News and press releases

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 5 March 2012- A three-day OSCE-organized workshop on border management for Kazakhstani border service staff began today in Almaty...

KYIV, 5 March 2012 – Walburga Habsburg Douglas, vice-president of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly and member of Swedish parliament, today was denied access to visit former Ukrainian prime minster Yulia Tymoshenko, who remains in prison...

MOSCOW, 5 March 2012 – Although candidates in yesterday’s presidential election in the Russian Federation were able to campaign unhindered, conditions were clearly skewed in favour of one of the contestants, current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the international observers concluded in a statement issued today...

VIENNA, 2 March 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, called today upon participating States of the Organization to take pro-active measures to protect journalists covering public protests...

The Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Andrey Sorokin and Rector of the Yerevan State University, Aram Simonyan, signed on 2 March 2012 a Memorandum of Understanding on establishing a Sustainable Development Centre in the Yerevan State University...

YEREVAN, 2 March 2012 – The results and recommendations of an OSCE-supported study on early conditional release system (parole) in Armenia were discussed today in Yerevan...

Quiet diplomacy has an important role in addressing the root causes of conflicts, stressed the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Knut Vollebaek in his address to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Winter Session 2012 on 24 February 2012...

SKOPJE, 1 March 2012- The Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Ralf Breth expressed today his regret over the loss of human lives in a tragic incident that took place on 28 February in Gostivar and conveyed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims...

Starting in March 2012, the Police Development Department of the OSCE Mission to Skopje is helping to introduce the School Safety project in other municipalities in the country, after having successfully implemented the project in the municipality of Kumanovo...

DUBLIN, 29 February 2012- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore, welcomed the progress achieved in official 5+2 talks towards a Transdniestrian settlement that ended in Dublin today...

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, on a visit to Bucharest on 28 February 2012, met with high-level authorities, including the State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Alina Bica, and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Administration and Interior, Joan Dascalu...

Official negotiations on the Transdniestrian settlement began in Dublin on 28 February 2012. The two-day meeting brings together representatives of the sides, mediators and observers in the negotiations- Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the US and the EU...

A study on adaptation to climate change in European Union countries and how these experiences could be implemented in Ukraine was discussed by experts and central government policy makers in Kyiv on 28 February 2012...

COPENHAGEN, 28 February 2012 – President Petros Efthymiou has announced that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly will observe the Russian presidential elections on 4 March...

VIENNA, 27 February 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, called today for the block on news site Fergana.ru in Kyrgyzstan to be lifted and urged the authorities to ensure that the Internet remains free...

Improving efficiency, accountability and transparency in the field of energy was the focus of the sixth meeting of the Vienna Energy Club, hosted by the OSCE on 27 January 2012...

KOY-TASH, Kyrgyzstan, 27 February 2012- Strengthening the capacity of the Kyrgyz Defence Ministry and sharing best practices in securing conventional ammunitions depots and stockpile management will be the focus of a three-week OSCE-supported training course that started today in Koy-Tash village in the north of Kyrgyzstan...

Some 100 Serbian Interior Ministry police officers took part in an OSCE-supported e-learning professional development course on communication skills from 16 January to 18 February 2012 in Belgrade. This was the first time the Ministry staff received training online...

Some 100 Serbian Interior Ministry police officers took part in an OSCE-supported e-learning professional development course on communication skills from 16 January to 18 February 2012 in Belgrade. This was the first time the Ministry staff received training online...

Prishtinë/Priština, 24 February 2012 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Werner Almhofer, expressed today his concern over recent security incidents affecting the Kosovo Serb community in the Gjilan/Gnjilane region, eastern Kosovo...

VIENNA, 24 February 2012 – Parliamentarians have a vital role to play in ensuring the effectiveness of the OSCE and the implementation of its commitments, said Lucinda Creighton, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs, in Vienna today...

BISHKEK, 24 February, 2012- The donation of computer equipment and furniture from the OSCE Centre in Bishkek to the Kyrgyzstan’s Public TV resource centre took place today...

Greening the economy and sustainable development in Kazakhstan were the focus of a two-day roundtable meeting that was held in Astana on 22 and 23 February 2012...

VIENNA, 23 February 2012- Addressing security challenges in the OSCE region is the focus of the eleventh Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which started today in Vienna, bringing together an estimated 250 parliamentarians from more than 50 OSCE participating States...

TASHKENT, 23 February 2012 – A three-day course organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan for the information services of state ministries and agencies started in Tashkent today. The course aims to promote access to information and improve interaction between the information services and the media in Uzbekistan...

