News and press releases

ASHGABAT, 19 April 2011 – An OSCE-supported multi-stakeholder training course on the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, known as the Aarhus Convention, was held in Ashgabat today...

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received the newly appointed Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, Ambassador Sergei Belyaev...

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized a four-day training course for officials investigating procurement and tender procedures from 12 to 15 April 2011...

DUSHANBE, 18 April 2011- A five-day training course on torture prevention for 29 prosecutors co-organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, the Prosecutors Training Institute and the Human Rights Center started today in Dushanbe...

GANJA, Azerbaijan, 18 April 2011 – A two-day workshop organized by the OSCE Office in Baku for regional authorities on the national action plan to fight trafficking in human beings started in the western city of Ganja today...

TUNIS, 16 April 2010 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, in meetings today with the country’s leadership said that the OSCE stood ready to assist Tunisia during the transition period to build and consolidate democracy...

President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbaeva paid a visit to the OSCE Academy in Bishkek on 15 April 2011. She held a lecture followed by a question-and-answer session with students and alumni, and met with the Academy management...

BISHKEK, 15 April 2011 –A series of OSCE-supported training seminars for precinct election commission (PEC) members ahead of Kyrgyzstan's 17 April local elections was completed today in three provinces of the country...

BAKU, 15 April 2011 – Ambassador Bilge Cankorel, the Head of the OSCE Office in Baku, addressed an anti-corruption forum, organized by the State Commission for Combating Corruption, the Azerbaijani Confederation of Lawyers and the Information and Co-operation Network of NGOs fighting against corruption, in Baku today...

The second of two five-day training courses in teaching skills and training delivery for lecturers and instructors of border management training institutions began in Dushanbe on 15 April 2011 at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

VIENNA, 15 April 2011 – Developing a more systematic, comprehensive and cross-dimensional early warning capacity to enhance the OSCE’s capability to prevent and respond to emerging crisis situations is the focus of an expert meeting in Vienna today...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 14 April 2011 – More focus on youth empowerment is needed at both central and local level, concluded participants in a conference on youth organized today by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports...

VIENNA, 14 April 2011 – National human rights institutions need a clear mandate, sufficient resources and genuine independence from governments to be able to play their role effectively, participants said today at the opening of a special OSCE meeting on the topic in Vienna...

BISHKEK, 14 April 2011 – Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Miroslav Jenca, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Kyrgyzstan Herbert Salber, and EU Special Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel made the following statement today...

ARKALYK, Kazakhstan, 14 April 2011 – Integrating a sustainable development curriculum into Kazakhstan’s higher educational system is the topic of a two-day conference that began in Arkalyk today...

ODIHR conducted a needs assessment mission to Turkey from 30 March through 1 April in order to assess the pre-election environment and preparations for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 12 June...

BAKU, 14 April 2011- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, released the following statement today...

YEREVAN, 14 April 2011 – Civic participation in decision making, protecting the environment, increasing government transparency and combating corruption, and promoting free media as well as good governance were among the topics discussed at a two-day conference that started in Yerevan today...

ODIHR has published the third edition of OSCE Human Dimension Commitments, a compilation of commitments the OSCE participating States have agreed to honour in the fields of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

KHUJAND, Tajikistan, 13 April 2011 – Two days of consultations among national and regional government authorities, civil society and international organizations on how to combat human trafficking in northern Tajikistan concluded today in Khujand...

VIENNA, 13 April 2011 – Protracted conflicts are of key importance to the OSCE, and efforts to resolve them are crucial to unity among the Organization’s 56 participating States, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite told the OSCE Permanent Council today...

GANJA, Azerbaijan, 13 April 2011 – The OSCE Office in Baku and the Education for Human Rights Public Union are holding today an information session on the regulatory framework for the corporate sector in Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan...

VIENNA, 12 April 2011- The following is a press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on 12 April. The views expressed in this press release do not necessarily reflect those of the OSCE Chairmanship, nor of all OSCE participating States.

VILNIUS, 11 April 2011- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, expressed his condolences to the Belarusian people today after a blast in the metro in Minsk reportedly injured and killed several passengers...

The OSCE Presence in Albania and the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination organized a meeting on 11 April 2011 to discuss how to reduce discrimination in school...

The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Gender Issues, Wendy Patten, is visiting Moldova from 9 to 15 April 2011. Her visit focuses on domestic violence, a persistent challenge for OSCE participating States. The visit highlights the importance of serious and sustained efforts by governments to address this human rights issue, working in collaboration with civil society actors...

