News and press releases

SOFIA, 9 September 2014 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened a limited election observation mission (LEOM) for the 5 October early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria. The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs...

SARAJEVO, 3 September 2014 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 12 October 2014 general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

ANKARA, 11 August 2014 – Three candidates, representing different political positions, were generally able to campaign freely, and freedoms of assembly and association were respected in the 10 August presidential election in Turkey, international election observers said in a statement issued today. However, the Prime Minister’s use of his official position, along with biased media coverage, gave him a distinct advantage over the other candidates...

WARSAW, 1 August 2014 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), speaking ahead of Saturday’s 70th anniversary of the liquidation of the “Zigeunerlager”, or “Gypsy Camp”, at Auschwitz-Birkenau called today on political leaders not only to refrain from scapegoating Roma and Sinti communities, but also to speak out against racist rhetoric in public discourse that can fuel anti-Roma sentiment in society...

Head of the Human Rights Department of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Snježana Bokulić visited prominent human rights defender and journalist Azimjan Askarov in prison in Bishkek on 30 July 2014.

Eighteen highly experienced trainers and police officers from 13 OSCE participating States gathered in Warsaw from 23 to 25 July 2014 as part of a training-of-trainers event, organized by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The training was provided as part of ODIHR’s Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) programme, and builds on a 2012 event held together with the Association of European Police Colleges in Lyon, and was organized with their support.

The establishment of a national torture prevention mechanism in accordance with international standards was the focus of a three-days training course organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the Office of the Ombudsperson, in Tashkent, from 22 to 24 July 2014.