News and press releases

As part of an OSCE-supported project to improve school safety, thousands of secondary school students gathered simultaneously on 26 September 2013 in nine cities across the country, to send a universal message against violence among youth..

DUSHANBE, 26 September 2013 – Twenty-one representatives of border agencies of Afghanistan and Tajikistan completed a joint OSCE-supported Border Management Awareness Course, today in Dushanbe...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented two new sets of guidelines on human rights education for health workers and for human rights activists at the OSCE’s annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw on 25 September 2013...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomes today’s decision by the Brcko District Assembly to establish new Commissions to address issues of gender equality, anti-corruption and youth...

Local authorities need to take greater ownership of and responsibility for the integration of Roma communities, said participants of the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw on 24 September 2013...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 25 September 2013- Some 30 prosecutors from Kazakhstan’s regions are attending a three-day training seminar on prosecution in court proceedings, supported by the OSCE Centre in Astana that began today in Almaty...

NEW YORK, 24 September 2013 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Ukraine Leonid Kozhara welcomed today the extension of the protocol decision on resumption of a full-scale freight railway service through Transdniestria. The relevant agreement was signed at the meeting of the Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leancă and the Transdniestrian leader Yevgeniy Shevchuk in Tiraspol on 23 September...

While law-enforcement institutions in the OSCE region are increasingly recognizing the benefits women bring to police in serving communities, more needs to be done to address gender-based discrimination within police forces, said participants of the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw on 24 September 2013...

The 2014 transition in Afghanistan, international efforts to resolve protracted conflicts, transnational threats and OSCE operations- such as facilitating upcoming elections in Kosovo- are on the agenda of meetings for OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier during the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which opened on 24 September 2013...

The OSCE can play a valuable role in supporting international efforts to ensure stability and build confidence in Afghanistan post 2014, Secretary General Lamberto Zannier has told an official meeting during the United Nations General Assembly from 22 to 29 September 2013, New York...

COPENHAGEN, 24 September 2013 – Mehmet Şevki Kulkuloglu, Vice-Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, addressed the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw yesterday.

WARSAW, 24 September 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed the decision by a court in Grodno in western Belarus to lift the restrictions imposed on the Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut...

BAKU, 24 September 2013 – An OSCE-supported meeting focusing on Azerbaijan’s compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a mechanism for disclosing oil and gas industry earnings to improve the transparency and accountability of public finance management, took place in Baku today...

ASTANA, 23 September 2013 – Some 40 Customs Control Officers representing all regions of Kazakhstan gathered today at a five-day National Seminar on Combating Counterfeiting and Pirated Products, supported by the OSCE Centre in Astana...

WARSAW, 23 September 2013 – The universality of human rights has to be protected in order to provide for genuine security, speakers said at the opening of the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw today...

WARSAW, 23 September 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about the disappearance of independent journalist Sergej Naumov in Uzbekistan.

KYIV, 21 September 2013 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara marked the International Day of Peace today by stressing the vital role education can play in promoting peace and the urgent need for increased and co-ordinated efforts to peacefully resolve protracted conflicts in the OSCE region...

A two-year training programme on environmental journalism, supported by the Centre in Astana, concluded in Almaty on 20 September 2013. Over the two years, more than 140 journalists from different regions of Kazakhstan participated in training seminars held in Almaty, Atyrau, Karaganda, Pavlodar and Shymkent...

KYIV, 20 September 2013 – Chiefs of precinct police from all the regions of Ukraine exchanged information on how they address gender-based violence and what can be done to better co-ordinate efforts with social service providers at an OSCE-supported roundtable event that concluded today in Kyiv...

Twenty-two middle and senior-ranking border and customs officers from Egypt, Estonia, Israel, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic and Tunisia completed a five-day OSCE-supported training on fight against corruption on 20 September 2013 in Vienna...

TIRANA, 20 September 2013 – Media freedom in the South East European region is deteriorating, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today told journalists and government authorities today at the conclusion of a conference in Tirana, Albania...

Kyrgyzstan’s state officials, religious leaders, civil society and media representatives gathered in Bishkek on 20 September 2013 for an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on the legal and practical aspects of safeguarding the freedom of religion or belief in the Kyrgyz Republic...

CHISINAU, 20 September 2013 – An OSCE-supported international conference on the environmental state of the Dniestr/Nistru River started today in Chisinau...

TIRANA, 20 September 2013- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today condemned two attacks on the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Last evening, the front door of the editorial office of Slobodna Bosna weekly was set on fire; at the same time in Mostar, graffiti appeared containing threats against local journalist Nermin Bise...

ASHGABAT, 20 September 2013 – Some 30 students from the Interior Ministry’s Institute graduated from an OSCE-supported course on international human rights standards in the process of criminal proceedings and investigations, in Ashgabat today...

