News and press releases

The 23rd Annual Implementation and Assessment Meeting will take place in Vienna from 5 to 6 March 2013 to review how confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs) are being implemented...

PARIS, 4 March 2013- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Jacques Faure of France, and Ian Kelly of the United States of America) met on March 2 with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, and on March 3 with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian. The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meetings.

From 28 February to 2 March 2013, the OSCE Office in Baku is holding a training session on complying with the rights of suspects and accused persons in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards, including the European Convention on Human Rights...

An Arabic translation of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security is now available.

On 28 February and 1 March 2013, delegations from the Serbian and Romanian Governments met for the second time in the Netherlands for informal consultations under the auspices of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), Ambassador Knut Vollebaek...

SARAJEVO, 1 March 2013 – Fletcher Burton, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, discussed justice sector reform today with Admir Suljagic, the Director of the Secretariat of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

BELGRADE, 1 March 2013- Paula Thiede, the Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, expressed concern today at the decision of Nis Prison to suspend from work and initiate disciplinary procedures against Valentina Krstic, a whistleblower awarded protection by the Anti-corruption Agency...

Eighteen presidents of Montenegrin courts and three members of the Judicial Council attended a two-day seminar on court management from 28 February to 1 March 2013 in Becici, as part of a training programme for members of the judiciary on fighting corruption...

BISHKEK, 1 March 2013 – Adopting international anti-terrorism mechanisms and other measures aimed at controlling terrorists’ access to explosives and chemicals precursors were among the topics of a two-day OSCE-supported roundtable discussion which ended in Bishkek today...

From 18 February to 1 March 2013, the Monitoring Unit of the OSCE Mission to Skopje held roundtable discussions in 18 municipalities between mayoral candidates, leaders of local branches of political parties involved in the elections process, representatives of Municipal Electoral Commissions, Regional Representatives of the Ombudsman and Sectors for Internal Affairs...

ASTANA, 28 February 2013 – An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on enhancing the role of defence lawyers in protecting constitutional rights and freedoms in criminal proceedings was held in Astana today...

The OSCE Office in Baku and UNHCR held two workshops from 25 to 28 February 2013 on combating human trafficking and forced labour in Azerbaijan...

WARSAW, 27 February 2013 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara, discussed Ukraine’s priorities in the areas of human rights, democracy and the rule of law during a meeting today with Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

KARAGANDA, Kazakhstan, 27 February 2013 – The first of two of OSCE-supported training seminars on countering violent extremism and terrorism concluded in Karaganda today...

VIENNA, 27 February 2013- OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today welcomed the adoption by Parliament of the new deadline of 3 March for submitting candidate lists as “a new window of opportunity”, which he trusts everybody will benefit from in the interest of long-term political stability and development of the country...

ASTANA, 27 February 2013 – A two-day roundtable meeting on developing national legislation to ensure the right of access to information in Kazakhstan began today. It was initiated by Internews Kazakhstan and co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana...

An OSCE project to establish “mentor networks” to help women help each other to participate in political, economic and social life and achieve equality started with a training course in Belgrade on 26 and 27 February 2013...

DUSHANBE, 27 February 2013 – The OSCE Office in Tajikistan today hosted a one-day seminar on small hydropower in Tajikistan...

SKOPJE, 27 February 2013- The Heads of the Delegation of the European Union in Skopje, the OSCE Mission in Skopje and the United States Embassy in Skopje issued the following statement:

The Russian version of a handbook on best practices at border crossings developed by the OSCE and the UNECE was recently launched.

SKOPJE, 25 February 2013 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 24 March 2013 municipal elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...

THE HAGUE, 25 February 2013 – An event to mark the 20th anniversary of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities will take place in The Hague on 7 March...

ERGNETI, 22 February 2013 – Today, on 22 February, the 31st meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Ergneti, co-facilitated by the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission Ambassador Tyszkiewicz and the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for conflicts Ambassador Deshchytsia...

The OSCE Chair-in-Office’s Special Envoy Viacheslav Yatsiuk met with the OSCE Chairperson’s Personal Representatives on tolerance and non-discrimination Senator Adil Akhmetov, Rabbi Andrew Baker and Ambassador Tetiana Izhevska, in Vienna on 21 February 2013...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 22 February 2013 – Institutions in Kosovo should increase their efforts to fully implement civil service legislation and finalize the process of civil service reform, including the equitable representation of women and communities, say two OSCE reports issued today...

VIENNA, 21 February 2013 – The OSCE Chair’s Special Envoy Vyacheslav Yatsiuk addressed today the participants of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 12th Winter Meeting on behalf of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara...

