News and press releases

VIENNA, 19 June 2022 – Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid called for an urgent end to the use of rape and other sexual crimes as a tactic of war in Ukraine and elsewhere in the OSCE region and beyond.

WARSAW/SKOPJE, 17 June 2022- The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau, concluded his visit to Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia today. The trip focused on co-operation with the OSCE and efforts towards stability, security and strengthening democratic institutions in the South-Eastern Europe region.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan continues to support the integration of environmental education into the pre-school curriculum throughout the country. On 16 June 2022, the Project Co-ordinator jointly with the Ministry of Preschool Education and the Innovative Center for Information and Pedagogical Technologies organized a national high-level conference to present the programme on environmental education “Earth is Our Common Home” for preschool educational institutions.

OHRID, 17 June 2022 – We, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Poland, and North Macedonia, as the previous, current and incoming Chairpersons-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), joined with the OSCE Secretary General in this statement on the occasion of the second edition of the Prespа Forum Dialogue (PFD).

Election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report on Uzbekistan’s 2021 presidential election during a visit to Tashkent that took place from 14 to 17 June 2022.

The representatives of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (Office) and Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry (Ministry) inaugurated Ministry’s coordination centre and new office premises on 14 June 2022 in Dushanbe.

On 16 June 2022, the OSCE Gender Issues Programme and the Transnational Threats Department’s Action against Terrorism Unit organized an online validation workshop on the needs assessment for creating two regional networks for female practitioners in preventing and countering violent extremism that lead to radicalization (P/CVERLT) in South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Data and analysis on nearly 5000 incidents of war-related damages in Ukraine show that 92 industrial facilities in the high or very high environmental risk category were affected.  

Dominique Waag, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and Maja Jovanović, Acting Supreme State Prosecutor, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 16 June 2022.

Warsaw, 15 June 2022 – Following the death sentences handed down to three soldiers reported to be members of the Ukrainian armed forces, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) strongly condemns both their prosecution and sentencing, which have taken place in violation of international humanitarian law.

An OSCE-organized online seminar on international experience in the modernization of water sector through the implementation of digital systems took place from 14 to 15 June 2022. The two-day event analysed global trends, policies and strategies in this area, and facilitated a discussion of further

SARAJEVO, 15 June 2022 – A Media Sector Needs Assessment, conducted by the Prism Research Agency with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Embassy of Sweden was presented today, 15 June 2022, in Sarajevo at the offices of BIRN.

VIENNA, 15 June 2022 – Participants at the 2022 OSCE Asian Conference discussed synergies and opportunities for co-operation with a particular focus on the role of women in building confidence, peace and security, on climate‑related challenges to security and on the role of civil society today. Hosted by Sweden, the 2022 OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group Chair, the conference was held both online and in person from Vienna.

On 15 June 2022, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro supported the NGO SOS Helpline Nikšić, a shelter for women and children survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, by assisting them in extending their facility licenses, as well as donated bedroom, dining and living room furniture to improve the living conditions of survivors of violence.

VIENNA, 15 June 2022- Addressing current challenges related to human trafficking and implementing international commitments, policies, and standards set forth by the OSCE and the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings were the focus of the largest annual gathering of national anti-trafficking co-ordinators and rapporteurs.

An OSCE-organized regional training workshop on countering terrorism with a particular focus on protecting critical infrastructures such as hydropower systems, energy grids and transport lines started on 14 June 2022. The three-day online and in person event aimed to support building resilience

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media concludes visit to Romania

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (Office) supported the Main Prison Department under Tajikistan’s Ministry of Justice to inaugurate a production unit and medical room in the female prison in Nurek district on 10 June 2022. The Acting Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, Ambassador Vuk Zugic, and the Head of the Main Prison Department under Tajikistan’s Justice Ministry, General Mansurjon Umarov, attended the official opening ceremony.

To support the vital work in maintaining the security of Tajikistan, its border troops have received protective, technical and transport equipment for use along the border with Afghanistan.

The OSCE Mission to BiH welcomes the publication of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Parliamentary Assembly (PA) House of Representatives (HoR) Interim Investigative Committee’s (IIC) final Report on the state of the BiH judiciary, which reaffirms the importance of parliamentary oversight and dialogue between different branches of power as essential features of a healthy democracy.

The OSCE Presence in Albania, in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior, launched today a three-year project, which aims to assist the national authorities to decrease the risk of weapon proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons. The project is part of a regional project

DUSHANBE, 8 June 2022 — OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concluded her two-day visit to Tajikistan.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) supported the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) conferences of chief prosecutors and of court presidents, organized in Teslić on 7 and 8 June. During these conferences, representatives of the BiH judiciary discussed the fight against corruption and organized crime, the appointment and accountability of judicial office holders, judicial efficiency, and other challenges they face.

Following the train-the-trainers programme in April and May, on 6 and 7 June 2022 a group of selected professional staff of the Parliament of Montenegro held a training course for their 16 peers on leadership and management, supported by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro.

WARSAW, 8 June 2022 — The OSCE Chairman-in-Office (CiO) and Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, concluded his visit to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.

CHISINAU, 07 June 2022 – OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey, visited the Republic of Moldova to support the implementation of the recommendations his Office issued to reduce the risks of human trafficking.

From April to June 2022, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro provided support in drafting the Law on Production of Weapons and Military Equipment, the first law of its kind in Montenegro since its independence.

