News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
Scapegoating of minorities during pandemic increases need for targeted action to combat intolerance and discrimination, OSCE conference concludes
Publishing date: 26 May 2020
VIENNA, 26 May 2020 –The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges that demand greater efforts from governments in order to build inclusive societies in the coming months and years, concluded OSCE participants at a meeting today on addressing the many dimensions of intolerance and discrimination...
Comprehensive security approach needed for global response to COVID-19, OSCE leaders say ahead of International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace
Publishing date: 23 April 2020
TIRANA/COPENHAGEN/VIENNA/WARSAW/THE HAGUE, 23 April 2020 – The International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace tomorrow will be marked with a heightened appreciation for the importance of comprehensive security and greater sense of urgency for the need to strengthen international co-operation, said the Chair of the OSCE Permanent Council and heads of OSCE institutions in a statement today...
Inclusion and not hatred needed to overcome the common crisis we face, OSCE human rights head says
Publishing date: 17 April 2020
WARSAW, 17 April 2020 – It is only through the strength of our diversity that we will overcome the health crisis we are facing as well as the economic and social challenges likely to follow, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said today in response to the spate of racist slogans and attacks that have followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic...
Societies that stand together are more resilient in times of crisis, say human rights heads on International Anti-Racism Day
Publishing date: 20 March 2020
WARSAW/VIENNA/STRASBOURG, 20 March 2020 – While ever more countries introduce measures to counter the current health risks, it is important to remember that societies based on solidarity and inclusion are more resilient to fast-changing circumstances, said the heads of three European human rights institutions on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination...
Building tolerant and compassionate societies honours the dead and gives hope for the future, OSCE says on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Publishing date: 27 January 2020
WARSAW, 27 January 2020 – As we mark 75 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the OSCE calls for greater efforts to counter anti-Semitic prejudice and build tolerant societies free from hatred.
Hate crime victims disadvantaged by gaps between hate crime legislation and implementation, OSCE human rights head says
Publishing date: 15 November 2019
WARSAW, 15 November 2019 – Marking the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November with the publication of its annual hate crime dataset, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) urges countries to implement hate crime legislation that has existed on their law books for many years...
Justice for hate crime victims through co-operation with civil society focus of ODIHR event
Publishing date: 25 September 2019
Hate crime continues to threaten the security of individuals and entire societies, as evidenced by 2018 data from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) that was presented on 25 September 2019 in Warsaw. The presentation took place during ODIHR’s annual human rights