Some ten youngsters of different ethnic backgrounds together with representatives of Kumanovo municipality will discuss mechanisms how youth problems should be better addressed and actions jointly planned at an OSCE-supported seminar taking place in Mavrovo from 20 to 22 September...

KYIV, 19 September 2013 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara welcomes the agreement reached on a meeting of the Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leancă and Transdniestrian leader Yevgeniy Shevchuk, scheduled for 23 September in Tiraspol...

ASTANA, 19 September 2013 – The OSCE Centre supported the publication of the 2012 annual report on the state of human rights in Kazakhstan and a special report on migrants’ rights in the country that were presented at the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan today...

KYIV, 19 September 2013 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara, strongly condemned today the attack on a EULEX convoy, which led to the death of one EULEX staff member in Zvečan/Zveçan Municipality in northern Kosovo...

TBILISI, 19 September 2013 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission to monitor the 27 October presidential election in Georgia...

TASHKENT, 19 September 2013- A two-day training course for diplomatic and consular staff of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry started in Tashkent today focusing on quick and accurate identification of human trafficking victims...

Are we ready to deal with potential future shocks such as terrorism, cybercrime, drugs, human trafficking, increased migration and climate change? And how can regional organizations contribute? This is the key question for a panel discussion at the Yalta Annual Meeting in Crimea, Ukraine, on 20 September 2013, in which OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier will take part...

Mongolia’s presidential election on 26 June 2013 was characterized by a competitive campaign and respect for fundamental freedoms, but further efforts are required to address gaps and inconsistencies in the legal framework, concludes the final report by election observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, cautioned that more must be done to enforce existing laws against human trafficking across the OSCE region in her testimony before the U.S. Helsinki Commission on 17 September 2013...

SARAJEVO, 18 September 2013 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the Constitutional and Legal Committees of BiH Parliament, supported an expert debate on the electoral legislation with focus on election administration, candidate lists and mandates, in Sarajevo today...

TIRANA, 18 September 2013 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today stressed the need to reform the public broadcaster and ensure independence of the broadcast regulator in Albania. During a two-day official visit, she also urged the new government to fully decriminalize defamation, ensure access to information and move forward on digitalization of the broadcast media...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 17 September 2013 – Leaders and members of Islamic, Serbian Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant Evangelic, and Jewish communities met today at an OSCE-organized Inter-faith Dialogue Conference in Prishtinë/Priština to discuss common issues affecting religious communities in Kosovo...

More than 30 young civil society leaders and professionals from Central Asia and Afghanistan are taking part in a nine-day Central Asian Leadership Programme training on the environment and sustainable development, which began in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 16 September 2013...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Astrid Thors met Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans in The Hague on 16 September 2013...

TIRANA, 17 September 2013 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today expressed concern about a suspected arson attack on a vehicle owned by Bulgarian television journalist Genka Shikerova, co-host of a popular morning show on bTV...

More than 65 practitioners from judiciary and law enforcement agencies will meet from 17 to 18 September 2013 to discuss how to best contribute to an effective and timely exchange of operational information on terrorists and terrorist networks. Gathering in Malaga, Spain, they will represent 17 OSCE participating States and countries from the Mediterranean region, OSCE Partners for Co-operation, as well as various international and regional organizations...

VIENNA, 16 September 2013 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concern today that defamation would not be fully decriminalized by proposed amendments to be considered by the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament on Tuesday...

ERGNETI, 16 September 2013- Today, the 37th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Head of EUMM a.i. Gerard A. Fischer and Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Conflicts...

ASTANA, 16 September 2013 – Some 70 military officers from 29 OSCE participating States took part in a military briefing today co-organized by the Centre in Astana and the Defence Ministry of Kazakhstan in Astana...

The first assembly of the Rasht Valley Consultative Council for improvement of investment climate was held on 13 September 2013 in the town of Darband in Nurobad district east of Dushanbe...

From 16 to 19 September 2013 the OSCE Mission to Skopje is holding a workshop for police officers to promote the latest techniques in fighting illegal drug abuse. The workshop will focus on raising public awareness of the dangers of illegal drug use emphasizing consequences of drug addiction...

TASHKENT, 15 September 2013 –The OSCE Project Co-ordinator and the non-governmental organization Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan ran today a national cycle event in the streets of Tashkent, to promote environmental, social and economic sustainability...

VIENNA, 13 September 2013 – Today’s news that a court has confirmed a criminal indictment by a group of journalists against other journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina is deeply alarming and embarrassing, OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatović said today...

WARSAW, 13 September 2013 – Ahead of Sunday’s International Day of Democracy, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), called on participating States to ensure the protection of human rights defenders...

DUSHANBE, 14 September 2013 –The first ever training course for women leaders concluded at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe today...