News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
ODIHR attended Savchenko hearing in Moscow
Publishing date: 27 February 2015
WARSAW, 27 February 2015 – Two representatives from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights attended a court hearing on 25 February related to the case of Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian Air Force pilot and Member of Parliament charged with complicity in the murder of two Russian journalists near Luhansk, Ukraine, in June 2014. At the hearing, the Moscow City Court reaffirmed that Savchenko should remain in pre-trial detention until 13 May 2015...
Azerbaijan: OSCE PA’s Santos decries continuing threats to civil society and journalists, renews request for visits
Publishing date: 26 February 2015
COPENHAGEN, 26 February 2015 – The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today expressed deep concern about continuing threats to civil society and journalists in Azerbaijan and renewed her request to visit detained rights defenders...
OSCE Secretary General addresses White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism
Publishing date: 20 February 2015
The OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security, which embraces human rights and democracy, economics and environment as well as politico-military security, offers a powerful antidote to violent extremism, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told high-level officials from around the world at the Ministerial Meeting of the White House Countering Violent Extremism Summit in Washington, DC, on 19 February 2015...
OSCE/ODIHR launches guidelines on registration and recognition of religious or belief communities
Publishing date: 4 February 2015
A new publication on the issues of registration and recognition of religious or belief communities was launched by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights (ODIHR) at an event hosted by the European Parliament in Brussels on 4 February 2015.
On Guantanamo visit, OSCE PA human rights leaders call for support to close facility, express concern regarding legal context
Publishing date: 29 January 2015
COPENHAGEN, 29 January 2015 – The leadership of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions has completed a visit to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and today called on OSCE countries to proactively assist the United States in efforts to close it as soon as possible, including through the resettlement of detainees...
OSCE PA human rights Chair welcomes Russian court decision not to close Memorial
Publishing date: 29 January 2015
COPENHAGEN, 29 January 2015-- The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today issued the following statement on the Russian Supreme Court’s rejection of a request by the Justice Ministry to close the human rights group Memorial:..
OSCE/ODIHR Director Link welcomes Supreme Court rejection of request to close Memorial human rights group, calls for halt to attempt to brand as “foreign agent”
Publishing date: 28 January 2015
WARSAW, 28 January 2014 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), welcomed today’s rejection by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of a Justice Ministry request for the closure of the human rights group Memorial...