News and press releases

Recognizing the critical importance of addressing violence against women and girls in ensuring comprehensive security and stability, the OSCE hosted the third Regional Networking and Capacity Building Conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 21 to 23 May 2024. The Conference that followed networking events in 2022 and 2023, further reinforced vital connections among women’s resource centers, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders in the region and marked a significant milestone in the Organization’s efforts to support domestic violence survivors in the region.

On April 22, Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid welcomed mentees of the second edition of the OSCE Women’s Peace Leadership Programme, in Vienna. This high-level mentorship programme supporting women’s inclusion in peace and security at all levels will run from October 2023 to June 2024 and provide 16 women peacebuilders from across the OSCE region with extensive training on leadership, mediation and dialogue facilitation.

Reiterating OSCE commitments to advance gender equality and promote the inclusion of youth in the peace and security agenda, the OSCE Gender Issues Programme with the financial support of the European Union and in close co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the OSCE Academy launched the Young Women for Peace Initiative for Central Asia.

The Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) presented a communication strategy which it developed for the Ministry of Economic Development of Montenegro to support women’s entrepreneurship in the country. The strategy, along with a study, was launched at an event in Podgorica on “Challenging Stereotypes and Changing Narratives to Women’s Entrepreneurship in Montenegro”.

On 13 March 2024, the OSCE Gender Issues Programme WIN Project, co-hosted together with Italy and Ireland, a side event titled "No Woman’s Land: Unpacking the Nexus and Finding Solutions on Gender, Corruption and Access to Natural Resources" at the margins of the 68th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York.

The OSCE Gender Issues Programme and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) held the second “Women’s Networks WIN Together” regional conference on networks across women peacebuilders and mediators from Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia on 5-7 February in Vienna.

On 18 and 19 December, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, organized a regional workshop to present and discuss the findings of the OSCE assessment report on ‘Understanding the role of women in organized crime’ in the context of Central Asia. The workshop was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.