News and press releases

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) organized a three-day workshop on International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice (ICLTJ) from the 13 to 15 November in Mostar. The workshop concluded with in the organization of a moot court. The event brought together law students from state universities across BiH as well as legal practitioners and transitional justice experts to enhance skills, foster dialogue, and promote a deeper understanding of justice processes.

On 14-15 November 2024, the OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz), in co-operation with the National Human Rights Centre (NHRC) of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Main Directorate for the Execution of Punishments, organized a two-day training on Forensic Medical Documentation of torture

On 13 November, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, in co-ordination with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized a one-day roundtable discussion on Asset Recovery and Management in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On 12 November 2024, the Forum on Women's Economic Empowerment brought together women entrepreneurs from across Kyrgyzstan to highlight their achievements in fostering economic growth and social change in the country.

On 13 and 14 November, the OSCE PCUz facilitated a series of lectures by representatives of the Estonian School of Diplomacy at the Diplomatic Academy of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) in Tashkent. The training, opened by the First Vice-Rector of the UWED, Akram Umarov,

TIRANA, 13 November 2024 —OSCE Chair-in-Office, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg, concluded his visit to Albania today, reaffirming the OSCE’s commitment to strengthening regional security and its continued partnership with Albania.

Reconciliation, peacebuilding, regional co-operation and intercultural learning were the focus of the OSCE-supported three-day capacity building training course for potential grant applicants to the ongoing Open Call of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) “RYCOnnecting You(th)”.

On 7 and 8 November, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, the Office of the OSCE Co-ordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the Federal Agency for the Management of Confiscated Assets of Bosnia and Herzegovina, facilitated a roundtable discussion on financial investigations in criminal cases, which took place in Neum.

SKOPJE, 13 November 2024 —OSCE Chair-in-Office, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg, concluded his visit to North Macedonia today, underscoring the strong partnership between North Macedonia and the OSCE and reaffirming the Organization’s commitment to strengthening progress in the country.

PODGORICA, 12 November 2024 —OSCE Chair-in-Office, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg, concluded his visit to Montenegro today, reaffirming the long-standing partnership between the OSCE and Montenegro.

SARAJEVO, 12 November 2024 — OSCE Chair-in-Office, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg, concluded his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina yesterday, reaffirming the OSCE's unwavering commitment to supporting the country and highlighting the added value of the OSCE’s wide field presence on the ground.

A Legal Clinic was inaugurated today at the University of Elbasan, in which lecturers and fifth-year law students will offer free legal advice to people in need.

On 11 November 2024, North Macedonia, as Chair of the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group, hosted the fifth OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group meeting in collaboration with the Republic of Korea. The meeting, titled “The Outcomes of the Seoul 2024 REAIM Summit on the Responsible Application of Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain,” took place in Vienna.

On 30 October 2024, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings hosted a workshop on “Addressing trafficking in persons belonging to minorities through strengthened police-public partnerships.” The event aimed to deepen understanding on specific challenges victims of trafficking belonging to minorities face when accessing protection services, assistance and legal remedies.

On 8-9 November 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe facilitated a two-day training session focused on integrity and anti-corruption. Seventeen representatives from the State Committee on Land Management and Geodesy, as well as the Committee on Architecture and Construction, participated in the training.

On 7 and 8 November 2024, the School of Magistrates, in close co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, organized a training on investigation and adjudication of criminal offences related to public procurement.

Senior officers from Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service participated in a study visit to Madrid, Spain, from 4 to 7 November 2024.

On 7 and 8 November 2024 the 8th Annual Passenger Data Seminar took place in Vienna, Austria. The event was organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). The seminar was organized back-to-back with the 4th Annual Meeting of the Eastern European Informal Working Group on Passenger Data.

On 7 and 8 September in Skopje, North Macedonia, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with OSCE Mission to Skopje, organized a training course on understanding the linkages between violent misogyny, violent extremism, and gender. This course is part of the OSCE’s ongoing efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT).

Election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report and recommendations of the observation mission to the June local elections in Serbia during a visit to Belgrade from 23 to 26 September 2024.

From 4 to 7 November 2024, prosecutors of the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) and high officials of the Albanian State Police conducted a study visit to Italy focused on operational aspects of financial investigations.

Best practices from OSCE participating States for developing effective strategies to successfully navigate the WTO accession process were shared during an OSCE-organized seminar that took place on 6 and 7 November 2024. The two-day seminar showcased successful strategies employed by participating

The Parties to the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia, under the chairmanship of Montenegro, held the XIV Review Conference on the implementation of the Agreement on November 5, 2024.

WASHINGTON D.C., 6 November 2024 – Engagement was high across the political spectrum in yesterday’s US elections that underscored the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions. The presidential vote was highly competitive, but the campaign was marked by deep polarization and harsh and confrontational rhetoric, while public trust was undermined by disinformation campaigns and political violence, international observers said in a statement today.

The 62nd round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) took place on 5-6 November 2024 in the Palais des Nations, in accordance with the six-point agreement of 12 August 2008 and the implementing measures of 8 September 2008.

THE HAGUE, 6 November 2024 – “This Award for Natur og Ungdom is a recommendation and a reminder that human rights violations cannot go unresolved,” said Gytis Blaževičius, Leader of Natur og Ungdom, when receiving the 2024 Max van der Stoel Award today.

On 4 and 6 November, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department held its third annual training event on international cyber diplomacy in Vienna, Austria.

Cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets can present a wide range of risks, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud. To strengthen Moldova’s crypto-related crime investigation capacities, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), gathered 25 representatives from the law enforcement agencies in Chisinau from 6 to 8 November for a targeted training session to foster their expertise in this area.

