News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 4 March 2014 – OSCE parliamentarians will travel to Serbia next week to observe the country's 16 March parliamentary elections and provide leadership for the OSCE's short-term observer mission.

Free and professional legal advice for Armenian citizens on the call-up procedures and specifics of military service, is now being provided as part of the initiative launched by the OSCE Office in Yerevan together with the Armenian Ministry of Defence on 1 March 2014...

The implementation in Turkmenistan of the Aarhus Convention, a key UN document on access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, was the focus of three national awareness-raising seminars held in Ashgabat from 26 to 28 February 2014...

A two-day reunion meeting for Kazakhstan’s alumni of the Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) concluded on 3 March 2014 in Astana. The event, supported by the OSCE Centre in Astana, was organized to help further develop networking among young leaders with a keen interest in building trust and ensuring long-term security and co-operation in the region...

VIENNA, 3 March 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said harassment of journalists in Ukraine must stop, and that members of the media must be able to perform their work...

Astrid Thors, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, arrived in Ukraine on Sunday, 2 March 2014, to assess first-hand the situation on the ground, especially regarding the Crimean peninsula...

COPENHAGEN, 3 March 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today expressed grave concern at developments in Ukraine and urged all OSCE participating States to respect the principles and spirit of the Helsinki Final Act.

WARSAW, 3 March 2014 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) announced today that it would send an election observation mission to Ukraine for the 25 May early presidential election...

Bern, March 2, 2014 – OSCE Chair and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter discussed the crisis regarding Crimea with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, emphasizing importance of coordination between the UN and the OSCE.

BERN, 1 March 2014- OSCE Chairperson in Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter has expressed his deep concerns about the volatile and further aggravated situation regarding Crimea. He welcomed the UN Security Council members’ commitment to Ukrainian unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty, as expressed during its meeting on Friday, February 28.

NEW YORK, 28 February 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom Dunja Mijatović today expressed her concern about the presence of armed group of people at national TV and radio channel Krym in Simferopol, Ukraine...

NEW YORK, 28 February 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović made a statement today about a situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying that political parties calling media outlets “foreign agents” represented an attack on free media and could jeopardize journalists’ safety...

VIENNA, 28 February 2014 – Ambassador Radojko Bogojević, Special Representative of the Swiss OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian settlement process, welcomed today the removal of obstacles for the free movement of permanent residents of the Trandniestrian region possesing foreign passports, other than Moldovan...

On 28 February 2014, five participants from the Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) completed their three-day study visit to Vienna to learn about the work of OSCE institutions and the organization’s comprehensive approach to security...

States must do more to ensure that their national judiciaries and law enforcement uphold human rights at all times, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks told the OSCE Permanent Council on 27 February 2014...

COPENHAGEN, 27 February 2014 – OSCE PA President Ranko Krivokapic today reaffirmed support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and called on the country’s ethnic and linguistic groups to express themselves through peaceful means...

DUSHANBE, 28 February 2014 – Twenty-two officers from Tajikistan’s law enforcement agencies successfully completed the OSCE training on combatting terrorism in Dushanbe today...

BERN, 27 February 2014- OSCE Chair in Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter has expressed his serious concern at on-going developments in Crimea and announced a visit by his Personal Envoy Tim Guldimann and OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors within the coming days.

Initiatives to collectively develop a new platform of action for all OSCE participating States for the long-term perspective were in focus of the address of Rashid Meredov, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan, to the OSCE Permanent Council on 27 February 2014...

ERGNETI, 27 February 2014- Today, the 42nd 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...

SKOPJE, 27 February 2014 – Encouraging youths from different ethnic communities to get involved in local decision-making is the aim of an event launched in Kumanovo today...

NEW YORK, 26 February 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about an initiative by a group of members of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to ban broadcasts of some television and radio programmes in the country...

ASHGABAT, 26 February 2014 – Fifteen policy-makers and law-enforcement officials discussed gender equality in society at an OSCE Centre-organized seminar in Ashgabat today...

NEW YORK, 26 February 2014- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed regret over a decision by a court in Tajikistan requiring journalist Olga Tutubalina to pay damages for defaming the country’s intelligentsia...

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swiss Foreign Minister and President of the Confederation Didier Burkhalter met US Vice President Joe Biden yesterday, with discussions focussing on Ukraine.

NEW YORK, 26 February 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about the closure of the Kazakhstan newspaper Pravdivaya Gazeta, following a verdict by a district court in Almaty on 24 February...

