News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
Efthymiou, Soares meet OSCE Chair-in-Office in Dublin
Publishing date: 1 February 2012
DUBLIN, 1 February 2012 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Petros Efthymiou expressed support today for the Irish Chairmanship agenda, including internet freedom and conflict resolution, during a meeting with Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore...
OSCE rights chief welcomes decision to release Zhovtis, but expresses concern about clampdown on Kazakh opposition
Publishing date: 1 February 2012
WARSAW, 1 February 2012 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today welcomed the decision by a court in Ust-Kamenogorsk to release prominent human rights defender Yevgeniy Zhovtis, but expressed concern about the continuing clampdown on opposition activities in Kazakhstan in the wake of December’s violence in Zhanaozen and parliamentary elections held earlier this month...
Serbian translation of manual on police and Roma and Sinti presented in Belgrade
Publishing date: 1 February 2012
The Serbian version of an OSCE manual on good practices in building trust and understanding between police and Roma and Sinti communities was launched on 1 February 2012 in Belgrade. It will be disseminated among staff of Serbian institutions, notably the Interior Ministry, to be used in their work...
OSCE Mission to Skopje decentralization assessment shows progress, highlights further challenges
Publishing date: 1 February 2012
SKOPJE, 1 February 2012 – Positive trends in decentralizing powers from central to local government have been observed over the past five years, but new challenges lie ahead, concludes an OSCE report on the decentralization process presented in Skopje today...
Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan supports fight against narcotics trade
Publishing date: 1 February 2012
TASHKENT, 1 February 2012 – Combating the illicit traffic of drugs was the focus of an OSCE-organized workshop for regional experts from Uzbekistan’s National Information and Analytical Center on Drug Circulation held today in Tashkent...
OSCE Project Co-ordinator helps strengthen risk analysis system of Ukraine’s State Border Service
Publishing date: 31 January 2012
KYIV, 31 January 2012 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) today handed over IT equipment for 23 risk and criminal analysis units of the Ukraine's State Border Guard Service...
Switzerland’s elections to Federal Assembly vibrant and pluralistic, some concerns over regional variations, says ODIHR report
Publishing date: 31 January 2012
Switzerland’s elections to the Federal Assembly on 23 October 2011 demonstrated that Swiss democracy is deep-rooted and pluralistic but the decentralized system of government leads to some regional variations in electoral practice, concludes the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR election assessment mission...