News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
ODIHR Director addresses elections conference in St. Petersburg
Publishing date: 18 January 2011
Ambassador Janez Lenarčič took part in a conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 January that focused on the relationship between international election standards and national election systems. The conference was organized by the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Judges from former Yugoslavia and ICTY share experiences on handling of war crime cases under OSCE/ODIHR-led project
Publishing date: 16 January 2011
ZAGREB, 17 January 2011 – Judges from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and their peers from the region met in Zagreb today to share experiences in adjudicating war crimes cases...
ODIHR needs assessment mission to visit Albania
Publishing date: 14 January 2011
Following an invitation to observe local government elections in Albania scheduled for 8 May 2011, ODIHR will send a needs assessment mission to the country from 17 to 21 January.
OSCE human rights chief voices concern about possible referendum on extension of Kazakh president’s term of office
Publishing date: 13 January 2011
WARSAW, 14 January 2011 – The director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, today expressed concern about reports indicating that Kazakhstan’s parliament decided to open the way for holding a referendum on the extension of the term of office of President Nursultan Nazarbayev...
ODIHR needs assessment mission to visit Estonia
Publishing date: 7 January 2011
Following an invitation to observe the parliamentary elections in Estonia scheduled for 6 March 2011, ODIHR will send a needs assessment mission to the country on 10-13 January.
Final report on parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan stresses need for 'profound electoral reform'
Publishing date: 20 December 2010
In its final report on the 10 October parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, published on 20 December, ODIHR concluded that: "[the] elections constituted a further consolidation of the democratic process. Political pluralism, a vibrant campaign and confidence in the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda... characterized the elections. The authorities displayed the political will tohold democratic elections in line with OSCE commitments. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for profound electoral legal reform."
Belarus still has considerable way to go in meeting OSCE commitments, despite certain improvements, election observers say
Publishing date: 19 December 2010
MINSK, 20 December 2010- Yesterday's presidential election showed that Belarus still has a considerable way to go in meeting its OSCE commitments, although some specific improvements were made, concluded the international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA)...