News and press releases

VIENNA, 18 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about a damage award handed down against a journalist for defaming the president of Republika Srpska, and other recent media freedom developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina...

Prishtinë/Priština, 18 October 2013 – Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger condemned today’s attack on the property of the Kostić family. Aleksandra and Đorđe Kostić are listed as candidates for the North Mitrovica/Mitrovicë municipal assembly in the 3 November elections...

COPENHAGEN, 18 October 2013 – Isabel Santos (Portugal), Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, was in Madrid Thursday to meet with members of the Spanish Delegation, and to discuss abuse of Interpol and the extradition case of Aleksandr Pavlov. Santos has officially requested to see Pavlov in prison, but has been denied.

ASHGABAT, 18 October 2013 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara marked European Anti-Trafficking Day today by calling for efficient implementation by all participating States of their commitments to eradicate trafficking in human beings...

MOSCOW / WASHINGTON / PARIS / TBILISI, 17 October 2013- Today OSCE teams led by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, took part in a monitoring exercise on the southern part of the Line of Contact. Following the usual exchange of security guarantees by local commanders on both sides of the Line of Contact, members of both OSCE teams heard shooting as they approached their observation points. It was not possible to determine from where the shots were fired. Safety and security concerns prompted the Personal Representative to abandon the exercise...

ASHGABAT, 17 October 2013 – Development of the robust and reliable energy sector, stable transit of energy, promotion of sustainable energy solutions and energy efficiency are key topics of a high-level conference organized by the Ukraine’s OSCE Chairmanship and the Government of Turkmenistan that started in Ashgabat today...

TIRANA, 17 October 2013- The Albanian Government and the OSCE Presence in Albania co-organized a national conference today in Tirana that initiates a major administrative and territorial reform in the country...

COPENHAGEN, 17 October 2013-- Hosted by the Parliament of Montenegro, the 2013 Autumn Meeting concluded with an address by OSCE PA President Ranko Krivokapic. Parliamentarians from across the OSCE area gathered 13-15 October for the meeting in Budva, which included a Mediterranean Forum, a meeting of the OSCE PA's Standing Committee, a meeting of the Bureau, and three sessions of the Parliamentary Conference "Addressing Transnational Threats and Protecting Human Rights: The Role of the OSCE."

CHISINAU, 17 October 2013 – Relations between the media and the judiciary in the context of the judiciary reform in Moldova is the focus of a conference held by the OSCE Mission to Moldova in co-operation with Broadcasting Board of Governors/International Broadcasting Bureau (BBG/IBB- USA) that took place today in Chisinau...

DUSHANBE, October 17, 2013- A five-year project supporting the Tajik Customs Service in the district of Murgab of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province (GBAO) of Tajikistan was completed today at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

Responsibility of media when reporting on court proceedings was the topic of a seminar organized by the OSCE Mission on 15 October 2013 in Podgorica. The focus of the debate was the balance journalists and editors need to strike between exercising the right to freedom of expression, on the one hand, and respecting presumption of innocence and the right to privacy during court cases, on the other hand...

A production of "The Green World” by the popular children’s musical theatre Taberik took place on 16 October 2013 in the Kyrgyzstan’s National Philharmonic with support from the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

Eighty tonnes of hazardous chemicals in Albania’s military facilities will be repackaged and safely stored in a single place, as part of a project by the OSCE Presence in Albania that started on 14 October 2013...

From 14 to 16 October 2013 the OSCE Centre in Astana held training seminars for police inspectors of Almaty on better implementation of Kazakhstan’s current legislation on the prevention of domestic violence...

For the third consecutive year in a row, International Day of Rural Women was marked in Montenegro on 15 October 2013 with the support of OSCE Mission. This year, a fair was held in Podgorica where women from rural areas sold their products...

Two new reference publications on radiological control developed with the help of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine were presented to Ukraine’s State Environmental Inspectorate on 15 October 2013...

SKOPJE, 16 October 2013 – Raising awareness on equality and anti-discrimination and safeguarding social diversity is the aim of an OSCE-supported media campaign launched in Skopje today...

Parliamentarians from across the OSCE area have gathered for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Autumn Meeting in Budva, Montenegro, from 13 to 15 October 2013. The meeting included a Mediterranean Forum and the Parliamentary Conference “"Addressing Transnational Threats and Protecting Human Rights: The Role of the OSCE."

Strategies for effective human rights monitoring and advancing women’s rights were discussed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at a workshop for officials from the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, in Ulaanbaatar on 14 and 15 October 2013...

The parliamentary elections in Albania on 23 June 2013 were competitive and characterized by genuine respect for fundamental freedoms, but more needs to be done to enhance public confidence in the electoral process, the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concludes...

VIENNA, 14 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed a decision of the Moldovan Parliament that will allow for open public debate and dissemination of information on the topic of ‘non-traditional family relations’...

YEREVAN, 15 October 2013 – A roundtable meeting on hindering terrorists’ access to explosives through better control over the substances took place in Yerevan today with OSCE support...

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier met Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino, Deputy Foreign Minister Marta Dassù, Secretary General Michele Valensise and Political Affairs Director Sandro de Bernardin during an official visit to Rome on 14 October 2013.

