News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
High Commissioner Thors, in her OSCE Permanent Council address, discusses country engagement and highlights the increase in hate speech targeting national minorities
Publishing date: 3 June 2016
Addressing the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 2 June 2016, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors described country engagement and highlighted the disturbing increase in hate speech. The statement covered the High Commissioner’s activities since her last statement to the
OSCE High Commissioner encourages inclusive approach to integration and education issues in Moldova and welcomes joint working group on Gagauzia
Publishing date: 30 May 2016
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Astrid Thors visited Moldova from 23 to 25 May 2016 to discuss issues including the draft integration strategy developed with HCNM’s assistance to the Bureau for Interethnic Relations, relations between Chisinau and the autonomous territorial
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities calls for renewed dialogue between all political and social actors in Croatia
Publishing date: 13 May 2016
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Croatia from 9 to 10 May 2016. During her visit, Thors focused on promoting the effective implementation of the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities, in particular the provisions regarding languages and scripts;
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in Washington DC and New York to explore avenues to consolidate partnerships in the area of conflict prevention
Publishing date: 4 May 2016
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Washington DC and New York City from 25 to 29 April 2016, where she explored opportunities to strengthen co-operation in conflict prevention, implementing early action policies and in fostering inclusion within diverse societies.
Preservation, inspiration and dialogue: Twenty years of The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities
Publishing date: 26 April 2016
In promoting education as a tool for conflict prevention, The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities have offered a toolkit for preservation, inspiration and dialogue, said OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Astrid Thors as she opened an expert meeting on 21 April 2016 at The Hague to mark two decades of these ground-breaking Recommendations...
High-level conference marks 20 years of OSCE High Commissioner’s Hague Recommendations on education rights
Publishing date: 20 April 2016
THE HAGUE, 20 April 2016- Education is in many ways the space where issues of equality, national identity and the concept of nationhood are being negotiated, said OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors today as she opened a high-level conference to mark 20 years of The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities...
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, in Georgia, discusses implementation of integration strategy for minority participation
Publishing date: 20 April 2016
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Georgia from 12 to 15 April 2016, where she discussed policies to ensure the participation of minorities in public life, education reforms, language policy, and minority representation, among other issues.