News and press releases

Some 30 representatives from government agencies and civil society organizations discussed what hinders efforts to prevent domestic violence in Azerbaijan at an event organized by the OSCE Office in Baku and the Labour and Population Social Protection Ministry...

Outcomes of a two-year OSCE-supported project studying the obsolete pesticides and persistent organic pollutants in the Nubarashen burial site, located near Yerevan, and their impact on the environment were presented and discussed today.

MONACO, 29 October 2013 – OSCE PA Vice-President Alain Néri (France) represented the Parliamentary Assembly at the OSCE Mediterranean Conference held in Monaco on 28-29 October 2013. This year the conference was held on the topic of "enhancing the role of women in public, political and economic life."

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina launched on 29 October 2013 the Hate Monitor, a monthly infographic on the latest statistics and trends of hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents in BiH, and any responses to these incidents by government, civic or judicial actors...

A two-day conference on confidence-building measures organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova with the support of the German Foreign Ministry will be held from 30 to 31 October 2013 in Landshut, Germany. The conference will be attended by participants of the 5+2 negotiations on the Transdniestrian settlement process, and experts who will discuss issues related to economy, trade and infrastructure; environment; freedom of movement and law enforcement co-operation...

KYIV, 29 October 2013 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara welcomed the democratic conduct of the presidential election in Georgia that took place on 27 October 2013...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, on 25 October 2013 told an international conference in Lisbon of judges and prosecutors that national laws criminalising trafficking in human beings must be fully applied to deter the crime of modern day slavery and ensure victim rights protection...

On 24 October 2013 the OSCE Gender Section launched its new publication Guidance Note on Gender-Responsive Mediation at Sabanci University in Istanbul. The publication is a step in the enhancement of early warning and conflict prevention structures of the OSCE. It provides a practical guide for mediators engaged in formal peace negotiations on how to include women in the dialogue, as well as how to gender mainstream the mediation process.

TBILISI, 28 October 2013 – The 27 October presidential election in Georgia was efficiently administered, transparent and took place in an amicable and constructive environment, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. Fundamental freedoms of expression, movement and assembly were respected, and candidates were able to campaign without restriction.

As schoolchildren in Ukraine prepare to start their autumn vacations on 28 October 2013, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) helped the State Emergency Service of Ukraine to conduct awareness-raising lessons on the dangers of unsafe military ammunition...

TBILISI, 28 October 2013 – The 27 October presidential election in Georgia was efficiently administered, transparent and took place in an amicable and constructive environment, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. Fundamental freedoms of expression, movement and assembly were respected, and candidates were able to campaign without restriction...

Ways to enhance women’s participation in public, political and economic life come under the spotlight at the OSCE Mediterranean Conference in Monaco on 28 October 2013...

TBILISI, 26 October 2013 (Georgian and Spanish versions below.) – Ignacio Sanchez Amor, Special Representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on Border Co-operation, today visited the administrative boundary lines in Georgia separating the region of South Ossetia. Following his visits to the villages of Ditsi and Didi Khurvaleti in the region of Gori, the Special Representative expressed deep regret regarding the establishment of physical obstacles along the administrative borders between the territory under Georgian control and the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

SARAJEVO, 25 October 2013 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Joint Committee on Defence and Security and the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre concluded today a two-day regional seminar for parliamentarians on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security in Konjic, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton...

ASTANA, 25 October 2013 – An OSCE-supported train-the-trainers seminar aimed at enhancing knowledge and skills of police schools instructors to teach about human rights matters took place today in Astana...

DUSHANBE, 25 October 2013 – Today the closing ceremony of the 9th Staff Course for border officials from 18 countries was held at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe...

CHISINAU, 25 October 2013 – An OSCE-supported tour of the “Casa M”, a theatre play raising awareness about the domestic violence starts today in Edineţ, a town in northern Moldova, and will cover seven other towns until mid-November...

COPENHAGEN, 25 October 2013 – Former OSCE PA President Joao Soares (MP, Portugal), who was appointed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to serve as Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE observer mission to the 27 October presidential election in Georgia, opened the briefing of the short-term observers today in Tbilisi.

VIENNA, 24 October 2013 – A decision to send an election support team to Afghanistan to assist efforts on the presidential and Provincial Council elections in the country was taken by the OSCE Permanent Council today. The decision was made following a request of the Government of Afghanistan...

VIENNA, 24 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said the new draft electronic communications law in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a step to modernise this field, but expressed concern that the draft in its current form could seriously impact on the independence of the Communications Regulatory Agency...

VIENNA, 24 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed deep concern following an attack on journalist Sergei Reznik in Rostov-on-Don in the south of Russia...

Experts in policing from the OSCE region meet in Vienna from 24 to 25 October 2013 to identify how to build on present practice to best tackle criminal threats to security despite the economic downturn...

COPENHAGEN, 24 October 2013-- The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Second Committee, Roza Aknazarova (MP, Kyrgyzstan) took part in the 2013 Economic and Environmental Dimension Implementation Meeting held in Vienna on 21-22 October.

Lawyers and legal practitioners from six countries gathered to share good practices in providing accessible and effective legal assistance to trafficked persons, during a regional seminar organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Istanbul on 23 and 24 October 2013...

