News and press releases

An OSCE-organized seminar on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on freedom of expression took place on 17 and 18 July 2024 in Ashgabat. The two-day event gave an overview of the legal challenges posed by the emergence of AI and presented initiatives of international organizations aimed at

An OSCE-organized training seminar on establishing press services of state institutions and organizing their work took place on 9 and 10 July 2024 in Ashgabat. The two-day seminar exposed representatives of key government bodies and national media to  best communications practices of state

WARSAW/VIENNA, 9 July 2024 – In a new legal analysis of Uzbekistan's draft information code, Matteo Mecacci, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Teresa Ribeiro, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), noted that while the code contains positive elements, it also includes provisions that need improvement to meet international standards and OSCE commitments on freedom of expression and media freedom.

On 3-4 July 2024, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) in close co-operation with the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Public Fund to Support and Develop National Media in Uzbekistan, organized a roundtable in the Tashkent region on the topic “Legislative Framework for Ensuring Freedom of Speech and Information: Parliament and Independent Media”.

From June 17 to 21, 2024, a five-day OSCE Central Asian Summer Media School, "InfoSavvy: AI-Expedition and Media Literacy," was held in Issyk-Kul province, Kyrgyzstan. The school aimed to strengthen media literacy skills of 22 young journalists and bloggers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

ALMATY, 27 June 2024 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro concluded today the regional Central Asian Safety of Journalists event in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The event, titled "Beyond the Headlines: Protecting Journalists to Advance Media Freedom”, gathered journalists, media professionals, and academia from the Central Asian region to engage in discussions on tools and strategies to promote the safety of journalists.

VIENNA, 13 June 2024 – “The failure to guarantee media freedom and healthy information spaces is increasingly disillusioning and disenfranchising people throughout the OSCE region,” stated OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro in her address to OSCE participating States. Presenting her seventh and final bi-annual report to the Permanent Council, she highlighted escalating repression against the media and its detrimental impact on democratic principles and security across the OSCE region and urged States to bolster efforts to safeguard media freedom for the benefit of peace and security.