News and press releases

BERN, 10 June 2014 – Political will on the part of states and genuine partnership with civil society are necessary to ensure that human rights defenders can effectively play their vital role in ensuring and promoting respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law in the OSCE area, said participants at an OSCE conference in Bern today...

VIENNA, 10 June 2014 – OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier congratulated the Mission in Kosovo on a successful support operation to the early Assembly elections in northern Kosovo on 8 June...

VIENNA, 10 June 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed the sentences handed down to five individuals for the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, but called for the investigation to continue to bring the masterminds to justice...

The role of the Ombudsman in addressing hate crimes was the focus of two days of training for staff from the Center for Human Rights of Moldova organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Chisinau on 9 and 10 June 2014.

The situation in Ukraine was calm, except parts of Donbas where tensions remained with no substantial changes as compared to the previous reports. The SMM has not reestablished communication with the 4 monitors from the Donetsk team and 4 monitors from the Luhansk team with whom it lost contact on 26 May and 29 May respectively...

MITROVICË / MITROVICA, 9 June 2014 – The OSCE Kosovo Mission has successfully completed its operation in support of early Assembly elections in northern Kosovo held today...

BERN, 8 June 2014- Didier Burkhalter, OSCE-Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister, today confirmed his agreement to send seasoned Swiss diplomat and Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini to accompany talks between Ukraine and the Russian Federation aiming at ending violence in Ukraine. Tagliavini has arrived in Kyiv...