News and press releases

From 16 to 20 June, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) organized a study visit to Poland for a delegation from the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan to gain insights into Poland’s policies, legislative frameworks and best practices in reducing the shadow

The OSCE supported Moldova's General Police Inspectorate (GPI) in adopting a revised regulation to improve the governance of its K9 Directorate and upgrading its K9 capacities through the donation of two specialized vehicles and training equipment.

Prishtinë/Priština, 20 June 2025- The OSCE Mission in Kosovo hosted the Steering Committee meeting for the Regional Trial Monitoring Project on Combatting Organised Crime and Corruption in the Western Balkans in Prishtinë/Priština on 19 June 2025.

From 16 to 20 June, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and Youth organized a training session in Bar, aimed at strengthening local capacities to support youth participation.

WARSAW, 20 June 2025 – Greater joint efforts and international co-operation are crucial to safeguard the protection of refugees guaranteed in international law, with the challenges displacement and migration pose both unique and fundamental to our common future, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said on today’s World Refugee Day.

In support of Albania’s National Strategy for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, the OSCE Presence in Albania organized a three-day training programme on sectorial analysis on financial crimes, from 17 to 19 June 2025.

ISTANBUL, 19 June 2025 — The 2025 Forum of the OSCE Secretary General and Central Asia Border Commanders concluded its two-day programme in Istanbul today.

HELSINKI/VALLETTA/BERN, 18 June 2025- Today, the OSCE Troika – Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Minister of Finland Elina Valtonen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta Ian Borg, and Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis – made the following statement:

Joint Op-Ed by Ingrid Macdonald, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Luigi Soreca, Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bojana Urumova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo

VIENNA, 18 June – The OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation placed the Women, Peace and Security agenda at the forefront of its programme today, with a dedicated Security Dialogue during the plenary session and a side-event focused on gender-responsive security.

From 16 to 18 June 2025, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, in close partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan, conducted a three-day capacity-building training in Khujand aimed at enhancing the professional capacities of young specialists in the water sector.

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp has concluded his first official visit to Central Asia in his capacity as High Commissioner, which took place from 14 to 24 May 2025. In Dushanbe, he met with representatives at various levels of government, as well as with

A presentation of the Code of Conduct on the Use of Social Media for Inspectors of the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH MoD) and the Armed Forces of BiH (AFBiH) marked the first step in promoting and implementing the new regulation. Adopted in March 2025, the Code is designed to promote accountability, professionalism, and ethical behaviour across digital platforms used by military personnel.

On 3 June, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) hosted a regional workshop in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, bringing together over 50 experts, officials, civil society representatives, and practitioners from across South-Eastern Europe. Titled

From 9 to 11 June, 16 women human rights defenders and civil society representatives from Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina met in Vienna to highlight the urgent need to prioritize addressing violence against women and girls in post-conflict reconstruction and recovery efforts.

From June 4 to 6 2025, a delegation from Kazakhstan participated in the international conference “OCTOPUS 2025- Conference on Countering Cybercrime”, hosted by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The participation of the delegation was facilitated by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana within the framework of the extra-budgetary project “Supporting the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Development of Effective Policies to Counter Cybercrimes (Phase I)”, implemented by the Office in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior of Kazakhstan, and under the co-ordination of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan.

On 27 May 2025, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana (the Office) officially transmitted the Feasibility Needs Assessment Report: “Breed Programme/Puppy Development” to the Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The report, developed by the OSCE with expert support from the United Kingdom, reflects the Office’s continued support to national efforts in enhancing specialized capacities for effective border security management.

On 16 and 17 June 2025, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz), jointly with the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking of Human Beings, conducted a two-day workshop in Tashkent on addressing trafficking in human beings among vulnerable

Law enforcement representatives from Ukraine built their knowledge of how to develop a passenger data system for the processing of Advance Passenger Information (API) during a study visit organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, jointly with the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine, from 11 to 12 June.

Students and young journalists from Central Asia took a deep dive into youth, security, and the role of media freedom at a summer school course organized by the OSCE in co-operation with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) from 8 to 13 June in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. “Over the

Between April and June 2025, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, in partnership with the Centre for Digitalization of the Transport Sector under Tajikistan’s Ministry of Transport (MoT), organized a series of practical training sessions on the “Kartateka” digital platform. A total of 105 Ministry staff members (34 women and 71 men) from across Tajikistan, including Dushanbe, Hissor, Bokhtar, Garm, Khujand, and Khorog, participated in the training programme.

The OSCE brought together 22 dog handlers from across Europe, including from Ukraine, for a workshop to strengthen their expertise and skills in detecting illicit firearms from 9 to 13 June in Tallinn, Estonia.

OSLO, 13 June 2025 — OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu concluded today his first official visit to Norway, where he held meetings with high-level officials and delivered the keynote speech in the international seminar "Security and Cooperation in a Europe at War — The 50th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act”, held at the Norwegian Parliament to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.

Over 130 practitioners from Central Asia and Türkiye gathered this week at Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, for a five-day regional simulation-based training exercise on combating trafficking in human beings. The training was opened by Nurlanbek Azygaliev, Vice Speaker of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Special Representative on Youth, Peace and Security, Santeri Leinonen, concluded a visit to North Macedonia on 10 and 11 June, and to Montenegro from 11 to 13 June. Throughout the visit, Leinonen met with government officials, civil society and youth representatives.

To support Kazakhstan in strengthening its response to cybercrime, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in partnership with the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, held a two-day workshop in Astana on 12 and 13 June. The event focused on developing a national competency framework and training

On 26 May 2025, in Kostanay, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana facilitated the first meeting of the Tobol-Torgay Basin Council this year, dedicated to integrated water resources management and water conservation strategies.

