News and press releases

BAKU, 9 November 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today discussed media freedom issues with high-ranking officials and media as part of her official visit to Azerbaijan, during which she also visited journalists in detention...

An advanced training course on drug trafficking investigation organized by the OSCE Mission concluded on 9 November 2012 at the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety in Vushtrri/Vučitrn...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 9 November 2012 – Sharing experience and best practices in integrated water resource management in Central Asia is the focus of an OSCE-supported seminar which began in Almaty today...

Five Central Asian university students completed a two-day visit to Vienna on 8 November 2012 during which they learned about the OSCE and its activities...

DUSHANBE, 8 November 2012 –The OSCE Office in Tajikistan today presented members of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) and representatives of the Interior and Justice Ministries, political parties, civil society and international organizations with the conclusions of an assessment on establishing a modern voter and civil registry in Tajikistan...

VIENNA, 8 November – Governments should welcome new technologies as an important means to facilitate, protect and promote the fundamental rights to peaceful assembly and association, civil society participants said at the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, which opened today in Vienna...

Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, at the seventh UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF), in Baku on 7 November 2012, said that safety of journalists, bloggers and media activists is one of the main challenges to both a free press and freedom of expression on the Internet...

A regional coordination meeting of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) for Central Asia to discuss ongoing projects in the region and future steps concluded on 8 November 2012 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

At the end of a meeting with the Azerbaijani media in Baku on 7 November 2012 on the safety of journalists, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and Neelie Kroes, a Vice-President of European Commission, stated that they stand ready to support progress in Azerbaijan in the field of securing the right to freedom of expression and media freedom, both offline and online...

WASHINGTON, 8 November 2012-- The 6 November 2012 elections in the United States were yet another demonstration of the country’s commitment to democracy, international observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly reported in a statement released today in Washington...

WASHINGTON, 7 November 2012 – The general elections in the United States took place in a highly competitive and pluralistic environment, and were administered in a professional manner, but steps should be taken to address specific concerns, the observation mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded in a statement released today...

ASHGABAT, 7 November 2012 – International and national legal standards for the treatment of prisoners are the focus of an OSCE-organized “train-the-trainers” course that opened in Ashgabat today...

ASHGABAT, 7 November 2012 – Journalism instructors from the Institute of International Relations of Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry and the Magtymguly Turkmen State University discussed modern standards and methods of teaching journalism at an OSCE-organized seminar that took place in Ashgabat today...

CHISINAU, 7 November 2012 – An OSCE-organized working visit to the region of the mediators and observers in the 5+2 talks on Transdniestrian settlement concluded in Chisinau today...

BAKU, 7 November 2012- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today welcomed the decision of the Supreme Commercial Court in Russia to make commercial courts in Russia more transparent and open to the media...

Promoting the freedom of assembly and association, as well as the challenges faced in exercising this fundamental right, were the focus of a forum for civil society representatives organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Irish OSCE Chairmanship on 7 November 2012...

LJUBLJANA, 7 November 2012 – The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek presented guidelines on the integration of diverse societies at an event today in Ljubljana...

DUSHANBE, 7 November 2012 – An OSCE-facilitated visit of a group of humanitarian de-mining experts from Afghanistan to share their experience with Tajik counterparts, started in Dushanbe today...

SKOPJE, 6 November 2012 – Exchanging best practices among anti-corruption agencies from South Eastern and Eastern Europe on the introduction of systems of integrity in public institutions is the aim of an OSCE-supported regional conference that started in Ohrid today...

BAKU, 6 November 2012 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović met today the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Hamadoun I. Touré, ahead of the 2012 UN Internet Governance Forum in Baku...

CHISINAU, 5 November 2012 – The OSCE Head of Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Jennifer Brush, welcomed today the release of Alexandru Ursu, who was sentenced for 15 years of imprisonment in Transdniestria in May 2010...

Education is a powerful tool in promoting tolerance and mutual understanding, representatives of education ministries and institutions said at a meeting organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), UNESCO and the Council of Europe in Paris on 5 November 2012...

TASHKENT, 5 November 2012 – Addressing challenges faced by women in policing is the focus of a three-day OSCE-supported workshop that opened in Tashkent today...

A series of three workshops organized by the OSCE Mission for 90 judges and lawyers in Kosovo on improving the protection of property rights was completed in Prishtinë/Priština on 31 October 2012...

VIENNA, 2 November 2012- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today welcomed an Athens court’s ruling to acquit Greek journalist, Kostas Vaxevanis, of charges of violating national privacy laws as a result of a one-day trial...

