News and press releases

An exhibition of paintings, photographs, installations, poetry and writing by students of the Petro Nini Luarasi High School in Tirana on the theme of domestic violence, was unveiled by the students and the OSCE Presence in Albania on 24 May 2016 in the capital...

Serbia’s legal framework for governing elections to the High Judicial Council and the State Prosecutors’ Council is fairly comprehensive although there are a few minor issues with implementing the laws and regulations, partly as a result of gaps in the law. This is the conclusion of a joint Report launched on 24 May 2016 by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...

ASTANA, 25 May 2016 – An OSCE-supported discussion entitled “Future Energy: Global Trends and Technologies” took place today as a special session at the IX Astana Economic Forum in Astana, Kazakhstan, bringing together some 100 parliamentarians, international experts, business leaders, government officials and civil society leaders.

SHKODRA, Albania, 25 May 2016 – The OSCE Presence in Albania, USAID and the Austrian Development Co-operation launched a new phase of the ‘Justice without delays’ initiative today in Shkodra, Albania, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of court proceedings by reducing unnecessary hold ups...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and its longstanding partner, the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, on 20 May 2016 presented a handbook on the theory of law, one of the fundamental legal disciplines, which was developed by a group of prominent researchers from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University under the leadership of Professor Mykola Koziubra...

WARSAW, 24 May 2016 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), welcomed the decision on 23 May by the United States Supreme Court upending the conviction and death sentence of an African American man, Timothy Tyrone Foster, on the basis that prosecutors had excluded African-Americans from the jury at his trial...

The SMM observed a marked decrease in the level of violence in Donetsk region as compared to the previous reporting period. Luhansk region remained relatively calm. The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and noted the presence of armoured combat vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons in the security zone. The Mission observed the full re-opening of the Olenivka crossing route, and learned that people had stayed overnight at the Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint near Berezove. A man died from a heart attack while queuing at a checkpoint south of Stanytsia Luhanska. The Mission’s freedom of movement was restricted once, in an area not controlled by the Government...*