News and press releases

ROME, VIENNA, 28 March 2018 –– In light of the 26 March events in northern Kosovo and subsequent developments, the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office and the OSCE Secretary General call on all sides to refrain from provocations and re-engage in constructive dialogue.

In preparation for the Third UN Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), which will take place in June 2018, the OSCE’s Conflict Prevention Centre, jointly with Germany and France, organized a side event on 20 March 2018 in New York to present the recently adopted OSCE Best Practice Guide on Deactivation of SALW to the UN Member States and inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations...

An OSCE-organized training course on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation was held for 50 young professionals from the OSCE region and the Organization’s Partners for Co-operation from 12 to 16 February in Vienna. The course was held in the framework of the OSCE Scholarship for Peace and Security and jointly organized by the OSCE together with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs.

VIENNA, 8 January 2018 – The President of Switzerland, Alain Berset, today met with OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, where they discussed Switzerland’s continuing strong support for the Organization and possible areas of further co-operation...

Vienna, 27 December 2017- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger welcomed the news of today’s large-scale exchange of prisoners and detainees in eastern Ukraine and urged the sides to build on this momentum in order to achieve further progress in reaching a peaceful resolution of the crisis in and around Ukraine.

Strengthening chemical safety and security in Ukraine, and how to establish and operate a national reference centre for the identification of chemicals were in focus at an international workshop organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine on 11 December 2017 in close co-operation with the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and the Research Centre for Preventive Toxicology, Food and Chemical Safety of Ukraine’s Health Ministry...

VIENNA, 7 December 2017- The OSCE, now more than ever, is indispensable for security in Europe, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz at the opening of the 24th Ministerial Council today in Vienna. He reminded the foreign ministers, state secretaries and high-level officials from the OSCE’s 57 participating States and 11 Partners for Co-operation that the security challenges facing the region can only be solved by consensus and overcoming the current crisis in confidence between states...