News and press releases

SKOPJE, 30 March 2023 — The OSCE Mission to Skopje facilitated the signing of a Protocol between the Public Prosecutors Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Protocol on co-operation was prepared with the support of the OSCE Mission to Skopje and will help enhance co-operation between the police and prosecution toward a more effective and efficient criminal justice system.

STOCKHOLM, 29 March 2023 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey, and UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, expressed their grave concern about the harm of sexual exploitation, and sexual violence and its cost for the whole of society, as a result of the ongoing war against Ukraine.

ANKARA, 29 March 2023- The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission for the 14 May general elections in Türkiye, following an official invitation from the national authorities.

The OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) concluded its 34th Staff Course on 24 March 2023. Twenty-three mid to senior-ranking security and management officials from border, customs, migration, internal affairs, maritime security, and drug control agencies attended the course.

An OSCE-organized regional training workshop on countering illicit trafficking of drugs and new psychoactive substances concluded on 29 March 2023. Implemented in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the two-day event aimed to share effective ways to combat the

The Ministry of Education and Science and the OSCE Mission to Skopje launched two calls for proposals under the Mission’s Building New Bridges’ project, which is designed to enhance relationship among youth from diverse backgrounds and languages during the school day and through joint

On 28 March, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid and High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Kairat Abdrakhmanov presented the findings of the research on the intersectionality of gender and national minorities.

TASHKENT, 28 March 2023- The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened a limited referendum observation mission for the 30 April constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan, following an official invitation from the national authorities.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina supported today’s meeting of the Anti-Discrimination Forum Trebinje (ADF) to mark its tenth anniversary.

On 23 and 24 March, the OSCE facilitated the third gathering for representatives of asset management agencies and civil society from South-Eastern Europe to discuss the progress on establishing procedures for the re-use of confiscated criminal assets for social purposes.

The OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration’s 2022 annual report, published on 24 March 2023, gives an account of institutional matters and emphasizes the multiple endeavors undertaken by the Bureau members to raise awareness of the Court and its potential.

Twenty-seven representatives from the OSCE-supported Women’s Resource Centres (WRCs), of which fourteen are directors learned how to achieve organizational sustainability through engagement in social entrepreneurship income generation at a training course in Dushanbe. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized the course, which took place from 13 to 17 Mach 2023.

With the growing security risks in crypto and real-world economies, the OSCE organized from 20 to 25 March in Chisinau its first national training courses for Moldova on money laundering related to virtual assets.

Sarajevo, 23 March 2023 – As current Chair of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC), and in partnership with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 22 March in Vienna, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) organized a side event Strengthening Regional Co-operation on Parliamentary Oversight of Defence and Security in Southeast Europe.

Thirty-eight OSCE participating States invoked the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism on 23 March 2023 to examine “threats to the fulfilment of the provisions of the human dimension posed by human rights violations and abuses in the Republic of Belarus”. The Moscow Mechanism, last invoked on 28 July 2022 in

Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, and Ambassador Michael J. Murphy, U.S. Ambassador to BiH, handed over ICT equipment to anti-corruption bodies from Republika Srpska, the Federation of BiH, Brčko District BiH and nine cantons. The donation is worth around 126,000 EUR and

Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, visited Banja Luka today where he held meetings with several local counterparts.

More than 40 representatives of the BiH Border Police, BiH State Investigation and Protection Agency, Service for Foreigners' Affairs and BiH Prosecutor’s Office attended a three-day, multi-sectoral training course on the differences between trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants, which concluded on 22 March 2023 in Sarajevo. The course was organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH, in co-ordination with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The OSCE and Spain’s Guardia Civil launched a specialized canine team instructor course for eight Ukrainian specialists at the Guardia Civil’s Dog Training Centre (CADEPE) on 21 March 2023.

PODGORICA, 20 March 2023 – Montenegro’s presidential election was competitive, with candidates able to campaign freely and fundamental freedoms for all citizens respected, but the candidate registration was not inclusive and longstanding shortcomings in the legal framework and campaign finance regulations remained unaddressed, international observers said in a statement today.

ASTANA, 20 March 2023 – The 19 March early parliamentary elections were held in the context of reforms introduced to bring Kazakhstan closer to holding elections in line with international standards and OSCE commitments, as legal amendments addressed several previous recommendations and provided increased choice for voters. However, limits on the exercise of fundamental freedoms remain, and some political groups continued to be prevented from participation as parties in elections. Further changes to the legal framework are needed to provide a sufficient basis for conducting democratic elections, the international observers said in a statement released today.

Sixteen demining specialists from Central Asian countries completed a three-week regional Explosive Ordnance Disposal course (EOD level 3) on 17 March 2023 in Dushanbe. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized the event in co-operation with Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the United States Army Central.

VIENNA, 17 March 2023 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, strongly condemned today the judgements in the cases against editor-in-chief Maryna Zolatava and director general Ludmila Chekina, of TUT.BY, one of the largest and most prominent Belarusian media portals.

From 13 to 17 March, the OSCE conducted a five-day needs assessment visit to Moldova on the country’s law enforcement structures. This visit, in response to the security challenges in the region, took place in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Moldova.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe completed a capacity-building training course on avalanche safety for 20 representatives of Tajikistan’s Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defence on 17 March 2023. The two-week course aimed at enhancing the rescuers’ skills and capacities in the area of search and rescue operations in an avalanche area as well as the recovery of victims after an avalanche in challenging winter conditions.

