News and press releases

A delegation of senior Afghan police officers is participating in an OSCE-supported peer-to-peer visit to Kyrgyzstan from 11 to 15 November 2013...

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier paid an official visit to Moscow from 6 to 8 November 2013. He met with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Minister Alexey Meshkov and other senior officials, as well as with Nikolay Bordyuzha, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

BELGRADE, 8 November 2013 – Representatives of prosecutors’ associations from across the region gathered today in Belgrade to exchange experiences on the judicial reform process. The conference on the “Reform of the judiciary and the role of professional associations” was organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Association of Public Prosecutors and Deputy Public Prosecutors of Serbia.

BELGRADE, 8 November 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović met with Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić today to discuss the state of media freedom in the country...

SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan, 8 November, 2013 – The last in a series of OSCE-supported roundtable discussions focused on the annual report on the state of human rights and a special report on migrants’ rights in Kazakhstan took place today in Shymkent, southern Kazakhstan.

ASHGABAT, 8 November 2013 – Twenty-five journalism students from the Magtymugly Turkmen State University completed an OSCE-organized course on online journalism today

COPENHAGEN, 8 November 2013 – Lord Peter Bowness, member of the United Kingdom's delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, yesterday led a fruitful debate in the House of Lords on the British government's priorities for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Speaking about the important work of OSCE institutions and field operations, Lord Bowness noted the opaqueness of the Helsinki +40 process and asked for clarification from the Government on what has been achieved in light of the decision to launch Helsinki +40 at the Dublin Ministerial Council last year.

Access to finance, tax regulations and cross border trades have been the main topics of discussions at the OSCE-supported workshops on entrepreneurship capacity-building in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) of Azerbaijan. The event, which took place from 6 to 8 November, was organized by the OSCE Office in Baku, in conjunction with the Entrepreneurs Confederation and Foreign Affairs Office of NAR.

Improving the system for resolving election-related disputes in Serbia was the focus of a roundtable discussion organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia in co-operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) on 6 November 2013, in Belgrade.

Improving cross-border police co-operation and fighting crime more effectively by using forensic evidence, was the focus of a regional conference organized by the OSCE Mission in co-operation with the Interior Ministry at the Danilovgrad Forensic Centre, Montenegro, from 1 to 2 November.

The Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Ambassador Miroslava Beham, is the first senior OSCE official to visit the Russian Federation to specifically discuss gender equality issues. She is paying an official visit to Moscow from 5 to 8 November 2013.

VIENNA, 7 November 2013 – Governments should take steps to more effectively integrate Roma and Sinti communities, participants said today at the opening of the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting in Vienna, which runs until 8 November 2013...

SOLAK, Armenia, 7 November 2013 – Schoolchildren from Solak village are learning about the work of the police at a two-day OSCE-supported event launched today in Kotayq region.

Intolerance against religious groups remains a challenge to stability, democracy and human rights in the OSCE region and governments need to develop clear strategies to prevent its spread, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s personal...

DUSHANBE, 7 November 2013 – The 6 November presidential election in Tajikistan took place peacefully, but restrictive candidate-registration requirements resulted in a lack of pluralism and genuine choice, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. Extensive state media coverage of the official activities of the incumbent provided him with a significant advantage. In a positive step, the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) took measures to enhance the transparency and efficiency of election administration. Significant shortcomings were noted on election day.

DUSHANBE, 7 November 2013 – The 6 November presidential election in Tajikistan took place peacefully, but restrictive candidate-registration requirements resulted in a lack of pluralism and genuine choice, the international observers concluded...

GENEVA, 6 November 2013 – Freedom of movement, perspectives for a joint commitment on non-use of force were key topics of the deliberations at the 25th meeting of the Geneva International Discussions today co-chaired by the OSCE Chair’s Special Representative for conflicts, Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia...

BELGRADE, 6 November 2013 – Increased prison sentences for defamatory video or sound recordings are another potential threat to freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Hungary, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative...

SKOPJE, 6 November 2013 – Enhancing implementation of accountable and transparent internal oversight mechanisms within the police is the aim of an OSCE-supported regional conference that started in Skopje today...

YEREVAN, 5 November 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 November 4-5 to continue their efforts to help the sides find a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They met with Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Baku on November 4, and Armenian President Sargsyan in Yerevan on November 5...

VIENNA, 5 November 2013 – Sentencing journalists to life imprisonment for their work will further deteriorate media freedom in Turkey, Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media warned today...

DUSHANBE, 5 November 2013 – A conference to mark the conclusion of an OSCE-supported project ‘Strengthening the Customs Administration of Afghanistan’ funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance was held at the Border Management Staff College today...

