News and press releases

VIENNA, 12 July 2012- Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, today deplored the physical assault against Halil Matoshi, a columnist with the daily Koha Ditore in Pristina...

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Knut Vollebaek delivered a statement to the 920th Plenary Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on 12 July 2012...

VIENNA, 12 July 2012- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed her disappointment today with the adoption in a first reading by the Russian State Duma of draft amendments reinstating libel provisions in the Criminal Code, and urged parliamentarians to reject the bill...

TASHKENT, 12 July 2012- A series of training courses on OSCE and international human rights standards began today in Tashkent organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan...

DUBLIN, 12 July 2012 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore, expressed his strong regret about the Belarusian authorities’ decision to prevent a Belarusian civil society activist from travelling to an OSCE meeting in Vienna today...

YEREVAN, 12 July 2012 – The OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, on an official visit to Armenia today, stressed the importance of strict observance of the ceasefire on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and on the Line of Contact as a prerequisite for reaching a peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and pledged the OSCE’s continued support to Armenia in its reforms...

Representatives of the 56 OSCE participating States discussed on 11 July 2012 the implementation of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security at its first ever annual review meeting...

VIENNA, 11 July 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, welcomed today’s ruling of Moldova’s Supreme Court dismissing previous court decisions on a defamation law suit against Ziarul de Gardă investigative newspaper...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 11 July 2012- The OSCE Mission in Kosovo calls for increased co-operation between independent oversight institutions and the Assembly of Kosovo in a report launched today on the status of their relations...

TBILISI, 10 July 2012- Furthering OSCE’s engagement with Georgia was high on the agenda of OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier’s official visit to the country, which concludes today...

VIENNA, 10 July 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, said today that Russia's plans to set up a new national registry of websites containing allegedly harmful Internet content could restrict Internet freedom...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 9 July 2012 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Werner Almhofer, condemned today the murders of Milovan and Ljiljana Jevtić, Kosovo Serb returnees to the village of Talinovc i Muhaxherëve/Muhadžer Talinovac in Ferizaj/Uroševac municipality...

During his official visit to Azerbaijan, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier had a meeting with civil society representatives in Baku on 8 July 2012, to discuss ongoing work and challenges in economic, environmental, as well as human rights-related fields...

SARAJEVO, 9 July 2012- The Representative of the Irish Chair-in-Office of the OSCE, Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina today urged the authorities to implement vital democratic reforms...

BAKU, 9 July 2012 – The OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, on an official visit to Azerbaijan today, emphasized the need for political will in negotiating a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict...

VIENNA, 6 July 2012- Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, today expressed concern over the new charges brought against Turkish investigative journalist Ahmet Şık, and called on the authorities to protect the right to free expression in the country...

The effective prosecution of hate crimes was the theme of a meeting and pilot training session organized for 25 prosecutors from across the OSCE region by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 5 and 6 July 2012...

KYIV, 5 July 2012 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), met Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko today in Kyiv to discuss preparations ahead of Ukraine’s OSCE Chairmanship in 2013...

MONACO, 5 July 2012 – More than 270 parliamentarians from more than 50 countries today opened the 21st Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary with an agenda packed with measures to address human rights and security challenges across Europe, Central Asia and North America...

PODGORICA, 5 July 2012- The Representative of the Irish Chair-in- Office of the OSCE, Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, welcomed Montenegro’s progress in democratic reforms during a visit to Podgorica today...

ASHGABAT, 5 July 2012 – Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, speaking from a media conference in Ashgabat, today urged the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to turn to the Constitutional Court for clarification on the constitutionality of the Federation’s recent parliamentary decision on the public broadcaster’s steering board...

CHISINAU, 5 July 2012- A two-day workshop designed to promote the benefits of participating in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD), a passport verification mechanism, concluded today in Chisinau...

ASHGABAT, 5 July 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, at the 14th Central Asia Media Conference which opened today in Ashgabat, called upon the authorities in Central Asia to ensure that the Internet is a free and open space and to guarantee freedom of the media and expression online...

OSCE support to participating States to implement UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 on preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was the focus of a security dialogue held at the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation in Vienna on 4 July 2012...

VIENNA, 4 July 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, regretted today a Kyrgyzstan court decision to fine journalist Vladimir Farafonov...

DUSHANBE, 3 July 2012- The sixth annual OSCE Preparatory Human Dimension Implementation Meeting for government and civil society representatives to discuss human rights issues concluded in Dushanbe today...

COPENHAGEN, 3 July 2012 – A resolution now pending before the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly would create more regular opportunities for dialogue between members of the Moldovan Parliament and representatives of the Transdniestrian Supreme Soviet if approved...

