News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
Enable Roma communities to recover from the pandemic, say human rights heads
Publishing date: 8 April 2021
WARSAW/VIENNA, 8 April 2021 – All societies still feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the challenges for Roma are particularly acute, say the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on International Roma Day
OSCE human rights head voices serious concerns over continued rights violations in Belarus, offers monitoring
Publishing date: 6 April 2021
WARSAW, 6 April 2021 – The numerous credible reports of criminal charges, administrative detention, intimidation and harassment targeting Belarusian citizens and human rights defenders simply for going about their lives or carrying out their work that have reached the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in recent months, are of increasing concern amid the ongoing human rights violations in the country.
Constitutional changes raise serious concerns over respect for democratic standards in Kyrgyzstan, Venice Commission and ODIHR say
Publishing date: 22 March 2021
STRASBOURG/WARSAW, 22 March 2021 – Kyrgyzstan’s draft constitution would result in a complete change of the country’s constitutional order if adopted and raises grave concerns over the lack of respect for the principles of the rule of law, separation of powers, and inherent lack of checks and balances, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe said in a joint legal opinion.
Respect human rights to rebuild our societies in all their diversity, say human rights heads on International Anti-Racism Day
Publishing date: 19 March 2021
Geneva/Strasbourg/Vienna/Warsaw, 19 March 2021 – The pandemic poses unprecedented challenges for governments, health systems and societies at large, with many people in despair. We also witnessed solidarity with generosity, care and commitment towards the most vulnerable. This crisis offers us a unique opportunity to create more inclusive and equal societies, said the heads of four human rights institutions ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Gender equality is a cornerstone of media freedom and democratic society, OSCE leaders say
Publishing date: 9 March 2021
VIENNA, 9 March 2021 – Ensuring both equal opportunities and equal safeguards for women and men is key to an independent and diverse media landscape, which is vital for open societies based on the principles at the heart of OSCE commitments to human rights and democracy, participants said at a two-day OSCE meeting that ended today.
Searches targeting human rights defenders in Belarus of utmost concern, OSCE human rights head says
Publishing date: 16 February 2021
WARSAW, 16 February 2021 – Following a wave of concerted police searches of human rights activists throughout Belarus today, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) voices its utmost concern and calls on the Belarusian authorities to respect the rights of those who seek to protect the rights of their fellow citizens and not to criminalize their legitimate human rights work.
Closer co-operation and greater creativity needed to combat contemporary anti-Semitism, OSCE officials say on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Publishing date: 27 January 2021
STOCKHOLM/WARSAW/WASHINGTON, 27 January 2021 – “Co-operation and an ongoing conversation about the changing face of anti-Semitism are crucial to ensure that we do not only commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust but also learn from it for the future,” leading OSCE officials said on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.