News and press releases

Between October and December 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe supported the OSCE Youth Network for Gender Equality in organizing ten awareness-raising sessions across Dushanbe and rural areas of Tajikistan. Over 25 Network members traveled to Norak, Panjakent, Khujand, Ayni, Isfara, Garm, Kulob, Bokhtar, and Levakand, engaging 283 participants—91 men and 192 women—including youth, educators from schools and universities, and community leaders.

On 17 December 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, in co-operation with the Centre for Combatting Trafficking in Persons under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, hosted the second Dialogue Platform on Counteracting Trafficking in Human Beings (CTHB) for the year. The event brought together government officials, members of the Inter-Ministerial Commission on CTHB, representatives from civil society, and international organizations.

On 2 December, the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration hosted its first-ever simulation of conciliation proceedings within the Court at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana and with the support of Professor Vasilka Sancin, Head of the Department of International Law and member of the Bureau of the Court.

From 11 to 13 December 2024, the OSCE PCUz organized a visit to Helsinki, Finland, to study good practices in fighting violence against minors. The delegation, comprising the Interdepartmental Working Group charged with improving relevant legislation on crimes against minors, was headed by Surayyo

With the aim to enhance school safety and security through preventive actions, the OSCE Presence in Albania organized a series of soft skills training events for school security officers in Korça, Tirana and Shkodra, from 7 to 9 December 2024.

On 16 December 2024, the OSCE Presence in Albania facilitated a peer exchange meeting at the Italian Embassy in Tirana, focusing on financial investigations related to money laundering through cryptocurrencies. This event was designed to foster the exchange of experiences and best practices between

Mongolia’s 2024 parliamentary elections were well run, although their competitiveness was undermined by an uneven playing field caused by campaign restrictions and biased media coverage favouring the ruling party. The short campaign period, combined with government-promoted salary and benefit increases, provided the ruling party with an undue advantage, blurring the line between party and state. Allegations of pressure on civil servants further raised concerns about the freedom of voters to make their own choices. Despite these challenges, the election administration operated professionally and implemented a comprehensive voter information programme.