News and press releases

Four OSCE diplomats received the OSCE’s White Ribbon award for their work promoting gender equality. The awards went to Annika Söder (Sweden), Marina Wyss (Switzerland), Fiel Vanthemsche (Belgium) and Sebastian Gahnström (Finland). The winners were announced in Vienna on 9 December and the awards were handed over at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 16 December 2021.

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the OSCE Presence in Albania jointly organized the online training course “Implementing Intelligence-Led Policing on Strategic and Operational Levels” on 9 and 10 December.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 444 ceasefire violations, including 89 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 127 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded 104 ceasefire violations, including 14 explosions. In the previous reporting

On the morning of 15 December, the armed formations in Luhansk region twice denied, and once delayed, the Mission’s passage to government-controlled areas from non-government-controlled areas...

VIENNA, 15 December 2021 – Building trust, improving military transparency, countering the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, and improving the participation of women in the armed forces were at the centre of Austria’s Chairpersonship of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC). This was the message emphasized by Dieter Kandlhofer, Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Defence, at the last meeting held under the Austrian FSC Chair.

The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan handed over 200 devices for verifying travel document authenticity to the Border Service of the Committee for the National Security of Kazakhstan. The signing of the donation agreement was held on 13 December 2021 in Nur-Sultan. The Border Service will use the devices to identify forged travel documents during border control procedures in border crossing points across the country.

The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, in co-operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, organised a Young Policy Advisers Course (PolAd) from 22 to 26 November 2021 in Nur-Sultan.