News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
OSCE human rights chief dismayed at continued practice of detention without trial at Guantánamo
Publishing date: 10 January 2012
WARSAW, 10 January 2012 – On the eve of tomorrow’s tenth anniversary of the transfer of the first detainees to the United States naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed dismay today at the continued practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial of terrorism suspects...
Bulgaria’s October elections characterized by respect for rights and freedoms, but allegations of vote-buying underscore need for reform
Publishing date: 5 January 2012
Bulgaria’s presidential and municipal elections in October were generally characterized by a respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, but pervasive allegations of vote-buying underscored the need for continued reform, the final report released by ODIHR on 5 January 2012 concludes...
OSCE human rights chief dismayed at Kyrgyzstan Supreme Court decision to uphold Askarov sentence
Publishing date: 20 December 2011
WARSAW, 20 December 2011 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed dismay today over the decision of Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court to uphold the life sentence for prominent human rights defender Azimjan Askarov...
Albania’s Electoral Code thorough foundation for elections, improvements still required, say ODIHR and Venice Commission
Publishing date: 20 December 2011
Albania’s Electoral Code provides a thorough technical foundation for democratic elections, according to a Joint Opinion by ODIHR and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission released on 19 December 2011. However, it says that recent experience in the implementation of the Code since its adoption in 2008 shows that a number of improvements are still required...
Latvia’s September elections democratic and pluralistic, but significant numbers face barriers to political participation, concludes ODIHR final report
Publishing date: 20 December 2011
Latvia’s early parliamentary elections on 17 September took place in a democratic and pluralistic environment but a significant part of the population continues to face barriers to political participation, the final report released by ODIHR concludes...
ODIHR promotes strengthening independence of Ukraine’s judiciary
Publishing date: 20 December 2011
Identifying ways to strengthen the independence of Ukraine's judiciary was the focus of a two-day conference co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 20-21 December 2011 in Kyiv...
Region’s judicial training chiefs discuss war crimes justice programmes at OSCE/ODIHR meeting in Podgorica
Publishing date: 20 December 2011
PODGORICA, 20 December 2011 – Representatives of judicial training institutions from the region met in Podgorica today to discuss how to step up their contribution to achieving justice in war crimes cases by providing effective training to judicial staff involved in such cases...