News and press releases

The OSCE Programme Office, marking International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2015, facilitated and took part in a roundtable discussion in Astana on human rights as the basis for the harmonious development of society and the state...

Responses by states to the arrival of migrants and refugees in the Western Balkans was the focus of a conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, the European Union Delegation to Montenegro, the Ombudsperson’s Office and the NGO Civic Alliance on 10 December 2015 in Podgorica to mark International Human Rights Day...

ASTANA, 11 December 2015 – An OSCE-supported Third Penitentiary Forum dedicated to the strengthening of re-socialization for convicted persons took place today in Astana, bringing together more than 200 high-level government officials, parliamentarians, representatives of the judiciary, international organizations, civil society and academia...

DUSHANBE, 11 December 2015 – The first in a series of five-day training courses on Standard Operating Procedures for 19 police officers facilitated by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan concluded in Dushanbe today. The course aims at enhancing the capacity of Tajik police in understanding the regulatory provisions of their work, and in designing and maintaining effective Standard Operating Procedures being in line with policies and procedures...

Hate incidents targeting migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers were at the centre of a fact-finding workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 11 December 2015.

The legislative process in Kyrgyzstan should be comprehensive and policy-based, says an OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) assessment, presented in Bishkek on 11 December 2015 at a meeting co-organized by ODIHR and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

An OSCE-supported seminar on implementing the law on access to information took place on 11 December 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, bringing together some 60 parliamentarians, government officials, journalists, and representatives of civil society and international organizations...

WARSAW, 11 December 2015 – Today, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), welcomed the complete abolition of the death penalty in Mongolia...

The SMM recorded a number of ceasefire violations, mostly near Donetsk airport. It experienced a number of freedom-of-movement restrictions but it did reach border areas not controlled by the Government...

DUSHANBE, 10 December 2015 – Innovative solutions to address border issues using new technologies and methods were discussed at the four-day OSCE Cross-Border Research Conference in Dushanbe which concluded today with a study trip to Tajikistan’s nearby border with Afghanistan...

On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2015, the OSCE Office in Yerevan in co-operation with partners supported an annual award ceremony recognizing media, business community and civic activists for their efforts in the fight against corruption and in promoting the rule of law, access to justice and accountability. Those honoured were distinguished for their successes in using the legal system to hold business and corporate actors accountable to employees and consumers...

Modern methods of combatting corruption were the focus of a conference on 9 December 2015 organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek in co-operation with the General Prosecutor’s Office to mark International Anti-Corruption Day...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and USAID’s “Fair Justice” project organized a two-day training course for 22 representatives of civil society organizations on trial monitoring, which concluded on 10 December 2015 in Kyiv...

DUSHANBE, 10 December 2015 – Today the OSCE Office in Tajikistan jointly with the Tajik Parliament is launching a public campaign, Men Engage to Combat Violence against Women – White Wristband Commitment, as a part of the international campaign 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence...

VIENNA, 10 December 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that the recent wave of inspections of the independent television channel Dozhd by various state institutions could interfere with its work...

WARSAW, 10 December 2015 – OSCE participating States must make sure that human rights are an integral and central part of their responses to the profound security challenges they are facing today, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said on the occasion of today’s international Human Rights Day...

ASTANA, 10 December 2015 – The annual OSCE-sponsored Youth Legal Forum dedicated to "Human Rights Protection in the Fight against Terrorism” took place today at the Kazakh Humanities and Law University in Astana (KAZGUU) in recognition of the International Human Rights Day...

On 8 December 2015, the OSCE Mission to Moldova held the last in a series of seminars for college and university students on gender equality, domestic violence and family counselling. The final seminar, held in Balti, provided 35 students and teachers of social work with information on assisting the victims of domestic violence and on rehabilitating the perpetrators of domestic violence...

BISHKEK, 10 December 2015 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek is marking International Human Rights Day by supporting the Ninth International Festival of Documentary Films on Human Rights, which starts tomorrow and is organized by the Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan human rights movement...

BUDVA, Montenegro, 10 December 2015 – A three-day regional disaster risk reduction training course, organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, hosted by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, was completed today in Budva...

DEBALTSEVE, 10 December 2015- The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) is opening a new Forward Patrol Base in Debaltseve today, becoming the third such Base established by the Mission in the Donetsk region and the second one in an area outside of government control in this eastern region of Ukraine.

VIENNA, 10 December 2015 – Establishing an international network of national contact points to co-operate on addressing cases of kidnapping and hostage–taking by terrorists is the focus of a two-day meeting starting in Vienna today and organized by the Transnational Threats Department of the OSCE...

GENEVA, Switzerland, 9 December 2015-The thirty-fourth round of the Geneva International Discussions has just ended...

COPENHAGEN, 9 December 2015 – The Chairperson of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today welcomed the release from prison of Azerbaijani rights activist Leyla Yunus on humanitarian grounds., 9 December 2015 – The Chairperson of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today welcomed the release from prison of Azerbaijani rights activist Leyla Yunus on humanitarian grounds...

The SMM recorded an increasing number of ceasefire violations around Donetsk airport. In Luhansk region, all explosions and gunfire heard were assessed as activities related to training or demining. The SMM followed up on reports of resumption of power supply across the administrative boundary line between Kherson and Crimea. Its freedom of movement was restricted six times on both side of the contact line, resulting, in one instance, in the inability to reach the areas alongside the international border and border crossing points in areas not controlled by the Government*...

