News and press releases

VIENNA, 6 December 2017 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz today received civil society’s recommendations to the OSCE executive structures and participating States, on the eve of the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council. The recommendations were adopted by more than 100 NGO representatives who met during the Parallel Civil Society Conference, which was organized by the Civic Solidarity Platform, a coalition of NGOs from across the OSCE region, in Vienna on 5 and 6 December...

VIENNA, 6 December 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed that, following a series of arrests earlier this week, three people have now been charged with murder in the case of the car explosion that killed the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta on 16 October 2017.

VIENNA, 5 December 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called on the authorities in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina to investigate numerous death threats against journalists and ensure their safety, following the recent conclusion of a war crimes court case at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)...

VIENNA, 5 December 2017- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed concern about the proposal by the United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal existing provisions ensuring net neutrality, the principle that Internet providers must treat all online traffic equally and without undue interference. As a result of the plan, announced by FCC chairperson Ajit Pai on 21 November, internet service providers would be able to charge more for certain content and restrict access to some sites...

VIENNA, 4 December 2017 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir expressed concern today regarding the deliberate blocking of the entrance to the editorial office of the NewsOne television channel in Kyiv.

LONDON, 1 December 2017 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today concluded a three-day visit to London in which he discussed the state of freedom of expression and media freedom in the United Kingdom with a broad range of state officials, parliamentarians, stakeholders and civil society representatives.

VIENNA, 27 November 2017 – On the occasion of today’s parliamentary debate on the Media and Defamation Bill in Malta, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir urged the Maltese authorities to improve the Bill and bring it in line with relevant international standards.