VIENNA, 11 April 2011- Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, strongly condemned today the bomb attack that targeted Mutlu Esendemir, editor of television station Kanal T in Nicosia in northern Cyprus...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) has launched the second round of training for Justice Ministry officials to improve working methods, communication and relations with the public.

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 9 April 2011- The OSCE Centre in Bishkek officially launched today a public-private network of mediators in southern Kyrgyzstan...

TIRANA, 8 April 2011- Albanian President Bamir Topi and the Head of the OSCE Presence, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, presented today certificates to women who completed an OSCE training project for female candidates in upcoming local government elections...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 8 April 2011 – The OSCE Mission in Kosovo today launched a project to support production of programmes in languages other than Albanian at the Radio and Television of Kosovo (RTK)...

BAKU, 9 April 2011 – An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on property rights in Azerbaijan opened today in Baku...

DUSHANBE, 8 April 2011 – Ambassador Ivar Vikki, the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, and Interior Minister Abdurahim Kaharov signed a memorandum of understanding on police reform in Dushanbe today...

BISHKEK, 8 April 2011 – Around 50 representatives of the Kyrgyz government’s press service and the media met today in Bishkek to discuss how to improve their communication...

BELGRADE, 8 April 2010 – The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, in recognition of the International Day of Roma, today expressed his hope that the Roma community will be fully included in Serbian society...

WARSAW, 8 April 2011 – On the occasion of International Roma Day, the head of the Contact Point on Roma and Sinti Issues of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Andrzej Mirga, today called on OSCE States to make use of censuses as a way to improve data on Europe’s Roma...

SKOPJE, 8 April 2011 – The OSCE Mission to Skopje today marked International Roma Day by urging institutions to improve the situation of Roma in the country by implementing the recommendations contained in the OSCE Action Plan for Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area...

The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Henk van den Dool, visited the Albanian Assembly on 5 April 2011. They were received by Speaker Jozefina Topalli to mark the conclusion of the Dutch funded phases (2002-2010) of a parliamentary support project implemented by the Presence...

TIRANA, 7 April 2011- Speaking on the occasion of International Roma Day, the Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, today called on all members of the Roma community to exercise their democratic right to vote in the local government elections, scheduled for 8 May...

TIRANA, 7 April 2011 – Promoting the rights of disabled people by strengthening the capacities of the Albanian National Council of People with Disabilities (ANCPD) and relevant civil society organizations was the focus of a roundtable discussion organized today in Tirana by the OSCE Presence and the British Council Albania...

Leading researchers, students and OSCE representatives met at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University on 5 April 2011 to discuss Euro-Atlantic security and multi-track diplomacy.

Criminal justice response practices require significant change to strengthen anti-trafficking action, the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, said during an international training seminar focusing on penal law, migration, trafficking and international co-operation, in Rome on 5 April.

The OSCE Mission to Serbia in partnership with the Italian Embassy in Belgrade on 6 and 7 April 2011 organized a seminar on effective and transparent methods for managing temporarily seized assets deriving from criminal activity. The seminar was the first of its kind...

VILNIUS, 5 April 2011 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, and the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, today discussed support the international community can provide to Egypt and Tunisia...

VILNIUS, 5 April 2011- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, today discussed Kazakhstan's 3 April presidential elections with Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Foreign Minister, Kanat Saudabayev...

VIENNA, 5 April 2011 – Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said today she is concerned about persistent reports that pressure is mounting against domestic and foreign journalists in Belarus...

VIENNA, 5 April 2011 – Resumption of the official negotiations in the Transdniestrian settlement process was the focus of a 4-5 April informal meeting of the participants in the 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement process chaired by the Special Representative of the Lithuanian Chairperson-in-Office of OSCE for protracted conflicts, Ambassador Giedrius Čekuolis...

A group of 17 OSCE Ambassadors arrived in Dushanbe on 4 April 2011 for a week-long trip to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to familiarize themselves with how the Organization addresses transnational threats in the region. They visited the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and met with top government officials, including President Emomali Rakhmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, and civil society representatives working in areas relevant to comprehensive security...

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 5 April 2011 – A newsletter supported by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek to provide reliable information to people living in southern Kyrgyzstan was presented at a news conference in Osh today...

ODIHR moved into the Mlodziejowski Palace at Miodowa 10 in Warsaw’s Old Town on 4 April 2011...