The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Michael Davenport, attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a Municipal Coordination Mechanism against Domestic Violence (MCMDV) in Novo Brdo/Novobërdë Municipality. Ambassador Davenport emphasized that the establishment

With less than two months from the local government elections of 14 May, Head of the OSCE Presence Ambassador Guido De Sanctis hosted today a meeting with the Heads of Missions of OSCE participating States and international organizations in Albania to exchange information and co-ordinate assistance

WARSAW, 15 March 2022 – With cities often at the forefront of responding to the challenges of integrating refugees and migrants, four major international organisations together with the Union of Polish Metropolises will tomorrow launch the Academy on the Integration of Migrants and Refugees in Polish Cities, a series of training courses that draw on their knowledge and expertise to assist city administrations.

A roundtable event of the Alliance of Women Parliamentarians in Tajikistan to discuss the “Law on State guarantees of equal rights for men and women and equal opportunities for its implementation” took place on 14 March 2023 in Dushanbe. The event was jointly organized by the Alliance of Women Parliamentarians and the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.

To increase the involvement of younger generations in the fight against corruption, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana (the Office) organized this year’s “Youth Against Corruption” event on 13 March with the Public Association “Jastar Alauy”. The event focused on raising awareness and encouraging

VIENNA, 13 March 2023 – Freedom of expression as well as the freedom for media to operate independently are key pillars of a genuine democracy, OSCE leaders said during a two-day Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting in Vienna.

VIENNA/BELGRADE, 10 March 2023 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Jan Braathu, expressed their concerns today over the recent targeting of several journalists in Serbia, urging the authorities to thoroughly investigate all incidents and swiftly bring all those responsible to justice, as proscribed by Serbian law.

Promoting good governance and combating corruption, money laundering and financing of terrorism are key areas of OSCE activity. In this regard, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan – together with the Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Financial Intelligence Unit of Uzbekistan), the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG), and the International Training and Methodology Centre for Financial Monitoring – organized the “Meeting with Donors and Providers of Technical Assistance” on 9-10 March in Tashkent.

Approaches and methodologies for education on cybercrime and digital evidence for criminal justice practitioners were at the centre of a two-day regional meeting held on 9 and 10 March 2023 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

On 8 and 9 March 2023, the OSCE Presence in Albania organized a technical training for eight staff members of the Albanian State Police, who will be involved with the deactivation, inspection, verification, marking and certification of firearms. The training was based on the manual “Operational

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Killian Wahl, invited the Gender Equality Platform and women’s rights activists to hear first-hand about their initiatives, activities, challenges and advocacy efforts. The event helped us to identify

VIENNA, 8 March 2023 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, today condemned the Belarusian authorities’ decision to designate the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) as an “extremist formation”.

Polling station staff have a vital role in administering elections and ensuring that voters, political parties and candidates have confidence in the election process, which is why the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the State Election Commission held a training workshop for municipal electoral commissions on how to train polling station staff for the presidential election scheduled for 19 March.

SKOPJE/VIENNA/WARSAW, 8 March 2023 – Marking International Women’s Day, OSCE leaders urged further action to explore and embrace innovation and digital technology to eliminate all forms of gender inequality.

At a time when the fundamental freedoms of peaceful assembly and association are under increased threats in many parts of the OSCE region, the members of ODIHR Panel of Experts on Freedom of Assembly and Association met in Warsaw on 6 and 7 March 2023 to discuss how their expertize can be

VIENNA, 6 March 2023 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, concluded her official visit to Moldova, which took place from 27 February to 3 March 2023.

The OSCE Presence in Albania, in close partnership with the Albanian State Police and with the support of the Central Election Commission and the General Prosecutor’s Office, started today the training of police officers who will be engaged with elections duties. The training courses, which will

SKOPJE, 6 March 2023 — In order to enhance anti-corruption policies and actions in North Macedonia, the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding today.

Twenty law enforcement and government representatives strengthened their skills in identifying and investigating the illegal use of cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets through a training course held from 27 February to 2 March 2023 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

VIENNA/SARAJEVO, 4 March 2023- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, and Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Brian Aggeler, have made the following statement following the BiH’s entity Republika Srpska (RS) Government’s decision to move forward with reinstating the criminal offence of defamation in the RS Criminal Code.

On 2 March 2023, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the support of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, concluded a training of trainers aimed at furthering the skills of beneficiary entities to conduct effective financial investigations in counter-terrorism.

The integration of the issue of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) into the monitoring of places of detention was the focus of a three-day training course organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) from 1 to 3 March in Tashkent.

SKOPJE, 3 March 2023 — In order to boost independent journalism in North Macedonia, the OSCE Mission to Skopje has signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the Media Information Agency (MIA), a state-owned public enterprise and country’s biggest news agency.

WARSAW, 3 March 2023 – Following today’s conviction of four Belarusian human rights defenders, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) voices deep concern over the targeting of human rights defenders and the criminalizing of their work.

SREBRENICA, 3 March 2023- Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, visited Srebrenica area today where he met key local counterparts.