From 5 to 8 November, the OSCE gathered representatives of Moldovan law enforcement agencies in a series of meetings to strengthen their capabilities in detecting and investigating illicit trafficking, with a focus on small arms and light weapons (SALW).

Today, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) marked a significant milestone in its ongoing initiative to strengthen gender representation in law enforcement through the provision of IT equipment to the Police Women’s Network Association and the RS Ministry of Interior Women’s Network (RS WPON).

SKOPJE, 5 November 2024 — Organized crime poses an urgent threat in South-Eastern Europe, with illegal arms trafficking and migrant smuggling jeopardizing regional and global security. To confront these issues and drive concerted action across the region, the OSCE Mission to Skopje, in co-operation with EU4FAST, is hosting a High-Level Police and Customs Co-operation Conference in Skopje from 5 to 7 November.

CHISINAU, 4 November 2024 – The 3 November second round of Moldova’s presidential election was administered efficiently and professionally, and offered voters a choice between genuine political alternatives, international observers said in a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions today. Candidates were able to campaign freely, but the quiet, ten-day campaign was marked by an increase in negative rhetoric from across the political spectrum targeting both contestants, often spread through online social networks. The challenges posed by foreign interference and vote-buying continued to reverberate during the run-off campaign, the statement says.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized a five-day training course titled “Facilitation and Conflict Prevention: Fundamentals and Practical Approaches”, which took place from 28 October to 2 November 2024. The course brought together 26 facilitators from the OSCE-supported Women's Resource Centres (WRCs), including 23 women.

From 31 October to 2 November 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (POiD), in co-operation with the Republican Training and Methodological Centre (RTMC) of the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defence (CoESCD), conducted a comprehensive training course in Khujand.

On 1 November 2024, nineteen officers from the Tajik Border Troops successfully completed an intensive three-week Operational Planning Training (OPT) course. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the OSCE’s efforts to strengthen border security along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border.

On 1 November 2024, the OSCE Presence hosted an insightful meeting of the International Election Working Group with some main civil society organizations actively working on elections.

The OSCE Presence in Albania has strengthened efforts in the fight against human trafficking by organizing a series of six local-level meetings with prosecutors and police officers throughout September and October 2024. The meetings aimed to address challenges in investigating and prosecuting human

From 28 to 31 October, the 2024 Central Asian Youth Forum on Combating Human Trafficking convened young leaders, activists, and experts from across the region to address the gendered aspects of trafficking in human beings. The forum, held in the Issyk-Kul province of Kyrgyzstan, concluded with the development of a regional co-operation plan for 2025, along with a media campaign.

Model OSCE, a three-day initiative that brought together 23 young participants in Belgrade last week, convened people between 18 and 30 years old to gain hands-on experience in multilateral diplomacy and decision-making processes. The event, which took place from 29 to 31 October, hosted 13 young women and 10 young men from across the region.

On 30 and 31 October, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department's Border Security and Management Unit in close co-operation with the Spanish National Police hosted an interactive training course on gendered aspects of transnational threats in Madrid. The event brought together 27 first- and second-line border security officers from Albania, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Spain and Tunisia.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission), in co-operation with the Center against Trafficking in Works of Art (CPKU) and the Agency for Education and Professional Training Mostar (AEPTM), organized a three-day training on combatting illicit trafficking in cultural property in BiH for representatives and experts from law enforcement agencies, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, cultural ministries, academia, and NGOs.

On 31 October 2024, the OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz), in collaboration with the National Human Rights Center (NHRC) of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Department of Penal Correction under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, hosted a roundtable discussion between representatives of the penitentiary services of Norway and Uzbekistan on the topic of "Gender sensitive prison management strategies: good practices and challenges".

Throughout October, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department has held a series of activities promoting cybersecurity good practices and general cyber hygiene as part of the OSCE’s contribution to the global Cybersecurity Awareness Month initiative.

Media literacy and methods of teaching media literacy skills were in focus of an OSCE-organized train-the-trainer course that took place on 29 and 30 October 2024. The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the course to provide support in preparing a pool of national trainers on media literacy and

VIENNA, 29 October 2024 – The Economic and Environmental Dimension Implementation Meeting (EEDIM) began at the Vienna Hofburg today, providing a platform for reviewing the implementation of commitments in the field of water management.

Study Visit on promotion and exchange of good practices and modern standards in border controls and document security, with a special focus on biometric components in travel documents and countering illegal migration for State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS).

Policymakers, educators and international experts discussed the future of multilingual education in Kyrgyzstan at the National Forum on Multilingual Education in Bishkek on 25 October 2024. The event was organized by Kyrgyzstan’s Education Ministry of Education with support from the office of the

TASHKENT, 28 October 2024 – Uzbekistan’s 27 October parliamentary elections took place amid ongoing reforms, including amendments to the Constitution, but the political environment remained constrained, not providing voters with a genuine choice, international observers said in a preliminary statement released today. Despite the ongoing reforms, fundamental freedoms remain disproportionally limited both by legislation and in practice, the statement says.

TBILISI, 27 October 2024 –While voters were offered a choice between 18 candidate lists and candidates could generally campaign freely, Georgia’s parliamentary elections were marred by entrenched polarization and concerns over recently adopted legislation and its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society, as well as highly divisive campaign rhetoric and widespread reports of pressure on voters, international observers said in a statement today.

From 24 to 26 October 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (POiD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources Management (MEWR), organized a three-day training session designed to enhance regional water co-operation and to deepen understanding of national and international water law.