News and press releases

From 13 to 15 December 2023, national experts from eight offices and government ministries in Uzbekistan joined an interactive workshop on the protection of critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks. The event served as the first activity in the OSCE’s newly-launched initiative called Project PROTECT. It was organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD), with support from the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

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.

BELGRADE, 18 December 2023 – Although Serbia’s early parliamentary elections offered voters a choice between political alternatives and freedoms of expression and assembly were generally respected, pressure on voters as well as the decisive involvement of the President and the ruling party’s systemic advantages undermined the election process overall, international observers said in a statement today.

Promising initiatives to address risks of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in the context of major sporting events have been implemented in several OSCE participating States, including France, Germany, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

On December 15, 2023, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, jointly with the National Center for Human Rights and the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor, held a roundtable discussion  on Challenges and Solutions in Promoting Business Respect for Human

Strengthening youth resilience to organized crime and corruption in South-Eastern Europe was the aim of a civil society organizations’ regional grants programme, carried out by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded today its 7th edition of the annual Civil Society Forum, a platform that gathers civil society organizations (CSOs) to address challenges and issues they face and facilitates constructive exchanges amongst them. Around 80 representatives and activists of civil

On 15 December 2023, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe completed its second train-the-trainers course for 19 staff officers of the Tajik Border Troops in Bokhtar, Khatlon Region.

Regional co-operation and standardization of responses to explosive hazards can assist in reducing threats to human lives and property. The 2nd International Training Board meeting took place in Istanbul, Türkiye from 14-15 December 2023.

On 14 December 2023, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) organized an event in Vienna to celebrate International Migrants Day. The event took place in partnership with the International Labour Organization and the European University Institute.

About 45 women councillors from Vlora, Shkodra and Tirana regions participated in three tailored information sessions organized by the OSCE Presence as part of its Women Municipal Excellence Programme #WoMEP, during the first two weeks of December 2023. The primary objective of these activities was

Within primary financial support from the European Union, the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU) organised a roundtable “Priority Setting in Mine Action and Draft National Strategy” in Kyiv on 14 December 2023.

VIENNA, 13 December 2023 – Today, Canada held its closing plenary meeting as Chair of the OSCE’s Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC).

ERGNETI, 13 December 2023 – The 116th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti today under the co-facilitation of the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), Dimitrios Karabalis, and the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Viorel Moşanu.

From 20 to 24 November, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and INTERPOL in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the Ministry of Interior of the Kyrgyz Republic, conducted a training course on criminal intelligence analysis for Kyrgyzstan’s Police officers.

The war against Ukraine is having a devastating impact on civilians and civilian infrastructures, with widespread destruction of housing, schools, medical facilities, and health care centers. In a series of three training courses, the OSCE, through the WIN Project, trained 76 employees of the State Emergency Services on gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive humanitarian response and women's leadership in humanitarian action.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) hosted a meeting to assess progress made in the implementation of six overarching commitments established to combat gender-based violence (GBV) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

Following the 2023 presidential and early parliamentary elections in Montenegro, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published final reports with recommendations to assist the country in bringing the electoral process closer in line with OSCE commitments and

From 14 November to 7 December 2023, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina organized more than a dozen activities across BiH aiming to address and combat hate-motivated incidents while emphasizing the importance of social cohesion. These events included workshops, roundtables, presentations, and radio shows aimed at addressing and combatting hate-motivated incidents while emphasizing the significance of social cohesion.

On 11 December, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) organized a side event “Catalyzing change: Political will in fighting corruption” on the sidelines of the tenth session of the Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention against

Today, on 10 December, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina marks Human Rights Day by re-affirming our steadfast commitment to equality, dignity and justice for everyone living in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

From 6 to 8 December, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek supported the State Committee of National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic in delivering an introductory course on cybercrime and digital evidence to 20 representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Kyrgyz Republic.

WARSAW/VIENNA, 8 December 2023 – Two decades after the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) embarked on its journey to improve the lives of Roma and Sinti and work towards societies that promotes the diversity of our nations, ODIHR is publishing its five-yearly report to assess efforts made by OSCE states in ensuring equal opportunities for Roma and Sinti people in all areas of life.

Election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the  final report on Albania’s 2023 local elections during a visit to Tirana that took place from 4 to 6 December 2023. Representatives from the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ad Hoc

In his final event as Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, on 7 December 2023, Ambassador Bruce Berton hosted a special meeting of the International Election Working Group with the Heads of Missions from OSCE participating States and international organizations in Albania. The meeting focused on

On 6 December 2023, in Tashkent, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, jointly with the Committee on Innovative Development, Information Policy and Information Technology of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Public Fund for Support and

On the occasion of Human Rights Day on 10 December, the University of Sarajevo’ s Faculty of Law, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), hosted a conference titled "Freedom of Religion or Belief: Contemporary Challenges and Perspectives” in Sarajevo.

BELGRADE, 7 December 2023 – The OSCE Mission to Serbia awarded the 2023 Person of the Year award to Dr. Mirjana Drenovak-Ivanović, a full tenure professor in Environmental Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade, and to Mr. Dejan Stojanović, a lawyer at the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications.

