News and press releases

On 16th May 2016, the 66th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Kęstutis Jankauskas, the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Guenther Baechler, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus...

On 5-6 May, the OSCE Mission to Moldova held a training event on advanced interviewing skills and techniques for judges and prosecutors handling cases of human trafficking, in particular cases of children who have witnessed or suffered sexual abuse or exploitation. A total of 30 judges and prosecutors took part in the event, held at the National Institute of Justice in Chisinau...

The SMM observed a slightly higher number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared to the previous day. The Mission observed weapons within withdrawal lines and others in holding areas. Armed men pointed weapons at the SMM at the unmanned aerial vehicle ground control station in a government-controlled area. The SMM observed the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance. The Mission followed up on the proliferation of weapons in areas outside of the Anti-Terrorism Operation (ATO) zone...

SARAJEVO, 14 May 2016 – Challenges in investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as well as potential solutions to these obstacles was the focus of a conference which concluded today in Sarajevo, having brought together more than 40 members of the judiciary, international law experts, government and diplomatic representatives...

WARSAW, 14 May 2016 Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today welcomed Thursday’s rejection on third reading by the Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, of draft legislation that would have imposed unnecessarily cumbersome reporting requirements for non-governmental organizations (NGOs)...

ISTANBUL, Turkey, 13 May 2016 – Concluding a one-week official visit to Turkey today, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova, commended recent changes to the legislative framework that will improve victim protection and identification...

Strengthening women’s lobbying in public and political life in the OSCE region was the focus of a panel discussion in Warsaw on 13 May 2016, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the Polish Congress of Women. The event was organized as part of the 8th Annual Congress of Women, which brought together some 5,000 women from Poland and across Europe.