News and press releases

VIENNA, 8 May 2014- Natalia Gherman, Deputy Prime-Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova addressed the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today...

ISTANBUL, 8 May 2014 – OSCE Media Freedom Representative Dunja Mijatović today welcomed a court decision lifting an order banning journalist Aksana Panova from working as a journalist...

ISTANBUL, 7 May 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today condemned attacks on journalists covering public protests in Baku on 6-7 May...

Key challenges in ensuring the independence and accountability of associations, as well as providing for their funding, were the focus of a roundtable discussion organized in Warsaw by ODIHR and the Venice Commission on 6 and 7 May 2014.

Tensions continue in Donbas. Other parts of the country remained calm. No serious security incidents were observed in Odessa, but the overall atmosphere in the city was quite tense...

VIENNA, 7 May 2013- Dialogue between religious communities and their leaders is essential for promoting religious freedom and combating intolerance and discrimination, stressed participants of a roundtable meeting in Vienna today...

VIENNA, 6 May 2014 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter addressed Ministers of the Council of Europe in Vienna today about next steps of the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship in reversing the logic of escalation in Ukraine...

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, along with the three special rapporteurs on media freedom from United Nations, the Organization of American States and the African Commission on Human and People’s rights, launched on 6 May 2014 a joint declaration on universality and the right to freedom of expression.

From 5 May to 6 June 2014 the OSCE Mission is organizing ten study trips to a number of historic and religious sites in Kosovo for some 500 secondary school students from Deçan/Dečane, Ferizaj/Uroševac, Gračanica/Graçanicë, Istog/Istok, Leposavić/Leposaviq, Lipjan/Lipljan, Novo Brdo/Novobërdë, Prizren, Rahovec/Orahovac and Skenderaj/Srbica...

After the incidents in Odessa on 3 May the situation in both the east and in some parts of southern Ukraine remained tense. Central and western parts of the country remained calm.

The situation in eastern and southern Ukraine has deteriorated. Reports of more occupations of buildings and violence in Odessa and Sloviansk-Kramatorsk reportedly left at least 40 dead. In central and western part of the country the situation remained calm...

A four-day training seminar on more efficient and transparent project management for more than 20 middle-level staff of Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office began on 2 May 2014 in Astana.

From 5 to 12 May 2014, the OSCE Mission and the Kosovo Police will organize a series of four workshops to encourage women and communities in Kosovo to join the police ranks.

Starting from 5 May 2014, the Police Development Unit of the OSCE Mission to Skopje supports two advanced training courses on “crisis management in hostage situations” and “hostage negotiation”. The courses are held in co-operation with the country’s Interior Ministry and the International Training Centre in Budapest...

"Freedom of Press: the Right to Know" is the theme of an exhibition that opened in Yerevan on 5 May 2014 to mark the World Press Freedom Day.

COPENHAGEN, 3 May 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today issued the following statement on recent events in Ukraine:

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission is delighted with news of the release of the military observers held hostage since Friday 25 April and pleased to have been able to assist the Ukrainian authorities in the efforts that led to their release.

Bern, 3 May 2014 – Didier Burkhalter, Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, expressed his gratitude to all participating States involved in the efforts for the release of the seven military inspectors and their Ukrainian hosts who were detained in Sloviansk by a group of armed individuals.

Kyiv, 3 May 2014- In the course of the past 24 hours, the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine has deteriorated further. More violence across this region has left many injured and led to dozens of lives lost.

VIENNA, 2 May 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today renewed her call on all parties to show respect for media freedom in Ukraine following new cases of intimidation of journalists, disappearances and a violent takeover of a television station.

VIENNA, 2 May 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today paid tribute to media workers around the world and emphasized their essential role in the development of democracy in the run up to World Press Freedom Day on 3 May...

The situation in Ukraine remained tense in Luhansk and, in particular, and in Donetsk regions. In other parts of the country an increased police presence was observed due to the fear of possible provocations during May holidays.

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 2 May 2014 – Ahead of the World Press Freedom Day marked on 3 May, the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, called on central level institutions to identify a long-term solution for the financing of the Kosovo’s only public broadcaster, the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), and urged them to ensure unhindered access to public documents for journalists...

This update is provided for the media and the public. The situation in Ukraine remained tense in Luhansk and, in particular, and in Donetsk regions. In other parts of the country an increased police presence was observed due to the fear of possible provocations during May holidays.

An OSCE-supported specialized training course for nine Canine Service officers and mangers completed on 30 April 2014 at Kyrgyz Customs Training Centre in Leninskoe village near Bishkek...

An OSCE-supported Good Governance Resource Centre launched its activities on 1 May 2014 on the premises of the Ministry of Finance of Turkmenistan.

The results of the first joint study conducted by the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions, “Threat perceptions in the OSCE area”, was presented to participating States in Vienna on Tuesday, 29 April 2014.