Ukraine appoints three experts to be part of a mission under the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism On 2 June 2022 and following consultation with Ukraine, 45 OSCE participating States invoked the Moscow Mechanism in order to “ consider, follow up and build upon the findings of the Moscow Mechanism report

ERGNETI, 7 June 2022- The 107th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held today in Ergneti, under the co-facilitation of Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and Ambassador Viorel Moşanu, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus.

VIENNA, 3 June 2022 – “In view of the imminent decision by UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel on Julian Assange’s extradition to the US, I want to express my concern regarding the impact that such a decision can have on media freedom and investigative journalism”, said OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro.

On 3 June 2022, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) in co operation with the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) and the Uzbek Prosecutor General’s Office organized an international scientific-practical conference themed “Legalization of the Proceeds of Criminal Activities and Financing of Terrorism: Modern Threats and Current Issues of Combating them”.

On 6 June 2022, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Technical Working Group for Self-Regulation published a document Manual for Moderation of Online Users' Comments, which is a guide for moderators of user comments on portals on how to identify controversial and harmful content, providing

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is supporting human rights education through training by some of the many young people who have benefitted from the Mission’s programmes. The move marks a shift away from training by OSCE to a group of talented young women and men who will use their expertise in human rights education to design and implement activities proposed by the Mission and other institutional partners.

How to undertake effective financial investigations to identify, investigate and disrupt the financing of terrorism was in focus during a five-day training course, which concluded today, 3 June 2022 in Sarajevo. The OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) jointly organized the training course with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

VIENNA, 3 June 2022 – Following-up on discussions held at the Stockholm Ministerial Council, participants at today’s special OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group discussion looked into several aspects of a framework for a response to the implications of Afghanistan for the OSCE region. The meeting was convened by the Swedish Chair of the Group. It particularly highlighted gender-related aspects of the regional consequences of developments in Afghanistan, and how the situation in Afghanistan has affected young women and men in Central Asia.

On 31 May, the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek held a round table to discuss the results of the study “Violence against Women in Politics in Kyrgyzstan”- the first one ever conducted in the host state. The study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 by the non-governmental organization "Agency for Social Technologies", with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

On 30 May 2022, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) in co-operation with the Ministry of Preschool Education, the Ministry of Sports Development and the Cycling Federation organized a cycling marathon in Samarkand to promote sustainable green development and improve environmental awareness.

On 2 June 2022, the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD/ATU) held an interactive workshop on media literacy to prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT), in which 26 OSCE-trained facilitators from South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia participated.

Countering the illicit financial flows linked with Afghan opiates trafficking was at the centre of a meeting by the Expert Working Group of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Paris Pact Initiative hosted by the OSCE on 30 May 2022.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Mission) in the period from March to May 2022 supported the Ministry of Justice of BiH in the organization of five consultative meetings across the country on the Draft Justice Sector Reform Strategy 2021-2027 (Strategy). These meetings were part of the wider process designed to resolve stagnation around justice sector reform and advance the adoption of the Strategy, while also enabling more inclusive and informed participation of relevant actors. These also aimed to encourage key authorities to support the implementation of the Strategy, including in providing the required financial resources.

Following national awareness raising workshops on social re-use of confiscated assets in 2020 and 2021, government officials and civil society representatives from South-Eastern Europe gathered in Rome on 30 and 31 May for a seminar on the re-use, including re-use for social purposes, of criminal assets.

On 30 May 2022, women professionals from Black and Caspian Sea ports joined the first online session of the OSCE-IPER Women in Port Management training course to strengthen their professional skills and advance their careers in the logistics and maritime sectors.

A two-day online seminar on international experiences and best practices of the OSCE participating States in accession to and implementation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Espoo Convention was held from 30 to 31 May 2022.  The seminar brought together representatives

ODIHR experts present final report on Czech Republic’s 2021 parliamentary elections in Prague Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report of ODIHR’s Election Expert Team to the 2021 October parliamentary elections in the

BRUSSELS / GENEVA / VIENNA, 30 May 2022- The Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID), UN Representative Cihan Sultanoğlu, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Viorel Moșanu, and EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar are currently undertaking a round of consultations with all GID participants starting on 30 May. These consultations are primarily aimed at exchanging views on recent developments related to security and humanitarian issues on the ground and to permit the Co-Chairs to gain a comprehensive understanding of the positions of the participants. They will focus as well on the timing and modalities of the next GID round.

Countering emerging threats posed by the illicit trafficking of cultural property was the focus of a three-day national workshop, organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, Border Security and Management Unit, in close co-ordination with national customs officials in Vilnius, Lithuania.

VIENNA, 30 May 2022 – Participants emphasised the essential need for co-operation to tackle rapidly intensifying climate-related challenges and risks, and build a more resilient and sustainable future at the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation Group meeting that took place in Vienna today.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bihać Chapter of BiH Interreligious Council organized a series of activities for young people to promote dialogue, good practice and reconciliation.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, in partnership with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Institute of State, Law and Democracy of Turkmenistan, conducted a series of hybrid roundtable meetings in five provinces of Turkmenistan on the implementation of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality for

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe strengthened the skills of the officers of Tajikistan’s Defence Ministry (MoD) on explosive ordnance disposal. Train-the-trainer course on Explosive Ordnance Disposal (level 3) allowed the participants to acquired new knowledge and refresh their skills on how to detect, identify, recover, disarm and dispose unsafe explosive ordnance in minefields and battlefields.