News and press releases

Labour inspectors sharpened their skills detecting and responding to cases of forced labour, particularly those involving Ukrainians fleeing the war, at a workshop held in Vienna by the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the Border Troops and Customs Committee of Uzbekistan and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, held a national training course on identifying suspected foreign terrorist fighters and other criminals at border crossings in Tashkent from 7 to 10 April.

While the general elections in the United States demonstrated the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions, the election process took place in a highly polarized environment. The election was well run, and candidates campaigned freely across the country with the active participation of voters. However, the campaign was marred by disinformation and instances of violence, including harsh and intolerant rhetoric. Repeated, unfounded claims of election fraud negatively impacted public trust. Election day was well managed, with polling peaceful and orderly.

VIENNA, 10 April 2025 — Protecting media freedom is crucial to our democracies and comprehensive security: this was a core message from the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Jan Braathu, during his first report to the OSCE Permanent Council today.

Taking an additional step towards empowering young women from Central Asia and Afghanistan to play an active role in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, the Young Women 4 Peace: Empowering Central Asian Young Women Initiative arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 8 to 10 April.

Today, the Acting Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Cornelia Taylor visited the Municipality of Ranilug/Ranillug to meet the Mayor Katarina Ristić-Ilić and to see up-close the community safety initiative implemented by the Local Public Safety Committee (LPSC) in Ranilug/Ranillug with OSCE support.

On 8–9 April 2025, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, in collaboration with the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organized a training workshop “Removing Administrative Barriers Contributing to Corruption” for law enforcement agencies. The training event focused on removing administrative barriers that contribute to corruption and enhancing institutional transparency.