News and press releases

As part of the OSCE’s efforts to empower women in the security sector and strengthen regional security, the OSCE Secretariat, with support from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the five OSCE field operations in Central Asia, held the first meeting of the Regional Network of Women in Law Enforcement and Border Agencies in Central Asia in Vienna, Austria, on 7 and 8 May.

Taking an additional step towards empowering young women from Central Asia and Afghanistan to play an active role in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, the Young Women 4 Peace: Empowering Central Asian Young Women Initiative arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 8 to 10 April.

HELSINKI/VIENNA/WARSAW, 8 March 2025 – Increased efforts and resources to ensure gender equality and equal opportunities for women and girls everywhere regardless of their background or circumstances are needed, say OSCE leaders on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

From 2 to 7 December 2024, two in-person workshops on women’s leadership in humanitarian response were held in Lviv, Ukraine. The workshops, organized by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme, through its WIN Project, aimed at equipping 54 participants from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) with tools to expand their leadership roles during and after the ongoing war.

On 17 and 18 October 2024, the OSCE hosted the second in-person meeting of women professionals from Central Asia and South-Eastern Europe working on preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT). Established in February 2023 by the OSCE Secretariat’s Gender Issues Programme WIN Project, in collaboration with the OSCE Secretariat's Transnational Threats Department, the two regional networks comprise 68 women professionals from diverse sectors including government agencies, civil society, academia, media and OSCE field operations.

On 15 and 16 October, the OSCE Secretariat with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and other OSCE Field Operations in Central Asia organized an international seminar that initiated the establishment of the Association of Women in Border and Law Enforcement Agencies in Central Asia. The international seminar, held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, builds on OSCE’s ongoing efforts to empower women officers and strengthen regional security.

The OSCE Gender Issues Programme, within the framework of the WIN Project, and the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia have jointly released a crucial study on domestic violence perpetrator programmes across Central Asia.