SARAJEVO, 24 February 2014 – The OSCE Mission to BiH launched today the War Crimes Case Map, a unique interactive web-based compilation of war crimes verdicts across the country...

NEW YORK / UNITED NATIONS, 24 February 2014 – Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Didier Burkhalter has today appointed a Personal Envoy on Ukraine to coordinate all ongoing and planned OSCE activities on behalf of the Chairmanship...

THE HAGUE, 24 February 2014 – OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors today expressed her satisfaction that solutions to end the violence and loss of life in Ukraine are emerging. However, she cautioned that the situation remains very fragile. She called on all actors to refrain from taking actions that could lead to increased tensions...

At an event in Podgorica held on 24 February 2014, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro presented results of research on the attitudes of citizens’ to the process of mediation as an alternative to resolving legal disputes...

The measures Armenia can take to better harness the potential of hydroelectricity were highlighted at an OSCE-supported seminar held on 20 February 2014 in Yerevan...

An OSCE-supported professional training course for ten officers of the Bishkek and Osh Remand Prisons under the State Committee on National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) concluded on 22 February 2014 in Bishkek...

BELGRADE, 24 February 2014-- Strengthening the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Western Balkans in preventing torture and in fighting hate speech, especially against Roma, is the focus of a two-day regional workshop starting in Belgrade today....

MITROVICË/MITROVICA, 23 February 2014 – OSCE Mission in Kosovo has successfully facilitated repeat elections for the mayor of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North municipality held today...

BERN, 21 February 2014- Didier Burkhalter, Swiss Foreign Minister and Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, has welcomed the agreement reached between the parties regarding the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine...

COPENHAGEN, 21 February 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative for Central Asia Thierry Mariani (France) is in Kazakhstan this week for discussions with parliamentarians and government officials on a broad range of national and regional issues...

VIENNA, 21 February 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today called on Swiss authorities to improve journalists’ rights following a court ruling ordering Nina Jecker, a Basler Zeitung reporter, to identify her source in a criminal trial...

ASHGABAT, 21 February 2014 – Innovative methods of teaching contemporary journalism were in focus of a two-day OSCE-organized seminar that concluded in Ashgabat today...

ASTANA, 20 February 2014 – Media-related aspects of the draft criminal code and code on administrative offences were among the topics addressed today at an OSCE-supported expert meeting in the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of parliament of Kazakhstan...

VIENNA, 20 February 2014 – Leading officials from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) today marked the World Day of Social Justice by linking the struggle against human trafficking with eradicating poverty, promoting full employment and decent work, gender equality and access to justice...

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres called on OSCE participating States on 20 February 2014 to provide massive international support to share the burden of the crisis in Syria...

BERN, 19 February 2014 – OSCE Chairmanship Switzerland urges the Ukrainian authorities to do their utmost to defuse the menacing situation in the country and proposes a set of measures in a bid to end violence and bring about the resumption of political talks...

COPENHAGEN, 19 February 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today condemned the recent escalation of violence in Ukraine and reiterated his call for reliance on dialogue and parliamentary action to resolve the crisis...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) trained experts from Greek civil society on strategies for combatting and reporting hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents at a workshop in Athens on 18 and 19 February 2014.

VIENNA, 19 February 2014- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today called on the Ukrainian authorities to ensure journalists’ safety following last night’s violence in Kyiv during which Vesti daily journalist Vyacheslav Veremyi was killed...

BERN, 18 February 2014 – Didier Burkhalter, Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, expressed his deep concern about today’s developments in Ukraine, and called on all sides to refrain from violence...

SARAJEVO, 18 February 2014- Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Western Balkans Ambassador Gerard Stoudmann today called on authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to urgently engage in a meaningful dialogue with citizens – including recently created citizens’ forums (plenums)- to address some of their pressing social and economic demands...

VIENNA, 17 February 2014 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today called on President of Turkey Abdullah Gül to veto the Internet Law and return it to Parliament and civil society for further discussions...

The judicial system and procedures, issues related to judicial independence were the focus of a training seminar organized for media representatives from 15 to 16 February 2014 in Aghveran with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan...

BALYKCHY, Kyrgyzstan, 17 February 2014 – New environmental monitoring equipment to enhance the protection of Kyrgyzstan’s largest lake was handed over to staff from the Issyk-Kul Biosphere Territory by the Embassy of Japan and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek today in the lakeside town of Balykchy...