Europe needs political leadership and better law making and enforcement if it is to solve current problems, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjrn Jagland told the OSCE Permanent Council on 24 October 2013...

BELGRADE, 23 October 2013 – The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Peter Burkhard, expressed condolences today to the family, friends and colleagues of police officer Goran Đorđević and to the Serbian police service for the loss of one of its own...

COPENHAGEN, 23 October 2013 – Members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Isabel Santos (Chair), Mehmet Sevki Kulkuloglu (Vice Chair), and Gordana Comic (Rapporteur), spoke Tuesday at the Human Dimension Committee in Vienna. The three parliamentarians were there to present to the OSCE governmental side the work of the OSCE PA on a range of human dimension issues.

A number of laws and policies are in place in Armenia to promote the integration of migrants into society, but more steps could be taken to make further improvements, concludes an assessment prepared by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the non-governmental organization Migration Policy Group and presented in Yerevan on 23 October 2013...

YEREVAN, 22 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today met with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, to discuss co-operation and media freedom developments...

The Hague, 22 October 2013 – The recently appointed OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), Astrid Thors, during her first visit to Kosovo tomorrow will visit a language training programme for municipal officials in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje...

YEREVAN, 22 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today condemned an attack on the editorial office of Moskovskiy Komsomolets daily in Moscow. During the attack, a number of burning objects were thrown into the lobby of the editorial office, resulting in several people requiring medical help...

On 21 October 2013 the OSCE Mission to Montenegro presented a publication “Personal rights to liberty and security and ECHR Detention Case-Law” written by Zoran Pazin, State Agent of Montenegro before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg...

SARAJEVO, 22 October 2013 – Challenges related to the effective application of hate crimes legislation and data collection were the focus of a regional conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina that concluded today in Sarajevo...

COPENHAGEN, 22 October 2013 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today condemned a terrorist attack on a public bus in the city of Volgograd in the Russian Federation that killed six and injured more than 40 people.

LUXEMBOURG, 21 October 2013 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara today condemned a terrorist attack on a bus in the city of Volgograd in the Russian Federation...

LUXEMBOURG, 21 October 2013 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius, whose country holds EU Presidency, co-chaired today’s OSCE Troika – EU Ministerial meeting...

PODGORICA, 21 October 2013 – The Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Waldemar Figaj, praised today the organizers, the government and the police for their successful efforts in upholding the principles of freedom of expression and assembly throughout yesterday’s Pride Parade...

A six-day seminar on integrated water resources management in the context of the national green economy strategy began on 21 October 2013 at the Korkyt Ata State University in Kyzylorda, southern Kazakhstan. The seminar is taking place at a Training Centre established with the OSCE Centre’s support...

Draft amendments to the Kyrgyz Republic’s law on non-commercial organizations would, if adopted, breach international human rights standards and OSCE commitments on freedom of association, concludes a joint interim legal opinion prepared by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission and released on 16 October 2013...

BAKU, 21 October 2013 – The OSCE Office in Baku has announced today the results of the contest for media reports highlighting the problems of human trafficking and forced labour in Azerbaijan...

VIENNA, 21 October 2013- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed deep concern about the sentencing of journalist Tomislav Kezarovski to four and a half years in prison by the Skopje First Basic Court...

The OSCE needs to develop its capacity to respond to ‘very tangible’ threats to security imposed by economic and environmental factors such as water, resource sharing, energy, migration and climate change, OSCE Secretary General told an annual meeting on the topic on 21 October 2013 in Vienna.

Prishtinë/Priština, 19 October 2013 – Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger strongly condemned the attack on the property of Ninoslav Đerić who is a candidate for the North Mitrovica/Mitrovicë municipal assembly in the 3 November elections...

Training on international human rights standards and domestic legislation for representatives of civil society organizations monitoring penitentiary institutions, and penitentiary servants was held from 17 to 20 October 2013 by the OSCE Office in Yerevan in co-operation with the Helsinki Committee of Armenia and the non-governmental organization Penal Reform International...

An OSCE-supported exhibition by French photographer Eric Gourlan opened on 18 October 2013 at the Kyrgyzstan’s Theatre of Fine Arts. The exhibition features 40 pictures Gourlan took in two men’s colonies, a colony for women and a colony for adolescents. The images reflect the everyday routine of both the detainees and staff members of the colonies.The project is being implemented with support from the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s State Penitentiary Service, non-governmental organizations Egl and Freedom House...

KYIV, 18 October 2013 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara concluded today his visit to Central Asia that included Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan...

ERGNETI, 18 October 2013- Today, the 38th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Head of EU Monitoring MissionToivo Klaar and Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Conflicts...

GENEVA, 18 October 2013 – Three key international anti-trafficking expert mechanisms today called for a concerted global response to fight the transnational scourge of trafficking in persons...

On 17 and 18 October 2013, the OSCE Mission to Moldova, together with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Moldova, held a two-day training seminar for prosecutors and police officers on combating hate crimes...

UNITED NATIONS, 18 October 2013 – In a statement to the UN Security Council today, OSCE Senior Gender Adviser Ambassador Miroslava Beham outlined the Organization’s key contribution to maintaining international peace and security through its work on women, peace and security...