News and press releases

JAHORINA, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), 26 April 2016 – The OSCE Mission to BiH, in co-operation with local NGO Munja Social Innovation Incubator, organized a three-day workshop for journalism students from the Universities of Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka, to familiarize them with the Mission’s work, with particular focus on media freedom, preventing violent extremism and hate- and bias-motivated incidents...

KYZYLORDA, Kazakhstan, 26 April 2016 – An OSCE-supported training seminar for some 30 farmers and representatives from the national and regional water authorities, the Aral-Syrdarya Water Basin Council, the civil society and academia on promoting sustainable fisheries in Kazakhstan’s part of the Aral Sea region began today in Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan....

In promoting education as a tool for conflict prevention, The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities have offered a toolkit for preservation, inspiration and dialogue, said OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Astrid Thors as she opened an expert meeting on 21 April 2016 at The Hague to mark two decades of these ground-breaking Recommendations...

DUSHANBE, 26 April 2016 – The OSCE Office in Tajikistan held an open day event in Dushanbe today, inviting some 45 governmental officials from state agencies and representatives of civil society, the international and community and OSCE participating States to learn about the Mission’s work in gender equality in the country...

The OSCE Mission to Moldova organized a training event on raising the public’s awareness of state guaranteed legal aid for four paralegals and 18 law students from Bălţi, Cahul, Chişinău and Comrat, from 22 to 23 April 2016 in Vadul-lui-Vodă...

VIENNA, 26 April 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today again expressed concern over journalists’ safety in Armenia following recent coercive actions by police against media representatives in Yerevan...

In Donetsk region, on 23 April the SMM observed a higher level of violence compared to the previous day, with nearly 500 explosions recorded. On 24 April, it recorded a significantly decreased number of ceasefire violations in comparison to the previous day, with less than 30 explosions recorded. In particular, a sharp decline of violence was noted in Avdiivka-Yasynuvata area, where the SMM did not record ceasefire violations save one explosion on 24 April. In Luhansk region, a single ceasefire violation was recorded from 23 to 24 April. The Mission conducted crater analysis on both sides of the contact line. It noted a number of weapons missing from permanent storage sites and holding areas. The SMM monitored four border areas not controlled by the Government; meanwhile its freedom of movement was restricted in two of these areas.