News and press releases

DUSHANBE, 14 December 2012 – Afghan and Tajik border officers completed today in Dushanbe an OSCE training-of-trainers course as part of a series of training courses to enhance the capacity of Tajik border troops and Afghan border police to detect and interdict illegal cross-border movement...

During November and December 2012, the OSCE Presence in Albania helped children in urgent need in a number of towns by providing them with basic living and education items...

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 23 September 2012 parliamentary elections in Belarus concludes that many OSCE commitments were not met, and offers recommendations to bring the conduct of elections in line with fundamental principles for democratic elections...

The implementation of the Law on Electronic Media and possible amendments were discussed at a roundtable event held on 12 December 2012 in Podgorica...

ISTANBUL, 13 December 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, welcomed today a resolution adopted by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, saying it could help improve the transparency of the judiciary and strengthen the watchdog function of the media...

DUSHANBE, 12 December 2012 – A workshop for judges and journalists on jurisdiction in defamation and insult lawsuits involving the media concluded today at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

GENEVA, 12 December 2012 – Pádraig Murphy, the OSCE Chairmanship’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus, urged participants to maintain a constructive approach focused on taking “small steps forward” at the 22nd meeting of the Geneva International Discussions today...

LIÈGE, Belgium, 12 December 2012 – Most participating States of the OSCE are meeting their commitment to promote remembrance of the Holocaust, according to an overview of remembrance practices released today by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the Plenary Meeting of the Taskforce for International Co-operation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF)...

The OSCE Mission to Moldova together with the Prosecutor General’s Office and the National Participation Council organized on 6 December 2012 in Chisinau an international conference on strengthening the independence of the prosecution service in Moldova...

BELGRADE, 12 December 2012 – The OSCE Mission to Serbia presented its Person of the Year awards at a ceremony in Belgrade today to recognize contributions made in the fight against corruption, media reform, police reform and the protection and advancement of human rights.

The OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Ministry of Information Society and Administration marked the completion of a project in Skopje today on 12 December 2012 that was aimed at strengthening the lawmaking capacity of the public administration...

TASHKENT, 12 December 2012- Twenty journalists from all regions of Uzbekistan took part in an OSCE-supported training course on environmental journalism today...

A roundtable meeting on political party development in Kazakhstan was organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana on 6 December 2012 jointly with the Public Foundation for Parliamentary Development in Kazakhstan...

Police agencies should do more to provide systemic and effective human rights education for its personnel, said participants at a meeting held in Istanbul by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU) of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, with the support of the Turkish National Police, on 10 and 11 December 2012...

Good practices for parliamentary bodies in promoting gender equality and advancing women’s interests in national legislatures were the focus of a workshop held in Vienna by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), with the support of the Austrian Parliament and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on 10 and 11 December 2012...

A rock concert, a film festival on human rights and digital age, a youth debate and a moot court competition were among the OSCE-supported events held on 10 and 11 December 2012 in Yerevan and Vanadzor to mark International Human Rights Day...

BISHKEK, 11 December 2012- Representatives of the Presidential Administration, the Parliament, the Supreme Court, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the government and civil society gathered today at an OSCE event in Bishkek to discuss the rule of law and judicial reforms in Kyrgyzstan...

Lessons learned during the implementation of voter-awareness activities supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) in the run-up to the 2012 parliamentary elections in the country were discussed at a conference in Kyiv on 11 December 2012...

ISTANBUL, 11 December 2012- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today called on governments and regulators to use new technologies to strengthen media freedom...

The OSCE Office in Tajikistan handed over on 8 December 2012 equipment and educational material for a training centre to be set up to train officers of Tajikistan’s Agency for State Financial Control and Fight against Corruption...

Draft amendments to the Montenegrin Criminal Code were presented to representatives of relevant institutions at a roundtable discussion held on 10 December 2012 in Podgorica...

The OSCE Centre in Astana supported a roundtable meeting on sexual harassment on 7 December 2012 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, concluded her visit to the Atyrau Region in west Kazakhstan on 6 December 2012 where she met with the region’s Akim (governor) Baktykozha Izmukhambetov, and civil society representatives...

WARSAW, 10 December 2012 – On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), called on states to protect and promote the right of each and every individual to participate in public life...

SARAJEVO, 10 December 2012 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the non-governmental organization Save the Children held a conference in Sarajevo today to highlight best practices, lessons learned and sustainable solutions for improving education sys-tems in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the introduction of the Index for Inclusion...

