News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 30 December 2013 – Isabel Santos (Portugal), Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, met with Aleksandr Pavlov today in Madrid and raised concerns over his possible extradition to Kazakhstan.

KYIV, 29 December 2013 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara today condemned a terrorist attack at the railway station in the city of Volgograd in the Russian Federation that left some 15 dead and many more wounded...

COPENHAGEN, 29 December 2013 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today issued the following statement on the apparent suicide bombing in Volgograd's main train station that killed at least 15 people and wounded many more.

VIENNA, 27 December 2013 – OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatović today condemned yesterday’s bomb attack against the offices of Vijesti newspaper in Podgorica, Montenegro, resulting in material damages...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 26 December 2013 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger welcomed today the decision by the Assembly of Kosovo to dismiss two members of the Independent Media Commission (IMC) Board...

VIENNA, 26 December 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about the arrest of Abdurakhim Shukurov, a camera operator working for the Ozodagon News Agency in Tajikistan...

VIENNA, 25 December 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed deep concern about journalists' safety in Ukraine following an attack on Tatyana Chernovil, a journalist with Ukrainskaya pravda...

An OSCE-supported basic training course for 30 newly recruited Kyrgyz customs offices concluded on 27 December 2013 in Leninskoe village near Bishkek...

More needs to be done to guarantee a level playing field for candidates and improve the electoral process, says the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 9 October 2013 presidential election in Azerbaijan...

Austria’s legal framework provides a sound basis for the conduct of democratic elections, concludes the final report of the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on the country’s 29 September 2013 parliamentary elections. Authorities can take further measures to enhance the transparency of the electoral process, though...

LVIV, Ukraine, 23 December 2013 – The last graduation ceremony of the year for military officers took place today in Lviv, bringing the total number of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel retrained for civilian professions to 682 people for 2013. The OSCE-supported retraining campaign was conducted in twenty-two cities, towns and military garrisons throughout the country by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, in partnership with the Social Policy Ministry...

The “The Best in the Net” guidebook aimed at online journalists was launched on 23 December 2013 in Yerevan. The publication provides both theoretical and practical knowledge on creating high-quality online media, as well as offering guidelines on information security. The publication was prepared by the non-governmental organization Journalists for the Future with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan...

VIENNA, 20 December 2013- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed the conviction of the person who ordered the murder of Igor Domnikov, a Novaya Gazeta journalist killed in 2000...

Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova Jan Plešinger addressed the participants of the OSCE-supported Annual Press Club Gala event on 19 December 2013 in Chisinau, and reconfirmed the Mission’s support for the development of independent and free media in Moldova and reiterated the essential role media plays in the development of a democratic society...

VIENNA, 20 December 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about draft amendments to the information law of the Russian Federation which might restrict access to the Internet and limit media freedom and freedom of expression...

YEREVAN, December 19, 2013- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Jacques Faure of France, and James Warlick of the United States of America) and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, traveled to the region December 15-19 to discuss recent developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

The implementation of European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) decisions and the importance of third party opinions (amicus curiae) in domestic and international instances were the focus of a workshop held on 19 December 2013 in Yerevan...

COPENHAGEN, 19 December 2013 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Special Representative on Border Co-operation, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain), met Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze on 18 December in Madrid for discussions that focused on the situation along the administrative boundary lines between Georgian-controlled territory and Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

VIENNA, 19 December 2013 – OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, highlighted key aspects of the Addendum to the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings in her address today to the Permanent Council.

BISHKEK, 19 December 2013 – A renovated training room, computer equipment and study materials to be used in delivering courses on identifying forged travel documents were presented by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek to the State Border Service of Kyrgyzstan today. The ceremony marked the completion of a capacity-building course on travel document security.

A two-day advanced training course on security policy for officials from ministries and other public institutions, co-organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded on 12 December 2013 in Zenica in the central part of the country...

VIENNA, 19 December 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed the UN General Assembly’s adoption of its first resolution on safety of journalists and the issue of impunity.

GENEVA, 18 December 2013- The Ukrainian OSCE Chair's Special Representative for Conflicts Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia has concluded his last meeting of the Geneva International Discussions with a call to maintain the dynamics towards positive solutions...

COPENHAGEN, 18 December 2013 – Leading OSCE Parliamentarians today expressed concern over the arrest and detention of Anar Mammadli, the chair of Azerbaijan's Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDSC).

On 17 December 2013, a musical adaptation of Alan Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh was staged in the House of Culture of Dorotcaia village with the support of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. The play was performed by Anton Chekhov Russian Drama Theatre based in Chisinau...

