News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
Curbs on constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and concerns over procedural integrity tarnish early parliamentary elections in Belarus even as candidate numbers rise, international observers say
Publishing date: 18 November 2019
MINSK, 18 November 2019 – Fundamental freedoms were disregarded and the integrity of the election process was not adequately safeguarded in the early parliamentary elections in Belarus even as the number of registered candidates increased, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement published today...
Hate crime victims disadvantaged by gaps between hate crime legislation and implementation, OSCE human rights head says
Publishing date: 15 November 2019
WARSAW, 15 November 2019 – Marking the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November with the publication of its annual hate crime dataset, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) urges countries to implement hate crime legislation that has existed on their law books for many years...
Challenging anti-migration narratives focus of event in Brussels
Publishing date: 8 November 2019
Challenging intolerance and discrimination by raising awareness about the complexity of migrant integration and promoting a human rights-centred approach to migration were the topics of a workshop in Brussels on 7 and 8 November 2019. “Governments and politicians, through their policies and
Strengthening regional co-operation to prevent torture and ill-treatment in police custody focus of OSCE/ODIHR event in Strasbourg
Publishing date: 5 November 2019
The protection of people in police custody from torture and other ill-treatment, and ensuring safeguards such as access to a lawyer and effective legal representation during criminal investigations, were the focus of a regional meeting of representatives of national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) and human rights defenders active in the fight against torture, which took place in Strasbourg on 5 November 2019.
OSCE/ODIHR experts discuss electoral recommendations in Latvia
Publishing date: 31 October 2019
Experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report and recommendations of the assessment mission to the 6 October 2018 parliamentary elections in Latvia. ODIHR experts reiterated their earlier assessment that the elections were
Strengthening security sector oversight focus of training for the staff of Armenian Human Rights Defender Office October 2019
Publishing date: 18 October 2019
A three-day training of trainers’ course on enhancing oversight of the security sector jointly organized by ODIHR and the OSCE Secretariat concluded on 18 October 2019 in Yerevan. The capacity building event was designed to increase the human rights investigation skills of staff members of Armenia’s ombuds institution and help them train security sector personnel on human rights compliance.
ODIHR experts discuss electoral recommendations in Albania
Publishing date: 17 October 2019
Experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report and recommendations of the observation mission to the 2019 local elections in Albania during a visit to Tirana from 14 to 17 October 2019.