News and press releases

A team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Hungary from 12 to 14 March 2019 to present the final report of ODIHR’s limited election observation mission for the  parliamentary elections held in April last

VIENNA, 14 March 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the bringing of criminal charges against Marian K., an alleged instigator of the murder of the Slovak investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnirova. The alleged instigator had previously threatened the reporter.

YEREVAN, 13 March 2019 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák emphasized the importance of creating perspectives for peace during his visit to Armenia today. He welcomed the commitment to reforms and discussed the ongoing work and next steps in the negotiations for a peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the OSCE’s longstanding engagement with and in Armenia.

MINSK, 13 March 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 13 March 2019

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Gunfire was directed at two SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicles near Pervomaiske and Manuilivka, Donetsk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk region. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its access was also restricted in Oleksandrivske and at a checkpoint near Novoazovsk, both in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region...

Advancing the freedom of religion or belief for all was at the centre of discussion at roundtable events held in Sarajevo and Banja Luka on 12 and 13 March 2019, respectively. The events were organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry held on 12 March 2019 in Dushanbe a roundtable discussion with high-level representatives of the international donor community to raise funds for the successful implementation of police reform in Tajikistan...