BAKU, 18 December 2013 – The OSCE Office in Baku organized a three-day training course for Azerbaijani journalists on environmental investigative reporting, which began today. The course aims to increase the flow of environmental information in the country, as well as facilitate public participation and action on environmental matters...

VIENNA, 17 December 2013- Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today expressed concern about recent reports of the arrest of Anar Mammadli, chairperson of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDSC) in Azerbaijan, on grounds of alleged illegal entrepreneurship.

VILNIUS, 17 December 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today urged Lithuania to join the tide of European countries by repealing criminal defamation laws and adopting “shield laws” that protect journalistic sources...

A seminar organized by the Ukrainian OSCE Chairmanship on the history of OSCE mediation efforts in the Transdniestrian settlement process took place on 16 December 2013 in Vienna. The event brought together former mediators, negotiators and civil society representatives from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River...

On 19 September 2013, members of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration which serves as a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes elected Professor Christian Tomuschat (Germany) as President of the Court for a mandate of six years.

High level meetings between the Armenian and Georgian parliaments were organized from 14 to 15 December 2013 in Alaverdi, Lori province in Armenia, with OSCE support.

BISHKEK, 16 December 2013 – Reform of the Government press-service and development of the state information policy in Kyrgyzstan was topic of today’s OSCE-supported conference in Bishkek.

Norway’s parliamentary elections on 9 September 2013 enjoyed a high level of confidence among political contestants and the public, while the legal framework provided a generally solid platform for the conduct of democratic elections, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in its final report released on 16 December 2013. More can be done, however, to improve the regulation of internet voting and campaign finance, the report adds...

CHISINAU, 14 December 2013 – On Friday, 13 December, jurists from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru river gathered at the OSCE Mission in Chisinau for the final meeting of this year of the Human Rights Club...

VIENNA, 13 December 2013- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about recent incidents where stories have been illegally removed from prominent online news sites in Serbia...

Three OSCE-supported expert meetings on specific aspects of criminal procedure and criminal executive legislation were held from 11 to 13 December 2013 in the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of Parliament of Kazakhstan.

ASTANA, 13 December 2013 – Good governance at the local level was the main topic of a two-day event which concluded today in Astana.

The 6th Review Conference on BiH’s compliance with the OSCE and UN security commit-ments in the politico-military field was held in Sarajevo in the beginning of December, and its conclusions were released on 12 December 2013...

ASHGABAT, 13 December 2013 – An OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation of observers began arriving today in Turkmenistan ahead of parliamentary elections in the country on 15 December.

DONETSK, Ukraine, 13 December 2013 – Practical recommendations on improving the efficiency of the state in helping victims of human trafficking are discussed at a conference that started today in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU)...

Germany’s parliamentary elections on 22 September 2013 were held under a legal framework that provided a solid basis for the conduct of democratic elections, but more can be done to improve the regulation of political party and campaign finance, concludes the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...

KYIV, 13 December 2013 – International co-operation in adapting to changing climate conditions in the Dniester/Nistru River basin is the focus of the 8th meeting of the Working Group on Flood Management and Climate Change Adaptation, organised under the auspices of the OSCE and the UN Economic Commission for Europe in Kyiv that today brings together representatives from Moldova and Ukraine...

BAKU, 13 December 2013- Policy guidelines on the integration of energy efficiency provisions in public procurement is the main topic of a conference organized by the OSCE Office in Baku and the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) under the President of Azerbaijan...

Twenty Afghan and Tajik border officers completed a two-week OSCE patrol medical course on 13 December 2013 under the Patrol Programming and Leadership Project in Dushanbe...

Six male diplomats and military officers today received white ribbons to honour their work to stop violence against women...

VIENNA, 12 December 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed her disappointment over recently adopted legislative amendments re-criminalizing defamation in Romania...

Fletcher M. Burton, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, speaking at a conference in Sarajevo on 12 December 2013, said that equality of women and men is vital to peace, democracy and prosperity, and men have a role to play in fostering this principle...

A project promoting greater political participation by youth and civil society in Moldova came to an end on 10 December 2013 in Comrat,Gagauzia, with a lecture on negotiation and mediation. The lecture, given by Ambassador Jennifer Brush, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, also focused on the OSCE’s role in the Transdniestrian settlement process.

A three-day regional workshop aimed at sharing practices in international co-operation for investigation, prosecution and adjudication of terrorism related cases concluded in Dushanbe on 12 December 2013...

ASTANA, 12 December 2013- A high-level meeting on current efforts to reduce the prison population and reform penal policies in Kazakhstan, organized by the Prosecutor General’s Office and supported by the OSCE Centre in Astana in co-operation with the Penal Reform International Office in Central Asia, took place today in Astana...