News and press releases

WARSAW, 2 April 2022 — The OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, concluded his visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The trip focused on existing security challenges and efforts towards sustainable peace as well as strengthening the co-operation between the OSCE and the three states in the South Caucasus region. Throughout the visit from 29 March to 1 April, Minister Rau noted the impact Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has exerted on the security situation in the region. In all capitals he paid particular attention to the situation of the conflict-affected populations.

On 28 and 29 March 2022, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro visited the institutions of the European Union in Brussels.

Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor’s Office regulated the manner of documenting of criminal offences targeting persons who perform duties of importance to the public in the area of information dissemination, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. A prosecutor was selected to serve as a point of contact and coordinate with associations of journalists and law enforcement agencies involved in investigating and prosecuting these types of criminal offences. The Office of the Chief Prosecutor will perform oversight to ensure that these cases are handled efficiently and as a matter of priority.

WARSAW/VIENNA, 31 March 2022- OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid expressed their sincere regret that no consensus was reached on the extension of the mandate of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, the Organization’s largest field presence and a key component of its response to the crisis in and around Ukraine.

From the very beginning of the European Youth Card programme, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro has strongly supported the development of this initiative in Montenegro, was the conclusion of the meeting of Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Deputy Head of the Mission and Jugoslav Radović, Director of the Centre for Youth Education and Programme Director of European Youth Card Association (EYCA) on 31 March 2022 in Podgorica.

A three-day train-the-trainer course on countering terrorist financing (CFT) through investigations for North Macedonia concluded on 31 March 2022 in Vienna. The course was organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, jointly with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and with the support of the OSCE Mission to Skopje. It aimed at strengthening the capacity of officials from North Macedonia to co-operate in conducting efficient CFT investigations.

On 30 March 2022, 11 practitioners from Central Asia and South-Eastern Europe took part in an interactive, online OSCE workshop on inclusive youth engagement in preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT).

THE HAGUE, 30 March 2022 – OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov is deeply concerned about the appeals he has received from Ukraine, including from representatives of national minorities, about the humanitarian situation in the country...

The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, co-organized together with the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, workshops on 9, 29 and 30 March 2022 in Tashkent on best practices and challenges in the field of youth crime and drug use prevention. The workshops also addressed the need to strengthen educational programmes to foster youth’s understanding of these threats.

On 29 March 2022, the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized an online seminar on the tasks and functions of non-profit organizations (NPOs) and their supervising agencies in the implementation of the 2021-2022 national Risk Management Action Plan (RMAP) in preparation for the Eurasian Group’s (EAG) anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) mutual evaluation process.

VIENNA/WARSAW, 28 March 2022 – To achieve progress on implementing the commitments made by all OSCE countries to resolve disputes peacefully and ensure stability in the region, urgent consultation is needed to increase co-operation to protect civilians and investigate and prosecute violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, OSCE leaders said at the opening of a two-day conference today.

On 24 March 2022, the OSCE organized an online regional workshop on developing a training curriculum for law enforcement and judiciary on gender-based violence. The curriculum will be delivered during a regional train-the-trainers course, as part of the project Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe (2021-2024). Tailored workshops to further adapt the curriculum to the national contexts will be organized for each project beneficiary country: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

An OSCE-organized regional workshop on the Lapis Lazuli transit and transport corridor started in Ashgabat on 28 March 2022.

CHISINAU, 26 March 2022 — The OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau concluded his first official visit as OSCE Chairman to Moldova today.

The October 2021 local elections in North Macedoniawere competitive and fundamental freedoms were widely respected, but shortcomings in the legal framework underscore the need for a comprehensive reform. The election days proceeded smoothly and procedures were generally assessed positively by ODIHR

On 24 March 2022, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, met with Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the OSCE, Ambassador Mijiddorj Tsengeg.

RIGA, 25 March 2022 – Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, concluded his three-day visit to Latvia today. He highlighted the gains made in providing support to victims of human trafficking and combating trafficking for forced labour, while noting low levels of success in identifying child and sexual exploitation victims.

VIENNA, 24 March 2022 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro today condemned the killing of Oksana Baulina, a journalist with The Insider investigative project, in Kyiv yesterday and reiterated her serious concern about the safety of journalists in the context of the Russian military attack against Ukraine.

COPENHAGEN, 24 March 2022 – Some 80 observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy next week to Serbia to observe the 3 April Presidential and early Parliamentary Elections.

COPENHAGEN, 23 March 2022 – Parliamentarians, the OSCE and international partners must do everything in their power to support peace and security in Ukraine, participants said at an online meeting today organized by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Held as part of the OSCE PA’s Call for Action – Helsinki +50 initiative and moderated by OSCE PA High-Level Expert Lamberto Zannier, the meeting focused on the role of the OSCE in addressing the war in Ukraine and its consequences, and featured the participation of high-level OSCE officials and dozens of OSCE parliamentarians.

The OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration has published its annual report for the year 2021. The reports gives an overview of institutional matters and the activities undertaken throughout the year, with a glimpse on financial and administrative matters.

The 2021 parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic were well organized and an overall competitive campaign offered voters a wide choice of contestants. Campaign coverage was extensive in both public and private media, and contestants enjoyed generous free airtime. The tone of the campaign was

WARSAW, 22 March 2022 – With some 3.5 million people already forced to flee Ukraine since Russia’s military attack began less than a month ago, a rapidly increasing number of those in need of protection mean a concerted effort is crucial to provide them with longer-term assistance, said the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) concluded its 31st Staff Course on 18 March 2022 in a face-to-face format in Dushanbe.