Prishtinë/Priština, 14 October 2013 – Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger condemned today’s attack on the property of Nebojša Marić who is listed as a candidate for North Mitrovica/Mitrovicë municipal assembly...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, called on global businesses to renew their commitment to stamp out human trafficking across the supply chain at a roundtable discussion hosted by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 10 October 2013...

BUDVA, Montenegro, 14 October 2013 – Parliamentarians from across the OSCE area have gathered for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Autumn Meeting in Budva, where today they heard addresses from OSCE PA President Ranko Krivokapic and Milo Đukanovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro.

TASHKENT, 11 October 2013 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara welcomed today a decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for its contribution to reducing and eliminating the chemical weapons throughout the world...

An expert from the OSCE Presence in Albania took part in the first World Congress on Probation that the European Organization for Probation held from 8 to 10 October 2013 in London...

KOSTANAY, Kazakhstan, 11 October 2013 – A series of seminars aimed at enhancing political parties in Kazakhstan concluded today in Kostanay...

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier met Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland during an official visit to in Strasbourg on 9 October 2013.

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier met with the Slovenian President Borut Pahor, Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek, Defence Minister Roman Jakič and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bogdan Benko, during an official visit to the country on 3 October 2013. During the meetings, Zannier commended Slovenia's strong commitment to advancing regional integration in South-Eastern Europe and the OSCE region as a whole.

TSAKHKADZOR, Armenia, 11 October 2013- Some 60 Armenian students came together for a two-day Model OSCE Conference, a simulation exercise of one of the OSCE’s main decision-making bodies, the Permanent Council...

A regional conference on mediation strategies in schools started on 10 October 2013 in Ohrid. The conference was organized by the OSCE Mission to Skopje in co-operation with the forum Civil Peace Service (forum Ziviler Friedensdienst) and the Ministry of Education and Science...

KYIV, 10 October 2013 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara made today the following statement in connection with the Presidential Election in Azerbaijan...

VIENNA, 10 October 2013 – Georgian Foreign Minister Maja Panjikidze outlined foreign and domestic policy priorities, spoke about current security challenges in the region, and called for active engagement of the international community and OSCE in addressing them, in a speech to the OSCE Permanent Council today...

The OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier met with the Foreign Minister of Georgia Maja Panjikidze on 10 October 2013 during her visit to Vienna...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, at a workshop held in The Hague from 8 to 9 October 2013 urged the Organization’s participating States to work together to prevent the little-known phenomenon of the exploitation of domestic workers by employers enjoying diplomatic immunities...

DURRES, Albania, 10 October 2013- A two-day regional conference aimed at strengthening co-operation on anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism, and tackling corruption in South Eastern Europe started today in Albania...

A team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) completed meetings on 10 October 2013 in Podgorica, where it presented the final report of the Limited Election Observation Mission for the 7 April presidential election in Montenegro...

ASTANA, 10 October 2013 – A two-day training workshop on good practices in the integration of migrants in line with the OSCE commitments began today in Astana. The event is organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the Labour and Social Protection Ministry and the OSCE Centre in Astana...

KYIV, 10 October 2013 – A two-day conference on priorities for international co-operation in the fight against terrorism started today in Kyiv. The event is organized by the Ukrainian OSCE Chairmanship, with the support of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department...

BAKU, 10 October 2013 – The 9 October presidential election in Azerbaijan was undermined by limitations on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association that did not guarantee a level playing field for candidates, the international observers concluded in a statement released today. Continued allegations of candidate and voter intimidation and a restrictive media environment marred the campaign.

DUSHANBE, 10 October 2013 – A workshop on investigating corruption concluded today at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

BAKU, 10 October 2013 – The 9 October presidential election in Azerbaijan was undermined by limitations on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association that did not guarantee a level playing field for candidates, the international observers concluded in a statement released today. Continued allegations of candidate and voter intimidation and a restrictive media environment marred the campaign...

VIENNA, 10 October 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović expressed her concern today about the Radio and Television Commission’s decision to suspend the broadcasting of the First Baltic Channel’s (PBK) programmes for three months in Lithuania...

SARAJEVO, 9 October 2013 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina launched a project to enhance security of ammunition and weapons storage sites, under a new Co-operation agreement signed today in Sarajevo by the Head of OSCE Mission, Fletcher M. Burton, and Zekerijah Osmic, Defence Minister of BiH on behalf of the BiH Council of Ministers...

Mongolia’s law on promoting gender equality largely complies with international human rights standards and OSCE commitments, but certain aspects of the legislation could benefit from further clarification and review, concludes a legal opinion prepared by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...

Recent trends and challenges in the monitoring of trials were the focus of a meeting that brought together representatives of civil society and OSCE field missions at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 7 and 8 October 2013...

ASTANA, 9 October 2013 – More than 30 experts from government institutions, judiciary, academia and civil society organizations took part in an OSCE-supported roundtable meeting on regulatory aspects of the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Kazakhstan that took place today...

Four years of OSCE work to enhance women’s participation in local decision-making were marked at a conference in Prishtinë/Priština on 9 October 2013...