CHISINAU, 22 February 2013 – A project to safely dispose of some 150 tonnes of obsolete pesticides stored in Transdniestria will start following the signing of an agreement between the OSCE Mission in Moldova and Environment Ministry today...

DUSHANBE, 22 February 2013 – Afghan border police officers completed a two-week practical course on winter patrolling at the Tajik Border Troops Training Centre in Gissar today. The course was organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

VIENNA, 21 February 2013 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 12th Winter Meeting opened today in Vienna with a call for remembering the OSCE’s roots in tackling the challenges of the future...

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 12th Winter Meeting opened in Vienna on 21 February 2013. More than 240 parliamentarians have gathered for the two-day meeting, which will include a special debate on the situation in Syria, Mali, and North Africa. Other key items on the agenda include media freedom, border co-operation and security forces...

Interim results of an OSCE-supported project on “Raising Awareness on the Latest Psychoactive Substances”, aimed at informing police investigators about the development of the illegal drugs market and ways to identify substances that can be alternatives to controlled drugs, were presented on 18 February 2013 in Podgorica...

TBILISI, 20 February 2013- The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) began monitoring trials of former senior officials in Georgia today...

TIRANA, 19 February 2013- The OSCE Presence in Albania and the Canadian Embassy organized a workshop today in Tirana on corporate social responsibility in the extractive industries...

ASTANA, 19 February 2013 – The first of a series of OSCE-supported training seminars on improving judicial practice in criminal cases related to human trafficking was launched in Astana today...

LVIV, Ukraine, 19 February 2013- The OSCE Chairperson's Special Representative for conflicts, Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia, urged the sides to maintain momentum in the Transdniestrian settlement process in talks that concluded today in the Ukrainian city of Lviv...

DUSHANBE, 19 February 2013 – A three-day regional workshop on “National Mine Action Standards” started in Dushanbe today with the support of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

YEREVAN, 19 February 2013 – Armenia’s presidential election was generally well-administered and was characterized by a respect for fundamental freedoms, including those of assembly and expression, concluded the international election observation mission in a statement released today. At the same time, the statement said, a lack of impartiality on the part of the public administration and the misuse of administrative resources resulted in a blurred distinction between the activities of the state and those of the ruling party...

Overall, the 18 February election in Armenia represents an improvement compared to previous presidential elections. The election was generally conducted in a peaceful manner and was well-administered under an improved legal framework. Freedoms of assembly and expression were generally respected, and media provided balanced coverage. However, the limited field of candidates meant that the election was not genuinely competitive. The candidates who did run were able to campaign in a free atmosphere and to present their views to voters, but the campaign overall failed to engage the public’s interest...

YEREVAN, 19 February 2013 – The 18 February Armenian presidential election demonstrated improvements over previous presidential elections but the limited field of candidates meant that the election was not genuinely competitive, concluded observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in a statement released today...

DUSHANBE, 18 February 2013 – Senior border officials from 16 countries started OSCE-run Border Management Staff Course in Dushanbe today...

DUSHANBE, 15 February 2013 – Today the OSCE Office in Tajikistan completed a four-day workshop on counter-narcotics and risk analysis for officials from border and law enforcement agencies of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan...

The last of a series of six workshops on the identification and handling of hate crime cases for the members of the Kosovo Chamber of Advocates concluded on 14 February 2013 in Prizren...

TASHKENT, 14 February 2013- Training courses for police in Uzbekistan on OSCE and international human rights standards started today in Karshi, in the southern part of the country, and will continue next week in Andijan in the east..

A team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Kyiv from 11 to 14 February 2013 to present the final report of the Election Observation Mission for the 28 October 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine...

SKOPJE, 14 February 2013- The Heads of Mission of the European Union, the NATO Liaison Office, the OSCE, and the United States in Skopje today issued the following statement...

An OSCE-organized training on document security for Kazakhstan’s Border Service staff began on 14 February 2013 in the southern city of Shymkent...

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Jennifer Brush, visited the city of Ştefan-Vodă in the south-eastern part of the country, including Olanesti village close to the Ukrainian border, on 13 February 2013...

DUSHANBE, 14 February 2013 – Sixteen Afghan and Tajik border officials received certificates for successfully completing training at the OSCE Border Management Staff College today...

VIENNA, 14 February 2013 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today called for an open and inclusive discussion on the challenges of Internet freedom as she opened the Internet 2013 conference in Vienna...

Thirty-one journalists were awarded for their media pieces promoting the activities of women in the political, social and economic fields. The winners were announced at the 5th Na/Ne annual awards ceremony in Yerevan on 13 February 2013. The event was co-organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the British Council and the British Embassy in Yerevan...