Publications

The OSCE participating States have made a number of commitments regarding the issue of gender equality, women´s participation in efforts to promote peace and security and equal opportunities within the security services, including the armed forces, to allow for balanced recruitment, retention and promotion of women and men. In line with its mandate to assist participating States in the implementation of human dimension commitments, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has mapped the inclusion and situation of women in the armed forces in the OSCE region through a questionnaire addressed to delegations of all 57 OSCE participating States. The information received from delegations provides a baseline against which to measure progress, gather best practices and support the assistance ODIHR provides to participating States.

The OSCE Secretary General’s Annual Report gives an overview of the Organization's activities and its co-operation with partner states and other organizations.

A Focus on First Identification and Reception Facilities Refugees and Migrants in the OSCE Region. Drawing upon almost two years of fact-finding field missions and ad-hoc expert research at grass-roots level in European countries most impacted by the present situation, this report focuses on the challenges and opportunities of the full spectrum of anti-trafficking responses at first identification and reception facilities for migrants and refugees in the OSCE region.

Using the information published in the ODIHR  Baseline Study on Cross-Border Mobility in The OSCE Region  (2014) as a starting point, this update provides a statistical overview of the trends in cross-border mobility in the OSCE region in the period between 2011 and 2015.

The priorities of the German OSCE Chairmanship in 2016

The present guidelines are based on OSCE commitments and universally recognized human rights standards that OSCE participating States have undertaken to adhere to. The guidelines are informed by key international instruments relevant to the protection of human rights defenders, in particular the UN Declaration mentioned above. The guidelines do not set new standards or seek to create “special” rights for human rights defenders but concentrate on the protection of the human rights of those who are at risk as a result of their human rights work. As such, the guidelines aim to contribute to promoting equal protection of human rights for all.

Environmental degradation, competition over natural resources and climate change can threaten political stability. Good environmental governance and co-operation on the other hand help to build trust. This is where Aarhus Centres come in, engaging citizens, governments and the private sector in a dialogue on environmental challenges.