News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 22 January 2016 – The Chairperson of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Committee, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today expressed concern about legislation proposed by the Danish government that would allow the authorities to seize the valuables of asylum-seekers to help cover the cost of their stay in the country. She called on Denmark's parliamentarians to reject the proposed amendments...

The SMM observed an increase in the number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region as compared to the previous three days, mainly at and around Donetsk airport and Debaltseve. In Luhansk region, recorded ceasefire violations were training related. The SMM’s freedom of movement was restricted on four occasions in areas not controlled by the Government.* The Mission followed up on media reports about damage to a World War II monument in Kharkiv and an alleged seizure of a church in Rivne. In Kyiv, the Mission observed a public gathering by groups commemorating the beginning of the confrontations on Maidan in 2014 and its victims...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Madina Jarbussynova on 21 January 2016 commended the Czech Republic for a number of moves to intensify anti-trafficking efforts...

VIENNA, 21 January 2016 – Remembering the Holocaust reminds us of our duty to speak out against the denial of these grave crimes and to work for tolerance and non-discrimination in our societies, said keynote speakers addressing the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council today, which was dedicated to commemorating the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January...

VIENNA, 21 January 2016 – The OSCE’s 57 participating States today took a consensus decision to extend the mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk by three months to 30 April 2016...

To strengthen their response to hate crime, 46 trainers and law enforcement officers from Ukraine took part in a training-of-trainers event, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 19-21 January 2016 in Odesa.

BERLIN, 20 January 2016 – How to continue enhancing confidence between OSCE participating States and prevent possible cyber-related tensions was the focus of a conference organized today by Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin...