News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
OSCE/ODIHR Director expresses concern at reported arrest of chairperson of prominent citizen election observer group in Azerbaijan
Publishing date: 17 December 2013
VIENNA, 17 December 2013- Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today expressed concern about recent reports of the arrest of Anar Mammadli, chairperson of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDSC) in Azerbaijan, on grounds of alleged illegal entrepreneurship.
OSCE/ODIHR final report says Norway’s September parliamentary elections enjoyed high level of trust, recommends improvements to regulation of Internet voting, party financing
Publishing date: 16 December 2013
Norway’s parliamentary elections on 9 September 2013 enjoyed a high level of confidence among political contestants and the public, while the legal framework provided a generally solid platform for the conduct of democratic elections, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in its final report released on 16 December 2013. More can be done, however, to improve the regulation of internet voting and campaign finance, the report adds...
Germany’s elections held under effective legal framework, says OSCE/ODIHR final report, recommends improving political party and campaign finance rules
Publishing date: 13 December 2013
Germany’s parliamentary elections on 22 September 2013 were held under a legal framework that provided a solid basis for the conduct of democratic elections, but more can be done to improve the regulation of political party and campaign finance, concludes the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...
On International Human Rights Day, OSCE/ODIHR Director condemns violence against peaceful protesters
Publishing date: 10 December 2013
WARSAW, 10 December 2013 – Violence against peaceful protesters cannot be justified in any circumstance, and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly must be safeguarded, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said today on the occasion of International Human Rights Day...
OSCE/ODIHR opens election assessment mission for parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan
Publishing date: 3 December 2013
ASHGABAT, 3 December 2013 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today held the opening press conference for its election assessment mission for the 15 December parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan...
Protecting human rights during counter-terrorism investigations focus of new OSCE/ODIHR manual
Publishing date: 29 November 2013
A new manual for law enforcement officers on protecting and respecting human rights during counter-terrorism investigations was launched by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department/Strategic Police Matters Unit in Vienna on 29 November 2013...
ODIHR trains Montenegrin police in recognizing and investigating hate crimes
Publishing date: 29 November 2013
ODIHR launched a training programme to help Montenegrin law-enforcement officers better recognize, understand and investigate hate crimes with a three-day course that ended on 29 November 2013 in Podgorica...