News and press releases

BISHKEK, 27 July 2012 – Exchanging expertise and enhancing co-operation and co-ordination on anti-terrorism issues was the topic of a two-day OSCE expert meeting that concluded today in Bishkek...

BELGRADE, 27 July 2012- The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, welcomed today the formation of the Government in Serbia...

An automated information system Moldova is introducing to help administer elections could become a powerful management tool but improvements are necessary, according to an assessment by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented in Chisinau on 26 July 2012...

KYIV, 26 JULY 2012 – OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek described the situation surrounding a new language law in Ukraine as “deeply divisive” at the conclusion of his visit to the country today, and urged the authorities to engage in dialogue.

ERGNETI, 26 July 2012- On 26 July, the 25th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, co-facilitated by the EU Monitoring Mission and the OSCE, took place in Ergneti...

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Jennifer Brush, paid her first visit to the northern district of Camenca, one of the poorest regions on the left bank of the Dniestr/Nistru, on 23 July 2012. The region was severely affected by recent storms with high winds and also by a lack of rain in recent months...

DUBLIN, 25 July 2012 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, expressed his concern today over the violent clashes in the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan that have left at least 42 dead and injured dozens others...

YEREVAN, 25 July 2012- The Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Andrey Sorokin, announced today a series of activities to increase opportunities for women’s participation in political life ahead local self-government and presidential elections in 2012 and 2013 in Armenia...

BISHKEK, 25 July 2012- A two-day OSCE training seminar for members of the Inter-Agency Working Group established by Kyrgyzstan to develop a national action plan on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security ended today in Bishkek...

TASHKENT, 25 July 2012 – A three-day training course on information analysis for police instructors organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan started in Tashkent today...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Knut Vollebaek visited Georgia from 15 to 19 July 2012 to get an update on the situation ahead of parliamentary elections expected in October...

CHISINAU, 24 July 2012- The Head of OSCE Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Jennifer Brush, met with his Holiness Metropolitan Vladimir, the head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church, in Chisinau today. This was the first time that the OSCE Mission to Moldova has officially met with the head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church...

VIENNA, 24 July 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concern today over the blocking of news.tj, the website of Tajikistan’s Asia-Plus main independent news agency, and called for lifting the ban on this and other Internet resources in the country...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 24 July 2012 – Vulnerable communities in Kosovo face difficulties with civil registration which continue to hinder their social inclusion, says an OSCE report issued today...

An expert team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented its assessment and recommendations on how to best establish a fully computerized population register in Kyrgyzstan at a launch event in Bishkek on 24 July 2012...

For ten days in July 2012, 80 young people from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru river took part in an OSCE-supported summer school at Saharna, a beach resort on the river...

TIRANA, 20 July 2012 – The OSCE Presence in Albania donated today several computers to the Albanian Justice Ministry’s Internal Control Service of Prisons (ICSP) as part of an OSCE project which also includes assistance with amending internal regulations, training staff and implementing an electronic monitoring project...

VIENNA, 20 July 2012 – Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, today strongly condemned the brutal beating of Štefica Galić, editor-in chief of the webportal tačno.net...

COPENHAGEN, 20 July 2012 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly intends to send a full observation mission to the 23 September Belarus Parliamentary Elections...

TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan, 20 July 2012 – An OSCE-supported training course on innovative land and maritime border control procedures and security management mechanisms concluded in Turkmenbashi, a city on Turkmenistan’s Caspian coast, today...

PRAGUE, 20 July 2012 – A three-day OSCE training seminar for police and financial investigators in how to identify, seize and confiscate criminal assets arising from human trafficking concluded today in Prague...

MOSCOW/PARIS/WASHINGTON, 20 July 2012 – The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassadors Robert Bradtke of the United States, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, and Jacques Faure of France) have noted reports about the conduct of “elections” that took place in Nagorno-Karabakh on July 19, 2012...

VIENNA, 19 July 2012- The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, published today recommendations to the Moldovan Government to advance continuing efforts to prevent human trafficking, assist trafficked persons and bring perpetrators to justice...

COPENHAGEN, 19 July 2012 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Riccardo Migliori today released the following statement in the wake of a terrorist attack that killed seven people at the Burgas Airport in Bulgaria. (in italiano qui sotto)...