DUSHANBE, 10 December 2012- The OSCE Office in Tajikistan, together with partners in government, civil society, local authorities and international organizations, today concluded a week of events throughout the country marking the 64th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

Montenegro’s participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council, the right to restitution, and human rights protection in penitentiary system were the three topics discussed at an OSCE-supported event in Podgorica to mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2012...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan held a conference in Tashkent on 3 December 2012 where parliamentarians, representatives of ministries, scientists and farmers discussed a new law drafted by a group of specialists and Uzbek parliamentarians aimed at establishing agricultural co-operatives...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 10 December 2012 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, said today that despite significant improvements in the Kosovo regulatory framework and increased outreach by the government, challenges remain in human and community rights protection, as well as in women and youth participation in decision-making processes...

Representatives of state authorities, international organizations and embassies discussed the development of national human rights protection mechanisms in Kazakhstan and their efficiency, as well as co-ordination with international institutions at a roundtable event in Astana on International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2012...

The OSCE Mission to Skopje provided support for an international conference on 7 December 2012 to promote anti-corruption activities and to discuss related challenges...

The OSCE Office in Yerevan, jointly with Armenia’s National Assembly, hosted a roundtable on inter-parliamentary co-operation and parliamentary diplomacy from 8 to 10 December 2012 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia...

The importance of protecting human rights while countering terrorism was highlighted by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at a two-and-a-half-day training course for law enforcement officials, which ended on 6 December 2012 in Kyiv...

The early parliamentary elections in Montenegro on 14 October were pluralistic, however, areas such as the compilation of voter lists and the procedure for the review of complaints need further improvement, says the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released on 7 December 2012...

DUBLIN, 7 December 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed her concern today over the death of television reporter Kazbek Gekkiyev, who was murdered in the Russian southern republic of Kabardino-Balkaria...

The OSCE Troika of the current, preceding and future Chairmanships met on 7 December 2012 with high-level representatives from the Asian Partner countries on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin

Joe Costello, Minister of State from the Irish Foreign Ministry, opened a Troika meeting with the OSCE Mediterranean Partner countries held on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin on 7 December 2012...

DUBLIN, 7 December 2012 – A strategic road map for the OSCE’s future direction and a statement of support for the newly invigorated talks on the Transdniestrian settlement process were among decisions taken by foreign ministers and high-level representatives from the 57 OSCE participating States at the 19th Ministerial Council, which concluded in Dublin today...

DUBLIN, 6 December 2012- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore, announced on the first day of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin that agreement had been reached by the foreign ministers of the 57 participating States on a future road map for the Organization...

A roundtable discussion on developing a regulatory framework for a state population register was held by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and its partners in Bishkek on 6 December 2012...

BELGRADE, 6 December 2012 – Swiss career diplomat Ambassador Peter Burkhard assumed his duties as Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia today...

DUBLIN, 6 December 2012 – Foreign ministers and top officials from the 57 OSCE participating States heard calls for further efforts to create a security community based on shared values at the opening of the 19th OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin today...

DUBLIN, 6 December 2012- Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Minister Delegate for European Affairs of France Bernard Cazeneuve issued the following statement today...

The last of four workshops aimed at improving the Serbian Interior Ministry’s police training system was held in Belgrade on 5 December 2012. Organized throughout November and early December, the workshops were supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia...

The members of ethics commissions established in seven municipalities throughout Montenegro were in Podgorica on 3 December 2012 for training on their role and powers, as well as on how to handle complaints, including from citizens who wish to remain anonymous...

DUBLIN, 5 December 2012 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore today welcomed foreign ministers from the 57 OSCE participating States and 11 partner countries arriving in Dublin for the 19th OSCE Ministerial Council which begins tomorrow...

A new publication to highlight the role national human rights institutions can play in protecting and promoting women’s rights and gender equality was presented at a regional expert workshop, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo on 4 December 2012...

The OSCE Office in Yerevan jointly with Armenia’s Chamber of Advocates hosted a discussion on 4 December 2012, in Yerevan, on third party intervention in domestic and international litigation, specifically on the submission of amicus curiae (‘friend of the court’) briefs in Armenia...

YEREVAN, 4 December 2012 – The conclusions of a report on the existing legislative, regulatory and institutional framework for wildfires risk management in Armenia were discussed at an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion in Yerevan today...

Tunisia’s draft law on establishing an independent election management body addresses several key issues to the establishment and operation of a permanent and impartial election commission, but there is room for improvement, according to a review released by ODIHR on 4 December 2012...