News and press releases

ASHGABAT, 4 July 2013 – An article-by-article commentary on the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan was presented at an OSCE-organized roundtable in Ashgabat today...

For the second consecutive year the OSCE Mission to Skopje supported the Boys Camp Young Men Leadership Project, organized by YMCA Bitola and US Peace Corps in Tajmiste...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, visited Kazakhstan from 1 to 3 July 2013...

DUSHANBE, 3 July 2013 – Implementation of Tajikistan’s OSCE human rights commitments was the topic of a two-day meeting of government and civil society representatives that concluded today in Dushanbe...

VIENNA, 3 July 2013- On the 10th anniversary of the death of prominent Russian investigative journalist Yury Shchekochikhin, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, today called on OSCE participating States to ensure the safety of journalists and the right to freedom of expression...

ISTANBUL, 3 July 2013 – After four days of debates, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today adopted a sweeping declaration aimed at jumpstarting the 57 member states and the Organization itself into action on comprehensive security commitments, including human rights.

ISTANBUL, 3 July 2013 — Ranko Krivokapic, Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, today won election as president of the 57-country Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

DUSHANBE, 3 July 2013 – A two-day conference on combating cyber crime concluded in Dushanbe today with the support of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

To mark the 10th year of OSCE involvement in support of the Aarhus Convention, the OSCE held a conference from 3 to 5 July 2013 in Vienna that highlighted the role of the Aarhus Centres in putting the Convention’s principles into action...

SKOPJE, 2 July 2013 – A public debate was held today in Skopje on the results of a survey on citizens' perceptions on corruption in the private sector and a qualitative analysis of preventative measures...

KYIV, 3 July 2013 – Marking the 40th anniversary of start of the Helsinki process, OSCE Chairperson, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara called on the leaders of the OSCE participating States to take inspiration from this process's achievements and to work towards overcoming persisting divisions and mistrust...

ISTANBUL, 2 July 2013 – The OSCE PA Committee on Political Affairs and Security has a trio of new leaders after holding three contested elections this afternoon.

The Acting Head of OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nina Suomalainen, welcomed participants to the fourth Muslim-Jewish Conference, which opened on 1 July 2013 in Sarajevo...

The importance of policing assemblies in line with human rights standards and OSCE commitments was highlighted at a meeting of more than 30 police officers and civil society representatives from across the OSCE region, in Vienna on 1 and 2 July 2013...

VIENNA, 2 July 2013 – The foreign minister of Switzerland and Serbia, Didier Burkhalter and Ivan Mrkić, outlined today the joint workplan of their consecutive Chairmanships of the OSCE in 2014 and 2015 at a special meeting of the Permanent Council in Vienna...

The OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier held a series of high-level meetings on 1 July 2013 in Vienna...

On 27 and 28 June 2013, in partnership with Serbia’s Government Office for Civil Society Co-operation, the OSCE Mission to Serbia organized a seminar for 20 human rights...

ISTANBUL, 1 July 2013- In the first full day of committee activity, rapporteurs delivered reports covering the three OSCE dimensions of security and presented their resolutions for debate. With more than 100 amendments pending in the three general committees, the members have full agendas to finalize resolution texts before moving on to supplementary items.

ISTANBUL, 1 July 2013 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s economic and environmental committee adopted a resolution today at its Istanbul Annual Session calling for binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions, new fees to make short-term stock speculation more expensive, and the utilization of green growth initiatives as an alternative to economic austerity.

ISTANBUL, 1 July 2013 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions today passed a resolution calling for government action to uphold freedom of expression, whether it is on the streets or on the Internet.

ISTANBUL, 1 July 2013- The Second General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment Monday elected its new committee leadership, promoting Roza Aknazarova (Kyrgyzstan) to the position of chair.

ISTANBUL, 1 July 2013 — The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's political and security committee today passed a resolution to increase military transparency and strengthen international agreements on arms control.

The OSCE Office in Baku trained 12 law enforcement officials in the newly adopted legislation on the rights and freedoms of individuals kept in detention from 27 to 29 June 2013...

On 1 July 2013 the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier congratulated Croatia on becoming a member of the European Union...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) has donated equipment to the newly established Training Center of the country’s State Environmental Inspectorate...

ISTANBUL, 30 June 2013- OSCE PA Special Representative for Central Asia Thierry Mariani (France) met today with the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek Ambassador Sergey Kapinos on the margins of the Annual Session.

