News and press releases

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded a series of 23 workshops for new municipal assembly members, elected for the first time in the October 2021 local elections. The trainings focused on assembly members’ role in representing all members of their constituencies and in enhancing the functioning of their respective municipal assemblies.

A four-day workshop with the Central Election Commission (CEC) on reviewing electoral rules concluded in Struga, North Macedonia, on April 21. The aim was to review and align these rules with the current Law on General Elections and other related laws in Kosovo, as recommended by international observer organizations and the OSCE Mission, based on lessons learnt from previous electoral processes. During the workshop the CEC, supported by the Mission’s Election Team, identified issues that require legal change and prepared a set of recommendations for future reference by the Assembly of Kosovo ad-hoc Committee on improving and strengthening the electoral process and its advisory group. The CEC looked into the most important rules related to the registration and operation of political parties, the certification of political entities and their code of conduct, the election observers, as well as the electoral rules relating to the voter list and out-of-Kosovo voting. They were also briefed on international standards and good practices on elections. “Clear electoral procedures help both the CEC in smooth delivery of elections but also the public in increasing their confidence in the overall election processes,” said Nathania Tabone, the Mission’s Senior Election Legal Adviser. The changes to the electoral rules agreed upon by the CEC during the workshop will be finalized by the CEC in the coming weeks. The final draft regulations should be subject to a public consultation with other key electoral stakeholders, such as specialized civil society organizations on elections and Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel. The Mission will continue to provide the CEC, the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, and their Secretariats with technical advice and expertise in line with international standards and follow up on the implementation of recommendations made by international election observation missions.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded on 26 April 2022 a series of ten workshops on media and information literacy and digital media literacy for high school students. The workshops empowered students across Kosovo on how to use media literacy skills and critical thinking to identify fake news,

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded a series of eight workshops that introduced bilingual tools (developed with the OSCE Mission’s help) that will help strengthen communication between Kosovo Police (KP) officers and the communities they serve. Held in close co-operation with the KP and the Office of Language Commissioner (OLC), the workshops hosted a total of 160 supervisors, traffic officers and first responders from all eight KP regional directorates.

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 1 February 2022- Without economic empowerment and housing alternatives, domestic violence victims will be discouraged from reporting cases. Even when they do, they will be forced to go back to the perpetrator, making it essential to find sustainable solutions. This was the main conclusion from today’s high-level conference organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo with the support of the European Union Special Representative/EU Office in Kosovo.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Independent Media Commission (IMC) have launched a campaign to engage the public in contributing to better audio-visual media content, and ensuring broadcasters abide by the law and code of conduct.

Today the OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded a week of training exercises on combating environmental crime for police officers, prosecutors, judges, municipal officials, and representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development.