the largely untold story of anti-Roma violence that spread across parts of Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s.

Support for Roma and pro-Roma civil society organizations has shrunk dramatically in recent years, weakening their role in defending rights and holding institutions accountable, participants said at a side event of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Hate crimes remain a threat to security and social cohesion, particularly in post-conflict and transitional societies. At a side event of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and six OSCE field operations marked 15 years of efforts to address this challenge through regional co-operation in South-Eastern Europe.

Hate crimes remain a serious threat to security across the OSCE region, with the potential to escalate into wider conflict and violence. To support states in strengthening their criminal justice response, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is relaunching its flagship hate crime training programmes for police and prosecutors.

HELSINKI/VALLETTA/BERN, 13 October 2025- Today, the OSCE Troika – Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Minister of Finland Elina Valtonen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta Ian Borg, and Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis – made the following statement:

Foča, 13 October 2025 – Today in Foča, dedicated professionals from the police, judiciary, prosecution, and social welfare sectors, as well as psychologists and members of civil society from across eastern Republika Srpska (RS), joined the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) to address