News and press releases

HAMBURG, Germany, 8 December 2016 – Frank-Walter Steinmeier, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister, today opened the 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg, emphasizing that in stormy times a strong OSCE is more important than ever to provide an effective framework and engine for dialogue and co-operation. All 57 participating States, the vast majority of them represented by their Foreign Minister, have gathered in Hamburg for this two-day meeting which is the culmination of Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship...

Hamburg, 7 December 2016 – In his capacity as Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier today attended the closing session of the Parallel Civil Society Conference, held in Hamburg on 6 and 7 December just ahead of the Ministerial Council meeting. During the two-day event, organized by the OSCE-wide NGO coalition “Civic Solidarity Platform” more than 100 civil society representatives discussed and adopted concrete recommendations directed at the OSCE, its Institutions, field presences and participating States. The participants also adopted a “Hamburg Declaration” that calls for protecting and expanding civil society space.

VIENNA, 1 December 2016 – In their fifth briefing to the OSCE Permanent Council this year, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Martin Sajdik and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Ertugrul Apakan yesterday focused on the need for a real normalization and stabilization in eastern Ukraine, particularly through the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

On 30th November 2016, the 72nd meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Kęstutis Jankauskas, the Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and Ambassador Guenther Baechler, the Special Repre¬sentative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus...

MINSK, 23 November 2016 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Martin Sajdik made the following press statement after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 23 November 2016:

WARSAW, 21 November 2016 – Promoting effective justice systems and, in particular, ensuring the independence and quality of judiciaries are vital to the promotion of human rights and democratic societies, participants at the opening of an OSCE meeting in Warsaw said today...

BERLIN, 18 November 2016- When it comes to peace and security in the world, what role should and must women play? This and other questions were discussed today at a conference held under Germany’s OSCE Chairmanship in the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. The event under the title "A Case for Inclusive Peace and Security: How to Accelerate the Implementation of UNSCR 1325?" was co-organized by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the German Foreign Office...