News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
ODIHR provides new guidance on freedom of religion or belief and security
Publishing date: 19 September 2019
Amidst increasing security-driven restrictions on the right to freedom of religion or belief in the OSCE region, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) published Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security: Policy Guidance on 19 September 2019. This new publication,
The right to freedom of peaceful assembly focus of ODIHR event in Warsaw
Publishing date: 19 September 2019
The latest challenges to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in the OSCE region were discussed at an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 19 September 2019 during ODIHR’s annual human rights conference, the Human Dimension Implementation
Remembering the peaceful revolutions of 1989 to protect our democracies for the future: OSCE annual human rights conference
Publishing date: 16 September 2019
WARSAW, 16 September 2019 – The velvet revolutions that swept Central Eastern Europe 30 years ago gave rise to a time of optimism that we need to recapture as threats to our democracies multiply, key speakers stressed as the annual human rights conference* hosted by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) opened in Warsaw today.
To combat religious hatred, we must recognize its link to other human rights abuses, OSCE human rights head says
Publishing date: 21 August 2019
WARSAW, 22 August 2019 – Amid increasingly violent outbreaks of religious intolerance, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) welcomes the first-ever United Nations International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion today, and calls on governments to promote the interfaith dialogue and education needed to combat hatred and violence.
Effective multilateralism key means of addressing today’s challenges, say participants of OSCE meeting
Publishing date: 15 July 2019
VIENNA, 15 July 2019 – Multilateralism and co-operation lie at the core of the OSCE’ comprehensive concept of security, participants said today at the opening of a two-day OSCE meeting in Vienna...
Anniversary of Srebrenica genocide a chilling reminder of the need to address hate crime as indicator of mass atrocities, OSCE human rights head says
Publishing date: 10 July 2019
WARSAW, 10 July 2019 – In honoring the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in 1995, we must ensure that such acts are never repeated by addressing early indicators of mass atrocities, such as hate crimes, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir said today, ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary of the beginning of the massacre...
Assistance to refugees in danger is an obligation, not a crime, OSCE human rights head says
Publishing date: 20 June 2019
WARSAW, 20 June 2019- On World Refugee Day and amid ever more restrictive interpretations of international legal standards to protect people in search of international protection, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) calls on governments to do more to ensure the primacy of human rights for all those seeking safety in our countries, so far away from home...