WARSAW, 9 December 2015 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today welcomed the release from custody of Azerbaijani human rights defender Leyla Yunus, following a request from her lawyers based on her deteriorating health...

VIENNA, 9 December 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern over recent cases of obstruction and threats against journalists covering the 6 December referendum on constitutional reforms in Armenia...

SKOPJE, 9 December 2015 – Fostering a gender balance and promoting women’s rights in the police service is the aim of today’s OSCE-supported networking meeting taking place in Skopje, which will bring together 35 representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA), the national Police Union and the Association of Women in the Kosovo Police (AWKP)...

An OSCE-supported international certification programme for 30 representatives of the banking sector on detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorism financing began on 9 December 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

Under the scope of the global campaign "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" the OSCE Mission to Montenegro had supported training course for multi-disciplinary teams in Pljevlja, Herceg Novi, Cetinje, Berane and Podgorica between 30 November and 9 December 2015...

A mediation club was opened on 9 December 2015 in the Secondary School “Vlado Tasevski” in Skopje, as part of the project “Mediation for Change” implemented by the OSCE Mission to Skopje and financially supported by the Swiss Embassy in Skopje...

The role of interfaith dialogue in promoting peaceful coexistence, grounded in freedom of religion or belief for all in Ukraine was the focus of a national meeting, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, in Kyiv on 8-9 December 2015.

ASTANA, 9 December 2015- Development of a new national legislation on safety of hydrotechnical facilities was the focus of an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion, which took place in Astana, Kazakhstan...

COPENHAGEN, 9 December 2015 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Chairperson, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today expressed deep disappointment at the inability of governments to agree any decisions or declarations on promoting human rights at the recently concluded OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade...

BRUSSELS, 9 December 2015 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova, described the nexus between human trafficking and migrant smuggling in an address at a European Parliament conference on Tuesday...

DONETSK, 9 December 2015- The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine is today opening a new Forward Patrol Base to house a small group of monitors in the city of Horlivka, an area currently not under government control in the eastern region of Donetsk. Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug will spend the first night in the newly-established Base together with the team...

The SMM recorded a number of ceasefire violations, including the use of Addendum-proscribed weapons. It noted partial compliance in relation to the withdrawal of prohibited weapons from the security zone and observed the developments regarding the restoration of power supply to Crimea.

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCP). The overall cross-border traffic decreased at both BCPs.

Ahead of International Human Rights Day, the OSCE Presence in Albania hosted an event in Tirana on 7 December 2015 with high state officials, partner institutions, diplomatic corps, civil society and media, highlighting the nexus between human rights and security and awarding a coalition of trafficking shelters for their work...

The Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Alexander Hug visited a children’s hospital in Donetsk on 7 December 2015 to discuss a request by its manager to reopen the premises. It was agreed that reopening the hospital was currently impossible without firm security guarantees from both sides...

BELGRADE, 8 December 2015 – The OSCE Mission to Serbia presented its 2015 Person of the Year Award to three recipients at a ceremony in Belgrade today to Marija Ranđelović, Community Liaison Officer (CLO) of the Niš Police Department, the Preševo Youth Office, and to Miroslava Milenović, forensic financial expert and Member of the Anti-Corruption Council (ACC) of the Government of the Republic of Serbia...

SARAJEVO, 8 December 2015 – Partnership between the security sector, civil society, local government and communities, and the private sector is of vital importance to effectively counter violent extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), participants agreed at a two-day meeting organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH in co-operation with the Security Ministry that ended today...

The OSCE Mission to Moldova brought together 31 students from Chisinau, Comrat and Tiraspol for the Model OSCE 2015, a three-day negotiation skills training and simulation game that engages youth in conflict resolution. The event was held from 3 to 6 December 2015, in Vadul lui Voda, a town by the Dniester/Nistru River...

The second series of three OSCE-supported training seminars for secondary school teachers on energy efficiency concluded on 8 December 2015 in Kostanay, Kazakhstan...

Confronting the growing economic inequality in the OSCE region and beyond was the topic of an inter-religious dialogue organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Communication and Media Relations Department (COMMS), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Angelicum’s Faculty of Social Sciences on 30 November 2015 in Rome...

The SMM recorded a sharp spike in ceasefire violations on 6 December. It continued to note partial compliance in relation to the withdrawal of prohibited weapons from the security zone. It observed the presence of mines and UXO in several locations, with one of its patrol vehicles sustaining slight damage when a device exploded close to it..

The conclusions of the final report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project were discussed at a side event on the margins of the 22nd OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade on 3 December 2015. Speakers included all three OSCE Troika Foreign Ministers as well as representatives of OSCE Delegations in Vienna and the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions...

The OSCE Dialogue Academy, proposed by a group of prominent women from Prishtinë/Priština and Belgrade as part of their OSCE-supported “Follow us” initiative, was held from 27 November to 6 December 2015 at Stadtschlaining, Austria...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 7 December 2015 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Jean-Claude Schlumberger strongly condemned today the latest incidents affecting the Kosovo Serb community in the village of Goraždevac/Gorazhdec, Pejë/Peć municipality...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 7 December 2015 – The OSCE Mission in Kosovo launched a campaign to raise awareness on the existing gender divide in property and inheritance rights today in Prishtinë/Priština...