ASTANA, 5 November 2013- A two-day training seminar for prosecutors on countering cybercrime began today in Astana. The course, which is led by national and international experts, focuses on global issues related to cybercrime, in particular the increasing misuse of advanced computer systems by various criminal groups...

VIENNA, 5 November 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today called for the release of journalist Solijon Abdurakhmanov, whose health has deteriorated in recent weeks.

Twenty-two senior and field managers from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine’s headquarters, training institutions, and 15 regional emergency departments learned about International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) and International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG) at a workshop in Kyiv, organised by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine from 29 to 31 October 2013...

VIENNA, 4 November 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about developments regarding Rosbalt information agency, one of the biggest online news portals in Russia...

VIENNA, 4 November 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about a proposed law in Iceland which would criminalize certain forms of expression directed toward minorities or any other group that might be considered vulnerable...

VIENNA, 4 November 2013 – OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier has strongly condemned the violence in northern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë that marred yesterday's poll...

Statement given at a press conference in Mitrovice/Mitrovica following violent incidents in northern Kosovo which affected local elections on 3 November 2013.

DUSHANBE, 3 November 2013 – Arriving in Dushanbe this morning to lead the short-term OSCE election observer mission, Gordana Comic stressed the important role of observers in electoral processes.

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 2 November 2013 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, has condemned last night's assault on one of the candidates for Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North, Krstimir Pantić...

A neighborhood inspector’s office opened with the OSCE support in Kok-Art micro district of Kyrgyzstan’s southern city of Jalal-Abad on 1 November 2013. The project was proposed and supported by the local community to counteract a recent surge in the number of car thefts in the area with some 30,000 residents...

PODGORICA, 1 November 2013- OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today launched a bid for more international funding for an on-going project to clear Montenegro of surplus ammunition and toxic rocket fuel...

LENINSKOE, Kyrgyzstan, 1 November 2013- An opening ceremony of a training centre for customs officers from Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan took place today in Leninskoe village near Bishkek. In 2013 and 2014, some 360 officers will be trained in the new centre established with the OSCE support...

BOROVOYE, Kazakhstan, 1 November 2013 – An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion of the drafts of the Criminal, Criminal Procedural and Penal Codes was held in Borovoye in northern Kazakhstan today...

DUSHANBE, 1 November 2013- A five-day regional workshop on effective customs controls through risk management and non-intrusive inspection technologies concluded at the OSCE Border Management Staff College today...

Election laws and their application in the OSCE participating States demonstrate many positive elements, but there is a number of areas where improvements are needed to meet commitments those countries have undertaken, and international standards, says a review presented at an OSCE event in Vienna on 31 October 2013...

An advanced course on security sector reform, co-organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the BiH Joint Staff and the Centre for Security Studies, concluded in Sarajevo on 31 October 2013...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 31 October 2013 – Improving the quality of journalism education was the topic of a two-day roundtable discussion and training seminar, organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana in co-operation with the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Minber Public Foundation, and the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office, which began today...

VIENNA, 31 October 2013- OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier has called on Belgrade and Pristina to live up to commitments regarding Sunday’s municipal elections in Kosovo and to use their influence to ensure proper and safe conduct of the process in the north...

VIENNA, 31 October 2013 – A stronger Parliamentary Assembly would greatly enhance the transparency and legitimacy of the OSCE, said OSCE PA President Ranko Krivokapic in an address to the OSCE Permanent Council today in Vienna.

Challenges faced by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and ways to address them through inclusivity, visibility and co-operation were the key topics of a meeting between the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today in Vienna...

YEREVAN, 31 October 2013 – Police reforms, fight against corruption and building integrity and accountability in policing are the topics of a discussion organized in Yerevan today...

VIENNA, 30 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today lamented the issuance of a Royal Charter that establishes a press regulatory body in the United Kingdom...

The OSCE Presence in Albania organized a meeting with female parliamentarians, on 30 October 2013, to support them in re-establishing the women’s caucus in the Albanian Assembly, a structure that has been inactive for the last four years.

A project organised jointly by the OSCE, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Organization for Migration, to map the links between irregular migration, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings along the East Mediterranean Migration Route, began with a seminar in Vienna on 30 and 31 October 2013.

LANDSHUT, Germany, 30 October 2013- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara opened the conference on confidence-building measures in the Transdniestrian settlement process today...

Fifty-eight district election commissioners were trained to administer electoral procedures for the upcoming repeat election in Ukraine at a session organized from 29 to 30 October 2013 in Kyiv by the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator (PCU).

The OSCE Mission to Skopje in co-operation with the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption and with the EU Delegation is organizing a conference on good practices for political party and campaign financing that started in Skopje on 30 October 2013...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors made her first visit to Belgrade, Prishtinë/Priština and Skopje from 22 to 25 October 2013...