ASTANA, 22 February 2012- In view of the Oslo massacre last summer and the spate of neo-Nazi serial killings in Germany, the OSCE Chairperson’s Personal Representative on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims Ambassador Adil Akhmetov expressed concerns over the feeling of insecurity among Muslim communities across the OSCE region...

The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the Transport Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) presented in Vienna on 22 February, 2012 a jointly produced handbook on border crossing policies...

SARAJEVO, 22 February 2012 – Criminal sanctions for domestic violence should reflect the gravity of the offence, to ensure their effectiveness as part of a comprehensive approach to prevent and combat domestic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, concludes a report presented by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina today...

DUSHANBE, 22 February 2012 – High-ranking officials from the OSCE and the Tajik government, as well as representatives of civil society met today in Dushanbe at an annual forum to identify priorities for national and regional co-operation in 2013...

BISHKEK, 22 February 2012 – The implementation of the Istanbul Protocol standards for the effective investigation and documentation of torture and ill treatment in Kyrgyzstan was the focus of a roundtable discussion organized today by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek in co-operation with the UN OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia, the Soros Foundation and the US-based NGO Physicians for Human Rights...

ASTANA, 22 February 2012 –An OSCE-supported training seminar for judges on improving judicial practice in criminal human trafficking cases started today in Astana...

CHIŞINĂU, 22 February 2012 – The Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova Jan Plešinger called today on the authorities on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru river to conduct joint memorial events on 2 March 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Transdniestrian conflict...

ERGNETI, 21 February 2012- The 20th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti today. The event was co-facilitated by the EU Monitoring Mission and the OSCE...

YEREVAN, 20 February 2012 – A report on freedom of the press and speech in Armenia during 2010 and 2011 supported by the OSCE Office was presented in Yerevan today...

Members of a parliamentary working group presented the latest version of Tajikistan’s draft media law for the first time to the public at an OSCE-supported roundtable meeting on 16 February 2012...

YEREVAN, 17 February 2012 – A new draft law on domestic violence was the focus of a discussion held today with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan...

PARIS, 17 February 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today condemned attacks on the Paris and Cologne offices of the Turkish-language daily newspaper Zaman and called for a thorough investigation...

Spain’s early parliamentary elections in November were democratic and conducted transparently but some recent amendments to the electoral legal framework appear to be at odds with OSCE Commitments, concludes the ODIHR final report...

Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, called for concerted global efforts to keep the Internet, as a platform for exercising free expression and for independent media, accessible and free...

Officials from both banks of the Dniestr/Nistru River took part in a training seminar on negotiation skills in Vadul Lui Voda, hosted by the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 13 to 15 February, 2012...

VIENNA, 16 February 2012 – The OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, met today in Vienna with the UN Secretary-General, Afghanistan’s Minister of Counter Narcotics and other high-level officials to discuss the importance of improving co-operation and co-ordination between the OSCE, UN and other international actors in combating trafficking of opium and heroin originating in Afghanistan...

WASHINGTON, D.C., 15 February 2012 – The persisting financial crisis significantly worsens prospects for integrating Europe’s Roma and Sinti populations and combating intolerance and violence targeting this minority in many countries, the head of the OSCE Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues, Andrzej Mirga, told the United States Helsinki Commission today...

RAMALLAH, 14 February 2012-- OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President held a series of meetings in Ramallah Tuesday focused on peace in the Middle East and economic development in the Palestinian Territories...

JERUSALEM, 14 February 2012 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Petros Efthymiou pushed for greater OSCE activity from Israeli parliamentarians and aimed to encourage peaceful dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli leaders amid changing dynamics in the region during two days of meetings in Jerusalem that ended today...

The OSCE is ready to co-operate with its Asian Partners in promoting democracy and human rights to contribute to broader security in the region, Janez Lenarčič, the ODIHR Director, told the OSCE-Thailand Conference in Chiang Mai on 14 February 2012...

VIENNA, 14 February 2012 – In a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, today, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović urged the Parliament to safeguard free expression when discussing the draft Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)...

VIENNA, 13 February 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, welcomed today last week’s adoption by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of two resolutions on extremism and on terrorism that will protect public debate on these issues...

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, 13 February 2012 – Building synergies between regional organizations and further engagement with OSCE partner countries to tackle shared security threats, including those emanating from Afghanistan, is the focus of a two-day OSCE conference that opened today in Chiang Mai...

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier met Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić on 10 February 2012 in Vienna.

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek visited Skopje from 8 to 10 February 2012 to discuss with the authorities the recent interethnic incidents in the country...