COPENHAGEN, 3 July 2012 – With United Nations estimates of more than 359,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Republic of Georgia, Polish MP Michal Szczerba has put forward a resolution calling on OSCE participating States to support the safe and dignified return of IDPs within Georgia and its occupied territories...

CHISINAU, 3 July 2012 – Running shelters for women survivors of domestic violence is the focus of a two-day workshop which started today in Chisinau, organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Austrian Embassy in Chisinau...

VIENNA, 2 July 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today expressed her concern over a Vilnius court decision sentencing Dainius Radzevičius, the Chair of the Lithuanian Union of Journalists, to a criminal fine for defamation...

COPENHAGEN, 2 July 2012 – At their Annual Session to be held in Monaco, parliamentarians from the world’s largest regional security organization, the OSCE, will vote on a resolution underlining the need for greater assistance to children living in post-crisis situations...

COPENHAGEN, 2 July 2012 – At a meeting in Monaco, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA), the world’s largest regional security organization, is set to vote on a resolution that will recognize the contribution of small states to international organizations...

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, 2 July 2012 – Report-writing skills are the focus of a series of regional training seminars for representatives of Ukraine’s non-governmental sector that started today in Dnipropetrovsk with support from the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU)...

The European Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE/ODIHR jointly launched three projects to promote minority integration in the Western Balkans at an event in Budva, Montenegro, which took place from 27 to 29 June 2012...

ZARDIANTKARI, 2 July 2012- On 1 July 2012, an extraordinary meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, co-facilitated by the EUMM and the OSCE, took place in the village of Zardiantkari...

A regional training course on education for sustainable development was held from 28 to 30 June 2012 in Almaty. The event was organized by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) with the support of the OSCE Centre in Astana, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Government of Switzerland...

AGHVERAN, Armenia 30 June 2012 – Resolving cases of defamation and insult without resorting to the courts is the focus of a two-day OSCE-supported workshop for journalists and lawyers that started today in Aghveran, Armenia...

SARAJEVO, 29 June 2012 – Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most vulnerable individuals are not receiving adequate and proportional social protection benefits, according to an OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina report launched today...

ASHGABAT, 29 June 2012 – More than 25 representatives from Turkmenistan participated today in Ashgabat in an OSCE-organized seminar on good law-enforcement practices in preventing and addressing domestic violence...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 29 June 2012 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Werner Almhofer, condemned today violent incidents that occurred throughout the day on 28 June and called for a thorough investigation of the incidents and allegations of excessive use of force by some police officers...

To improve the quality of the legislative process and effective oversight of the executive, the Assembly of Kosovo and the government should undertake realistic and co-ordinated legislative planning, avoid urgent procedures and respect the role of the opposition, concluded participants of an OSCE Mission conference on relations between the legislative and executive held in Prishtinë/Priština on 27 June 2012...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan together with the Parliament of Uzbekistan organized an international roundtable meeting in Tashkent on 26 June 2012 on the economic base for the mass media in Uzbekistan. This was a contribution to the drafting of the new media law which is planned to be presented to the Parliament for adoption later this year...

COPENHAGEN, 28 June 2012 – A resolution now before the 56-country OSCE Parliamentary Assembly calls for the United States to co-operate with European investigations into the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s extraordinary rendition programme, which may include abduction and torture of alleged terrorists, and the use of secret prisons in Europe...

ASTANA, 28 June 2012 – An OSCE-organized international conference to share best practices and experience in preventing trafficking in children in vulnerable groups was held in Astana today...

From 25 to 27 June 2012, representatives of Ministries of Interior, of Local Government Administration, of Economy and Finance and other stakeholders reviewed and finalised new administrative rules for the Municipal Community Safety Councils in an OSCE-supported workshop that took place in Durres, Albania...

TASHKENT, 28 June 2012 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan today organized a debate on a draft renewable energy law, that aims to boost the development of renewable energy sources, especially solar energy, wind, biogas and hydro power...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented its specialized police training programme on hate crimes to the Executive Committee of the Association of European Police Colleges (AEPC) in Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-D'or in France on 27 June 2012...

The OSCE Office in Yerevan organized a roundtable discussion on 26 June 2012 for women in political parties to share their experiences of the May 2012 parliamentary elections...

Helping civil society better respond to hate crimes against Christians was the focus of a seminar organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and hosted by the Italian Foreign Ministry, in Rome on 26 and 27 June 2012...

ASTANA, 27 June 2012 – A high-level national meeting on combating money laundering, terrorism financing and corruption as essential elements of good governance was held in Astana today with the support of the OSCE Centre in Astana...