From 12 to 23 May 2025, two rounds of a specialized training seminar on the use of “Digital Safety Passports” and “Interactive Map” subsystems were held in Almaty.

Montenegrin MPs have committed to establishing regular dialogue with youth and youth-focused organizations across the country in order to support youth as actors in building a democratic, inclusive, and peaceful society. They also aim to ensure that the needs of young people are adequately addressed in decision-making processes, particularly within the framework of parliamentary work.

ESPOO, 12 June 2024 ― The OSCE Chairpersonship Conference on Climate and Security concluded yesterday in Espoo, Finland. The conference focused on the urgent need to act on the pressing national, regional and global security challenges posed by climate change.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, in co-operation with the Public Order Protection Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan, conducted a two-day training course from 11 to 12 June 2025 in Khujand, Sughd region. The event follows a similar training held in May in the Khatlon region.

12 June 2025, Sarajevo – On the World Day Against Child Labour, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted a roundtable in Sarajevo titled “Challenges and Gaps in the Institutional Response to Child Labour and Early Marriages”, aimed at strengthening protections for vulnerable children,

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department conducted an online training course from 10 to 11 June, where document experts from Greece and the United Kingdom helped Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service learn more about the security elements of passport paper and its production.

TASHKENT, 12 June 2025 –OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen concluded her visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, reinforcing the OSCE’s commitment to supporting the countries in strengthening regional co-operation and the Organization’s enduring partnership with the region.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) welcomes the submission of the Draft Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including crucial corrections and modifications introduced by MP Pedrag Kojović, which is scheduled to be considered at today’s session of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

ERGNETI, 11 June 2025 – The 125th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) convened today in Ergneti. The meeting was co-facilitated by the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), Bettina Patricia Boughani, and the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Christoph Späti.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro facilitated the participation of three representatives of the Parliament of Montenegro in the ODIHR workshop “Realizing Gender Equality in and by Parliaments.” The workshop, which was held from 3 to 4 June in Helsinki, was organized on the occasion of 30th anniversary of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action.

From 19 May to 7 June 2025, under Phase 3 of the European Union (EU)-funded “Stabilization of Tajikistan's Southern Border Region with Afghanistan” project, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (POiD) delivered a Training of Trainers (ToT) course for 20 female officers of Tajikistan’s Border Troops at the “Poytakht” Training Centre.

Sixty students got an in-depth look at the OSCE’s comprehensive work on organized crime during a visit to the OSCE in Vienna, Austria on 10 June. Each year a group of students visit the Organization as part of the European Consortium for Political Research’s summer school on transnational organized

From 2 to 6 June, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) organized a study visit to Finland for a delegation from the Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship under the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan. The visit aimed at deepening institutional knowledge on sustainable

Analysts from Moldova’s General Inspectorate of Border Police, General Police Inspectorate and Customs Service enhanced their capabilities with i2 Analyst’s Notebook software at a specialized training course organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the Permanent Mission of Romania to the OSCE, from 2 to 6 June in Chisinau, Moldova.

Eleven journalists from different media outlets participated in a training aiming to enhance the quality of reporting on incidents related to small arms and light weapons (SALW), with a specific focus on gender-based violence, on 3 June 2025. The interactive training was organized by the OSCE Presence as part of its support to Albanian authorities’ efforts to strengthen public awareness about the risks and misuse of SALW.

Transnational organized crime, specifically drug trafficking, remains a critical, shared threat that transcends national borders. It can only be effectively countered through co-ordinated, joint action grounded in international collaboration, sustained strategic commitment, and mutual trust. This was emphasized at the opening of a three-day international conference “Connecting the Drugs: Challenges and Threats from Expanding Trans-Atlantic Collusion and Traffic in Drug Crime”, organized by the OSCE Mission...

The OSCE Secretariat, together with the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, convened the 2025 Regional Meeting of Heads of Law Enforcement and Security Co-operation Departments (HoLEDs) on 4 and 5 June in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

More than 60 parliamentarians and experts from Europe and Central Asia gathered at the Finnish Parliament for a two-day workshop on gender-sensitive parliaments, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) with support from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and OSCE field operations. Entitled Realizing Gender Equality in and by Parliaments, the workshop highlighted the critical role of national parliaments in driving progress toward gender equality.

To promote women’s leadership in addressing transnational threats, women professionals from across Central Asia convened for a Regional Expert Group Meeting on 3 and 4 June in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The event focused on youth, gender and labour migration in the context of preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT).

Recognizing the urgency to proactively protect journalists, Montenegrin stakeholders are working toward establishing a national press safety mechanism. In support of this effort, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro assists Montenegro in crafting a roadmap towards the creation of such mechanism modelled on PersVeilig, a Dutch press safety mechanism launched in 2019.

VIENNA, 4 June 2025 — The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Jan Braathu, yesterday concluded his first official visit to Hungary where he held bilateral meetings with Hungarian authorities as well as consultations with journalists and civil society representatives. He also gave a keynote speech at the General Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in Budapest.

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, held a workshop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 29 and 30 May to support the country in developing a national competency framework and training strategy on cybercrime and electronic evidence.

On 2 and 3 June, the OSCE facilitated a study visit to Gibraltar for Moldova’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Hosted by Gibraltar’s Ministry of Justice, Trade and Industry, the visit aimed to deepen Moldova’s understanding of effective regulatory and operational responses to money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks linked to virtual assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).