News and press releases

From 21 to 24 January, the OSCE conducted two workshops in Yerevan focused on addressing the complexities of virtual assets in today’s financial landscape. The first workshop aimed at enhancing capacities of relevant practitioners in investigating crypto-related financial crimes, while the second workshop focused on regulating virtual assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers.

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Skopje, delivered a training course on improved interagency co-operation for effective financial investigations on 21 and 22 January.

The OSCE in partnership with the thinktank adelphi has recently published a strategy paper aiming to foster cross-border co-operation between Georgia and Armenia in tackling climate-related security risks, improving landscape fire management, and reducing wildfire risks. Developed in close

On 17 and 18 December, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities hosted the Tenth Annual General Meeting of the Permanent Conference of Organized Crime Prosecutors (PCOCP) at the Hofburg in Vienna. The event brought together senior prosecutors, judges, legal experts, and representatives from 14 participating States from across Europe and South-Eastern Europe to enhance informal and formal international collaboration against transnational organized crime.

On 17 and 18 December, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) conducted an introductory workshop in Bishkek on the prevention and investigation of the criminal use of virtual assets and blockchain-based finance. The workshop was opened by Ambassador Bakyt Dzhusupov, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, and gathered representatives from relevant investigative authorities, including from the Prosecutor’s General Office, the State Financial Intelligence Service, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Committee for National Security.

Migration is becoming an increasingly important area of diplomatic relations. Recently, the adoption of bilateral and multilateral agreements of migration governance has intensified globally, and references to migration diplomacy have recurred systematically in political and public debates.

The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities jointly with the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) hosted the first OSCE conference aimed at commemorating International Anti-Corruption Day, marked annually on 9 December. The conference brought together representatives of academia, civil society, international partners and governments from across the OSCE region, and sought to create a forum of dialogue among these stakeholders on their distinct yet complementary roles in the fight against corruption.