On 5 December 2023, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) supported an International Conference on Sustainable Conservation and Management of Protected Areas, organized by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change.  While we are globally confronted with a

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized today a roundtable discussion with Mayor Shaqir Totaj and representatives of Islamic, Serbian Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant Evangelical, Jewish, and Tarikats communities in Prizen to support the municipality in promoting dialogue and fostering partnerships with

GENEVA, 6 December 2023- The 59th round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) took place on 5-6 December 2023 in accordance with the six-point agreement of 12 August 2008 and implementing measures of 8 September 2008. This round was held in two working groups meeting in parallel on security and humanitarian issues, as per usual practice.

More than 50 representatives from the BiH High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, law enforcement agencies, and institutions across the country gathered in Jahorina for a workshop organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH titled "Instituting and Facilitating Regular Inter-agency Meetings and Briefings Between Agencies and Prosecution".

Identifying new ways to engage men in working towards gender equality was the focus of a conference organized by the OSCE WIN and CHANGE projects on 5 and 6 December in Warsaw.

Seventeen officials from the General Prosecutor´s office, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, and the Parliament of Turkmenistan strengthened their knowledge of corruption proofing draft legislation in a training course held from 4 to 6 December 2023 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) organized the training in co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

Between 15 and 24 November, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Faculty of Law of the University of Montenegro administered a mock election asking students to write down their priorities on a ballot. The ballot was a questionnaire that canvassed youth on a range of issues and priorities. Ballot boxes were placed at the Faculty of Law, Political Sciences, and Economics in Podgorica. An email address for online voting was set up too.

Ukrainian journalists, editors, media managers, communication experts from governmental and public sectors spent four days in a Carpathian resort to withdraw from day-to-day work hassle and war-related trials in order to take a critical look at the state of affairs in country’s media sphere at a seminar organized by Aspen Institute Kyiv and the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU). The event "Media and Reality: Dimensions of Responsibility," that took place in Polyana, Zakarpathia oblast on 29 November – 3 December 2023, involved 24 media community leaders selected through an open call for applications.

Bishkek, 21 November 2023- The Anti-Terrorism Centre of the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic (ATC SCNS KR), in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, organized a roundtable on implementing the Programme of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic on countering extremism and terrorism for 2023-2027 and its Action Plan. The event brought together high-level representatives of the Kyrgyz government.

SKOPJE, 1 December 2023 – The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, announced the selection of Malta for the 2024 OSCE Chairpersonship and the extension of senior officials at the closing of the 30th Ministerial Council in Skopje today.

Between 5 October and 30 November 2023, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, in co-operation with Kosovo Police, trained a total of 142 police officers from different communities on individual needs assessment for victims of hate crimes.

TUZLA, 1 December 2023- The OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the Center against Trafficking in Works of Art (CPKU), hosted the exhibition “Missing Works of Art”, which was followed by a panel discussion on combatting illicit trafficking in cultural property in BiH.

During the 16 Days of Activism campaign, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Serbian Justice and Interior Ministries delivered a training course helping police officers and prosecutors from several Serbian municipalities effectively respond to cases of violence against women and girls while maintaining a victim-centred approach.

The last in a series of OSCE-supported three-day seminars on ethics and psychology of family relations, which focused on gender roles, gender relations and domestic violence, concluded on 1 December 2023. Whereas the first seminar took place in October and targeted youth representatives, the second

On 1 December, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Bujar Osmani and 45 OSCE participating States issued a joint statement at a Ministerial Council (MC) side event with OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro on the safety of women journalists.

Over forty young and future diplomats participated in OSCE-organized workshops on effective negotiation that took place from 29 November to 1 December 2023 in Ashgabat. The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the workshops to promote OSCE best practices and mechanisms in conflict prevention and early

The 2023 Chairpersonship of North Macedonia hosted a side event on “Addressing the Impact of Climate Change on Human Security in the OSCE Area” during the 30th Ministerial Council taking place in Skopje. Addressing the impact of climate change has been a key priority of the Chairpersonship of North

On 27 and 28 November, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, together with the Ministry of Sports and Youth, gathered 19 young athletes – nine boys and ten girls from eight sports disciplines at the workshop on engaging youth in countering violent extremism and radicalization.

On November 30, 2023, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted a conference titled "Participation of citizens in decision-making at the local level in BiH: Towards a meaningful partnership”.

SKOPJE, 29 November 2023 — Putting a stop to the war against Ukraine and strengthening civil society across the OSCE were at the heart of recommendations put forward by civil society representatives from across the OSCE region. The recommendations were handed down at the annual OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference held in Skopje today.

Digital and media literacy, gender equality and human rights of persons with disabilities were the main topics of the seminar “Informed, motivated and active youth”, organized in Budva from 22 to 24 November by the NGO Centre for Youth Education, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, for 20 young people aged 18 to 30 from across Montenegro.

On November 24, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz), together with the Ombudsperson for Children and the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan convened the round table on “Preventing the involvement of children and youth in criminal activities on Internet” in