News and press releases

A team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Skopje from 21 to 23 February 2018 to present the final report of its election observation mission for the 15 October municipal elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The report’s findings and

A team of experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 19 to 23 February 2018 to provide assistance to the Central Election Commission in following up on ODIHR electoral recommendations. The expertise provided related to the

Ahead of the busy election year with presidential and a number of local elections in the spring, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro is providing technical assistance to the country’s State Election Commission (SEC) and Municipal Election Commissions (MEC) to support the development of an Election Operational Plan- an essential tool in managing the upcoming presidential election, which is scheduled for 15 April 2018.

A five-day OSCE-supported training seminar on the detection of forged travel documents and identification techniques for 26 border guards concluded in Shymkent, Kazakhstan on 23 February 2018...

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Paris on 21 and 22 February 2018 to present the recommendations from ODIHR’s final report on the 2017 presidential election in France. The report’s findings and

VIENNA, 22 February 2018 – Representatives of Russian and Ukrainian journalists’ unions today met under the auspices of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, for the 17th roundtable discussion aiming to facilitate dialogue between the media workers of the two countries.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Small arms were again fired near an SMM patrol and towards an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle near Kostiantynivka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including at the Chervona Mohyla railway station near Voznesenivka and, as has been the case in previous days, at three crossing points at the border with the Russian Federation in areas outside government control out of five visited by the SMM.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Zoria. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Berezove, Orlivske, Artema, Novotoshkivske and Yashchykove. The SMM monitored gatherings in Odessa and Ivano-Frankivsk on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of events at Maidan...