DUBLIN, 19 July 2012 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore, condemned today the attack against Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria...

TIRANA, 19 July 2012 – The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, welcomed today the approval of amendments to the Electoral Code by the Albanian Parliament...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 19 July 2012 – Despite an advanced legislative framework in place to protect and promote the rights of communities in Kosovo, only limited progress has been made in its implementation since 2010, says a report published today by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo...

National legislation on freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression, as well as OSCE and international human rights standards in the field are the topics of a three-day workshop for Armenian journalists held from 19 to 21 July 2012. It is organized by the non-governmental organization Collaboration for Democracy Centre with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan...

DUSHANBE, 19 July 2012 – Twenty-four senior border officers from Afghanistan and Tajikistan successfully completed a ten-day training course on border management at the OSCE Border Management Staff College today...

CHISINAU, 18 July 2012- OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, speaking at the conclusion of his visit to Chisinau and Tiraspol today, underscored the OSCE’s support for the Transdniestrian settlement process and efforts to improve the lives of people on both banks of the river...

Sharing best practices identified through the training of newly elected members of municipal councils is the focus of an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion that started in Skopje on 18 July 2012...

DUSHANBE, 18 July 2012 – A week-long training course on international standards and best practices for trade facilitation for 16 mid-level and senior Afghan and Tajik customs officers concluded at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe today...

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier presented donations from proceeds of the 2012 OSCE Charity Ball to two local charities during an official visit to Moldova on 17 July 2012...

Marking the first event in the lead-up to the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), current High Commissioner Knut Vollebaek spoke at a conference organized by the European Centre for Minority Issues on “HCNM 20 Years On” in Flensburg, Germany, on 6 July 2012...

TIRANA, 16 July 2012- Standards and regulations to ensure parliamentary ethics, as well as their implications for the wider legislative, anti-corruption and integrity framework, are the focus of a two-day conference that started today in Tirana...

VIENNA, 16 July 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concern today over repeated occurrences of violence against journalists in Georgia in recent weeks and called on authorities to investigate the cases thoroughly...

ZARDIANTKARI, Georgia, 14 July 2012- On 14 July 2012, a second extraordinary meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, co-facilitated by the EUMM and the OSCE, took place in Zardiantkari...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented two new handbooks for election observers – on media monitoring and voter registration – in Vienna on 13 July 2012...

YEREVAN, 13 July 2012- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Robert Bradtke of the United States, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, and Jacques Faure of France) and Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk (Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office) traveled July 10-13 to Baku, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Yerevan...

Enhancing women’s participation in democratic elections was the subject of a discussion held by the OSCE on 13 July 2012 in Vienna, on the margins of a major OSCE conference on elections...

ASHGABAT, 13 July 2012 – An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on mechanisms for effective co-operation between police and drug enforcement agencies in the area of illegal drug apprehension procedures concluded in Ashgabat today...

ASTANA, 13 July 2012 – Some 40 representatives of state entities, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions, banks and businesses met today for the first meeting of the National Expert Council for Transparency and Sustainable Development...

The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, during a visit to a military factory in Gramsh on 13 July 2012, expressed his support for the finalization of surplus ammunition destruction by 2013, as envisaged in the country’s demilitarization action plan...

VIENNA, 13 July 2012 – Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian settlement process, welcomed the constructive dialogue at official 5+2 talks which concluded in Vienna today and urged participants to redouble efforts to achieve concrete progress...

The OSCE Office in Baku completed a two-day training course for police officers on the treatment of suspects and accused in custody...

VIENNA, 12 July 2012 – Election observation and the recommendations provided by observation missions of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) are key to promoting democracy and security, participants said today at the opening of a two-day OSCE meeting in Vienna...

During an official visit to Armenia, the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier visited Mouratsan hospital of the Yerevan State Medical University on 11 July 2012 and awarded a donation from proceeds of the 2012 OSCE Charity Ball. The donation will be used for the procurement of medical equipment for the treatment of children with haematological and oncological diseases...

COPENHAGEN, 12 July 2012 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Riccardo Migliori today released the following statement:

A web-based learning course designed to assist OSCE participating States in training short-term election observers was released by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Vienna on 12 July 2012...

ASTANA, 12 July 2012 – An OSCE-supported conference to discuss legislative reform related to freedom of expression in Kazakhstan was held today in Astana...