Young people must be actively engaged in democratic processes and their voices better heard and reflected in policy development and its implementation, said Dominique Waag, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro during the three-day training programme on capacity-building of youth services at local

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, visited Finland on 15 and 16 March 2022. She met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Mr. Pekka Haavisto, as well as with the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Matti Vanhanen together with the Secretary General and a member of

WARSAW/VIENNA, 18 March 2022 – OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid strenuously condemned the ongoing violence by the Russian Armed Forces against civilian areas throughout Ukraine, including the recent bombing of a theatre harboring hundreds of civilians in Mariupol.

The 26 September 2021 elections to the German Parliament (Bundestag) were generally well organized, and the election administration enjoyed stakeholder confidence notwithstanding some procedural issues reported and observed in Berlin. Overall, the postal voting system contains sufficient safeguards

Supporting journalists of the national public service broadcaster – Radio Television Montenegro (RTCG) to report reliable, balanced news where facts are checked is the core to the OSCE Mission to Montenegro’s programme to support freedom of the media. Complementary to this is the provision of

A three-day train-the-trainer course on undertaking effective investigations in the course of an unfolding terrorist attack for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded on 24 February 2022 in Vienna. The course was the third of its kind for BiH as part of sustained efforts by the OSCE and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to better counter terrorist financing and build training capability for the country.

VIENNA, 16 March 2022 — The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, today reiterated her call to free all journalists and other media workers who have been sentenced, arrested or detained in Belarus.

WARSAW, 16 March 2022 – After two democratically elected mayors in the Ukrainian cities of Melitopol and Dniprorudne were forcibly removed from office, kidnapped and remain at risk of torture, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is increasingly alarmed by the impact of Russia’s military attack on the country’s democratic institutions.  

Twenty-two young officials working in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan’s presidential administrations, parliaments, government agencies, research and academic institutions are taking part in a five-day Young Policy Advisers Course (YPAC) from 14 to 18 March in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

NEW YORK, 16 March 2022 — We need to engage in closer cooperation with international institutions to stop the aggression against Ukraine and Russia must face consequences of its actions. This was the message underlined by Chairman-in-Office and Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau as he concluded his visit to United Nations headquarters in New York.

VIENNA, 15 March 2022 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Valiant Richey today called together the anti-trafficking authorities from 17 OSCE participating States, including the ones most affected by the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The meeting focused on the risks of human trafficking amid the current crisis and measures being taken to address vulnerabilities of people on the move and to prevent trafficking.

On 11 March 2022, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, concluded an official two-day visit to Armenia.

From January to March 2022, the OSCE convened the second round of meetings of the Multi-Agency Committees in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The committees were established as part of the OSCE’s project Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 15 March 2022 launched its latest report titled “Ensuring Justice for Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings: Response of the Criminal Justice System in BiH, with recommendations” in Sarajevo and online.

On 3 March 2022 and following consultation with Ukraine, 45 OSCE participating States invoked  the Moscow Mechanism in order to “ address the human rights and humanitarian impacts of the Russian Federation’s invasion and acts of war, supported by Belarus, on the people of Ukraine, within Ukraine’s

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as part of its work to support the BiH institutions in the processing of war crimes cases, on 14 March 2022, provided IT equipment to the Central Bosnia Canton Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office.

VIENNA, 11 March 2022- I received the following WhatsApp message on 2 March from a Nigerian mother and her husband, both of them students in Ukraine, asking for help:

Digital forensics in Montenegro was in its infancy two years ago and has been developed under the mentorship of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, said Aleksandar Ivanović, the Director of the Police Directorate’s Forensic Centre during his meeting with Dominique Waag, Head of the Mission on 11 March

VIENNA, 10 March 2022 – Unprecedented numbers of people seeking refuge from armed violence in Ukraine are arriving in many OSCE participating States. These people, mostly women and children, face risks of human trafficking, including sexual and labour exploitation, during their journey or upon arrival in a destination country.

An interactive tabletop exercise, organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and financially supported by the Embassy of Netherlands in BiH, concluded on 10 March 2022 in Sarajevo. The exercise brought together a wide range of cross-sectoral, inter-governmental and civil society representatives from BiH with the aim to examine jointly the problem of violent extremism...

To mark International Women’s day, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina presented to primary schools a selection of books and posters about inspiring women. These books and posters, delivered by the Mission’s nine field offices, highlight positive examples of accomplishments of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and throughout the world.

VIENNA, 8 March 2022 – Today, International Women’s Day, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro, called upon all participating States to adopt a gender-responsive and intersectional approach in all measures to ensure the safety of journalists, including in conflict situations.

Today, on International Women’s Day, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia and the Alumni of the OSCE-supported mentoring programme for women in the police, the OSCE Mission to Skopje organized a discussion on recognizing and overcoming stress symptoms of women in the

CHISINAU, 8 March 2022- The realm of peace that we have lived in for the last decades in Europe is at risk. Russian aggression against Ukraine is leaving millions of hearts scarred and people losing their lives.

Summary The Mission completed its temporary evacuation of international mission members from the Mission’s area of operations. National mission members are undertaking administration of the Mission’s premises and assets in anticipation of a return to operations in Ukraine. The SMM has suspended its

WARSAW, 7 March 2022 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is alarmed that more than 1.7 million people have already fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian Federation’s military attack, with many others still trying to find safety by crossing international borders or moving inside the country. An increasing number of civilians are falling victim to what appears to be the indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in residential areas, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law.