Western and Central Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well the southern part of the country, remained calm. The situation in Kharkiv is quite tense after the assassination attempt on the mayor, which occurred on Monday, 28 April. The situation in Donetsk region has deteriorated and in Luhansk remains tense.

ASTANA, 30 April 2014 – An OSCE-supported a roundtable meeting on engaging youth to counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT) concluded today in Almaty...

YEREVAN, 30 April 2014 – Opportunities, problems and challenges of higher education for people with disabilities was the focus of an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion today in Yerevan...

COPENHAGEN, 30 April 2014 – A senior delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has completed a visit to the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya oblasts in eastern Ukraine as part of the Assembly's ongoing activities in preparation for observation of the country’s presidential election.

Measures to advance gender equality in Malta were the focus today at a conference in Sliema, Malta.

VIENNA, 30 April 2014- The April 5 presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan demonstrated that the Afghan people had “rejected violence as a means of political transition and opted for a political process”, Ján Kubiš, the United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 30 April 2014.

The Municipality of Tivat hosted the launch of an awareness-raising campaign on the benefits of composting green waste on 25 April 2014. The campaign will be conducted over the course of 2014 by the Eco-centre Dolphin NGO in partnership with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro...

VIENNA, 30 April 2014- Ambassador Hido Biščević of Croatia, Team Leader of the OSCE’s National Dialogue Project in Ukraine, addressed the OSCE Permanent Council today. He presented recommendations on how the OSCE can contribute to social cohesion and tolerance amid the current crisis...

INTERLAKEN, Switzerland, 29 April 2014 – Countering terrorism requires an inclusive and coordinated response at all levels, emphasized the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship in its conclusions to a two-day OSCE international counter-terrorism conference. Characterized by its strategic approach, involving all Executive Structures and Institutions, the OSCE should continue to build on its comparative advantages in close cooperation with other international actors.

Western and Central Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well the southern part of the country, remained calm. The situation in Kharkiv appears to be tense after an assassination attempt on the local mayor. The situation continued to be tense in Luhansk region and particularly tense in Donetsk region. The Special Monitoring Mission resumed operational activities in all its areas of operation with special security measures in place for Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk.

KYIV, 29 April 2014- OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier wrapped up a one-day working visit to Kyiv today amid escalating tensions, especially in the east of the country...

DOMODEDOVO, Russia, 29 April 2014 – Twelve Afghan officers from federal and provincial police authorities completed an OSCE-supported two-week train-the-trainers course near Moscow today on combatting illicit drug trafficking and drug-related crimes...

VIENNA, 29 April 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today denounced new cases of kidnapping and attacks on journalists, the recent takeover of a regional television station in Donetsk and illegal switching of broadcasts...

The OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier visited Astana from 27 to 28 April 2014 where he met with Speaker of the Senate of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov. Zannier was accompanied during his visit by the Head of the OSCE Chairmanship Task Force in the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs Heidi Grau...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 29 April 2014 – A two-day Central Asian Forum on Internet development, co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana for the fifth consecutive year in co-operation with MediaNet International Centre for Journalism and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation began today in Almaty...

The OSCE Mission published on 29 April 2014 a Manual on Budget Oversight for Kosovo Assembly Committees to assist 120 Assembly members in performing their financial oversight function over the line ministries and the government...

COPENHAGEN, 28 April 2014 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Anti-Terrorism, Nikolay Kovalev (MP, Russian Federation), warned today that international co-operation against terrorism is “seriously lagging behind.”

Western and Central Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well the southern part of the country, remained calm. The situation continued to be tense in the Luhansk region and particularly tense in the Donetsk region. Two Special Monitoring Mission monitors were temporary detained by the so-called People’s Militia of Donbas in Yenakiveve (55 km northeast of Donetsk. The situation in Sloviansk, where the military observers as well as accompanying Ukrainian military officers were taken captive, remains a source of concern.

On 28 April, the OSCE Presence in Albania and Poland’s Central Police Forensic Laboratory signed a co-operation agreement in developing the forensic capabilities of the Albanian Police. This partnership is aimed at raising forensic processing standards in the fight against serious organized crime and terrorism...

ERGNETI, 28 April 2014- Today, the 44th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Toivo Klaar, the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Angelo Gnaedinger, the OSCE Special Representative for the South Caucasus...

Between 11 and 27 April 2014, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized a series of five awareness-raising workshops on the protection of property and housing rights of non-Albanian communities, particularly land expropriation, illegal occupation and immovable property tax...

TIRANA, 24 April 2014- The OSCE Presence in Albania and the Ministry of Energy and Industry held today an inclusive discussion to promote the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and explain its benefits for local communities...

Community-law enforcement measures to combat hate crimes against Muslims were the focus of an expert meeting today in Vienna organized jointly by the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).