News and press releases

ISTANBUL/ANKARA, 10 December 2014 –For the first time, a joint country visit of the three Personal Representatives of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on combatting discrimination and promoting tolerance took place in Turkey from 8-10 December 2014. The visit included meetings with civil society organizations in Istanbul and Ankara as well as a number of meetings with representatives of the Turkish government in Ankara. The aim of the visit was to discuss good practices and gaps in policy, activities and legislation as well as to consider areas in which the OSCE can provide further support in the implementation of OSCE commitments...

BASEL, Switzerland, 5 December 2014 – The OSCE proved its value and ability as a forum for dialogue while its key principles were defended, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter as the 21st Ministerial Council concluded in Basel today. Burkhalter welcomed decisions on Germany and Austria assuming the OSCE Chairmanships respectively in 2016 and 2017, and lauded decisions to further enhance the fight against terrorism and boost States’ preparedness against the threat of natural disasters...

BRUSSELS, 28 November 2014 – International standards and national practices in the area of freedom of religion and belief were discussed during an OSCE-supported working visit to Belgium that concluded in Brussels today...

A two-day seminar for some 50 prison officers on preventing violent extremism and radicalization in prisons took place at the Penitentiary Administration Training Centre in Bishkek on 25-26 November 2014...

In an effort to strengthen inter-ethnic and inter-religious tolerance and understanding, from 5 to 27 November 2014, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized three study visits to cultural and religious sites for high school students from Dragash/Dragaš and Prizren municipalities...

BAKU, 17 November 2014 – An international conference on strengthening religious tolerance, co-organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku, the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Caucasus Muslims Board and the National Commission of Azerbaijan for UNESCO, will take place in Baku on 17-18 November 2014. It will discuss Azerbaijan’s model of religious tolerance and existing challenges in the OSCE area and beyond. The two-day event, organized in the following day after the UN International Day of Tolerance (16 November), will bring together more than 100 participants from 11 countries...

WARSAW, 14 November – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today released its data for 2013 on its Hate Crime Reporting website. The release was timed ahead of the International Day for Tolerance on Sunday, 16 November...