News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
Joint statement of Co-facilitators of Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism
Publishing date: 21 July 2020
VIENNA / TBILISI, 21 July, 2020- The co-facilitators of the Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), the Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia Ambassador Marek Szczygieł and the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus Ambassador Rudolf Michalka underline the importance of dialogue for reducing tensions and preventing incidents along the South Ossetian Administrative Boundary Line.
Prosecute human traffickers and deliver justice to victims: OSCE Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons calls for an end to impunity
Publishing date: 20 July 2020
VIENNA, 20 July 2020 – Identifying effective ways to improve the prosecution of human traffickers is the focus of the 20th high-level OSCE Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons, which opened today in Vienna...
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama takes action to ensure operational continuity ahead of imminent vacancies of Secretary General and Heads of Institutions roles
Publishing date: 17 July 2020
TIRANA / VIENNA, 17 July 2020 – In a letter to the OSCE’s 57 participating States today, Albania’s OSCE Chairmanship announced that the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama has taken prompt action to ensure the Organization’s operational continuity in light of the imminent vacancies of the OSCE Secretary General and the Heads of Institutions roles...
Sweden’s 2021 OSCE Chair to focus on Organization’s fundamental tasks, Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Rydberg tells Permanent Council
Publishing date: 16 July 2020
VIENNA / STOCKHOLM, 16 July 2020 – With the current pandemic putting a severe strain on societies all over the world, Sweden will take on the OSCE Chair in truly challenging times. This calls for a focus on the very fundamentals of the OSCE: the European security order, the comprehensive concept of security and continued efforts to resolve conflicts in the OSCE region, said Sweden’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Robert Rydberg today, as he addressed the Permanent Council on the incoming Chair’s priority areas...
Press Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office
Publishing date: 15 July 2020
VIENNA, 15 July 2020- After the meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group today, its Co-Chairs (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (PRCIO) Andrzej Kasprzyk, released the following statement:
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office urges immediate return to ceasefire along Armenian-Azerbaijani border
Publishing date: 14 July 2020
VIENNA/TIRANA, 14 July 2020 – “I am deeply concerned by the increased violence we have seen along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and urge an immediate return to the ceasefire before we see any further loss of life,” said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania’s Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama today.
Albania’s OSCE Chairmanship opens procedure for selecting OSCE Secretary General and Heads of Institutions
Publishing date: 12 July 2020
VIENNA / TIRANA, 12 July 2020 – Albania’s OSCE Chairmanship has announced the opening of procedures for the selection of candidates to the positions of OSCE Secretary General, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the High Commissioner on National Minorities, and the Representative on Freedom of the Media. The Chairmanship expresses regret that the 57 participating States could not reach consensus on the reappointment of the four officials currently holding these positions...