ASTANA, 2 November 2012 – An OSCE-supported training course on the harmonized customs procedures within the Customs Union between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia concluded today in Astana...

BISHKEK, 2 November 2012 – Ways to improve ethical standards and relevant professional principles in online and print journalism in Kyrgyzstan were the key topic of an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion that took place today in Bishkek...

A three-week training course for medical staff of prison colonies concluded on 1 November 2012. The course was organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the State Penitentiary Service and was hosted by the Training centre for prison staff...

VIENNA, 1 November 2012 – The Geneva International Discussions are the only process to resolve the consequences of the 2008 conflict in Georgia with participation of all stakeholders, said Pádraig Murphy, the OSCE Chairmanship’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus, in his address today to the representatives of OSCE participating States in Vienna...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 1 November 2012 – Despite encouraging developments in the policy and institutional framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of displaced persons and returnees, security incidents at a number of returns sites continue to negatively affect the returns process, concludes an OSCE Mission in Kosovo report issued today...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 1 November 2012 – Improving the quality of journalism education was the topic of a roundtable discussion organized today by the OSCE Centre in Astana, in co-operation with the Minber Public Foundation, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office...

DUSHANBE, 1 November 2012 – The graduation ceremony for a ten-day intensive training course on border management awareness co-organized by the OSCE and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) took place at the OSCE Border Management Staff College today...

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Ashot Hovakimian, addressed representatives of the 56 OSCE participating States at a Permanent Council meeting in Vienna on 1 November 2012...

ASTANA, 1 November 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today concluded her official visit to Kazakhstan, where she met with high-ranking government officials, civil society and journalists, and stressed the need to safeguard safety of journalists and continue media reform efforts...

ASTANA, 31 October 2012 – Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, today condemned the attempted attack against Tanja Janković, a journalist with B92 broadcaster in Serbia, and warned against violence becoming a dangerous trend...

KYIV, 31 October 2012 – International experience in regulating new audio-visual media is the focus of a seminar that started in Kyiv today with support from OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) and the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media...

More than 100 policymakers, academics, legal professionals and civil society representatives from across Central Asia highlighted recent reform initiatives, current challenges and the way forward in the region’s criminal justice sector at a two-and-a-half day forum that ended in Almaty on 31 October 2012...

Representatives of the OSCE Mission to Moldova visited the town of Călăraşi in Central Moldova on 26 October 2012 to better understand the dispute following a merger of Moldovan and Russian-language schools there, and see how the OSCE can help to find viable solutions for all students...

TASHKENT, 30 October 2012 – An OSCE-supported workshop that will focus on exchange of information in the fight against human trafficking and ensuring the rights of trafficked persons began in Tashkent today...

ROME, 30 October 2012 – Supporting democratic transition and political reforms through economic co-operation in the Southern Mediterranean region is the topic of a two-day OSCE conference that opened today in Rome...

The OSCE Mission to Moldova, together with the Central Electoral Commission, the Viitorul Institute for Development and Social Initiatives, the Moldova office of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the non-governmental organization East Europe Foundation held an international conference on political-party financing in Chisinau on 30 October 2012...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, said at a judicial training seminar in Rome on 26 October 2012 that victims’ legal rights must be given the same priority as punishing perpetrators in criminal proceedings involving human trafficking...

ASTANA, 29 October 2012- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concern today about the arrest and the forthcoming trial of a Greek journalist, Kostas Vaxevanis, charged with violating privacy laws, and called on the authorities to ensure a fair and open trial...

ASTANA, 29 October 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today welcomed a Vilnius appellate court’s ruling dismissing criminal libel claims against Dainius Radzevičius, the chair of the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union...

KYIV, 29 October 2012 – Ukraine’s parliamentary elections were characterized by a tilted playing field, the international observers concluded in a statement released today. This was the result, primarily, of the abuse of administrative resources, as well as a lack of transparency in campaign and party financing and of balanced media coverage...

The OSCE Office in Baku supported a training course for police officers on the treatment of suspects and the accused in custody in the city of Sheki in north-western Azerbaijan on 18 and 19 October 2012...

PARIS, 28 October 2012-  The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan issued the following press release in Paris on 27 October 2012.

The Czech government needs to do more to overcome the marginalization and segregation in schools of children from Roma and Sinti communities, concludes a field assessment visit report published by the OSCE/ODIHR on 26 October 2012...

KYIV, 26 October 2012 – The international observers monitoring the parliamentary elections in Ukraine will present their preliminary post-election statement at a news conference on Monday, 29 October, in Kyiv...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU), Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, presented 22 sets of monitors, notebooks, and other specialized equipment to the country’s Interior Ministry on 25 October 2012...