ISTANBUL, 29 June 2013 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara, speaking today at the 22nd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, told parliamentarians from across the OSCE region that further efforts to strengthen trust and confidence among the states are needed...

ISTANBUL, 29 June 2013 – The Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly has approved 24 items for debate during the Annual Session ranging from the humanitarian crisis in Syria to freedom of religion in the OSCE region to climate change to intercountry adoption.

ISTANBUL, 29 June 2013 – OSCE PA President Wolfgang Grossruck opened the 22nd Annual Session of the OSCE PA in Istanbul Saturday with a call for a stronger parliamentary commitment to the OSCE.

During a visit to Moldova from 26 to 28 June 2013, Knut Vollebaek, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, welcomed efforts to find solutions for the Latin script schools in Transdniestria.

CHISINAU, 28 June 2013 – The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Jennifer Brush, welcomed today’s news that Alexandru Coliban has been released from a Transdniestrian prison...

ISTANBUL, 28 June 2013 – The stage is set at Istanbul's Lutfi Kirdar International Convention and Exhibition Center and parliamentarians and staff are starting to arrive for the 22nd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

SARY OZEK, KAZAKHSTAN, 29 June 2013- A train carrying 410 tonnes of a toxic rocket fuel component, which had been stored in deteriorating containers, left Kazakhstan today for safe disposal at a specialized chemical plant in Dzerzhinsk, Russia as part of a project supported by the OSCE...

BISHKEK, 28 June 2013 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today commended Kyrgyzstan for creating a favourable media environment in the country...

More than 260 parliamentarians from across the OSCE's 57 countries will participate in the 22nd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey from 29 June to 3 July 2013...

The authorities of many OSCE participating States still tend to regard assemblies as a threat to public order and safety, rather than the exercise of a fundamental right, an expert panel concluded at the end of a two-day meeting in Warsaw on 27 June 2013...

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebaek, visited Serbia from 12 to 14 June 2013 to discuss national minority issues with representatives of central and local government and community leaders...

Over the past years, the awareness among political leaders, policy-makers and society at large of the damaging impact of corruption on social cohesion, economic growth, political stability, and security has increased. While many OSCE countries have introduced legal, institutional and policy measures to prevent corruption, the practical implementation and enforcement of these measures still remain a challenge...

DUSHANBE 27 June 2012- The OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Miroslava Beham, concluded a four-day visit to Tajikistan today where she discussed with representatives of government and civil society measures to implement the new law on preventing domestic violence and to encourage a greater role for women in public and political life...

SARAJEVO, 27 June 2013 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) of the European Commission completed a two-day training course today for judges and prosecutors in BiH on the ICTY’s Electronic Disclosure Suite (EDS) – an extensive archive of documents and evidence gathered by the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor over several years of war crimes processing...

DOBOJ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 27 June 2013- Explosive ordnance and remnants of war destruction (EXPLODE) project was officially launched today in Doboj...

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, told journalists and government authorities that it was time to take stock of the challenging media environment in the region as she opened the 15th Central Asia Media Conference in Bishkek on 27 June 2013...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, on 25 June 2013 launched a ground-breaking research paper that connects human trafficking and torture and other forms of ill-treatment...

VIENNA, 27 June 2013- The Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Sergey Lebedev, in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council today, highlighted the need to step up co-operation between international organizations in building a security community, addressing transnational threats, including in the context of “Afghanistan post-2014”, and observing elections...

ULAANBAATAR, 27 June 2013 – Mongolia’s presidential election was characterized by a competitive campaign conducted in an environment that respected fundamental freedoms, concluded the OSCE election observation mission in a statement released today...

GENEVA, 26 June 2013 – Addressing the negative impact of fencing activities along the Administrative Boundary Line was the main topic which dominated the deliberations of the 24th meeting of the Geneva International Discussions today co-chaired by the OSCE Chair’s Special Representative for conflicts, Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia...

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Knut Vollebaek visited Georgia from 19 to 20 June 2013...

Enhancing cross border trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan was the topic of a roundtable discussion hosted on 25 June 2013 by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

BISHKEK, 26 June 2013 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concern today over the new initiative in the Russian State Duma to criminalize speech which sheds a negative light on the role of the Soviet Army in World War II...

VIENNA, 25 June 2013 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, today discussed financial, social and legal factors related to migration, inequality and trafficking at an OSCE-hosted conference on preventing modern-day slavery...