News and press releases

The Jogorku Kenesh is the national parliament of Kyrgyzstan, it consists of 90 members of parliament, including 19 women MPs. Some 50 newly elected parliamentarians and staff of the administration of the Jogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan took part in a series of orientation seminars during April and May, organized with the support of the United Nations Development Programme in Kyrgyzstan and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek. The seminars aimed to enhance professional knowledge and skills of the newly elected MPs and the staff, thereby strengthening the institutional capacity of the Jogorku Kenesh.

VIENNA/WARSAW, 16 May 2022 – Human rights and democratic principles must continue to be the bedrock of societies across the OSCE region even as the Russian Federation’s military attack on Ukraine is creating unprecedented challenges to democratic institutions across the region, OSCE leaders said at the opening of a two-day conference today.

The OSCE Mission to Skopje, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) hosted an event on April 12 2022 that brought together law enforcement and judicial officials with representatives of the Jewish community of North Macedonia.

The OSCE Moscow Mechanism mission of experts undertaken by Professor Wolfgang Benedek, Professor Veronika Bílková and Professor Marco Sassòli presented their findings to the OSCE Permanent Council on 13 April 2022, collected in the report entitled ‘Report On Violations Of International Humanitarian And Human Rights Law, War Crimes And Crimes Against Humanity Committed In Ukraine Since 24 February 2022’.

VIENNA/WARSAW, 28 March 2022 – To achieve progress on implementing the commitments made by all OSCE countries to resolve disputes peacefully and ensure stability in the region, urgent consultation is needed to increase co-operation to protect civilians and investigate and prosecute violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, OSCE leaders said at the opening of a two-day conference today.

WARSAW, 22 March 2022 – With some 3.5 million people already forced to flee Ukraine since Russia’s military attack began less than a month ago, a rapidly increasing number of those in need of protection mean a concerted effort is crucial to provide them with longer-term assistance, said the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

WARSAW, 16 March 2022 – After two democratically elected mayors in the Ukrainian cities of Melitopol and Dniprorudne were forcibly removed from office, kidnapped and remain at risk of torture, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is increasingly alarmed by the impact of Russia’s military attack on the country’s democratic institutions.