News and press releases

Strong democracy and good governance are necessary prerequisites to ensure adequate protection of human rights, affirmed participants in an OSCE-supported conference held on the occasion of International Human Rights Day on 10 December in Podgorica...

WARSAW, 10 December 2018 – The fundamental rights set out in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights 70 years ago are vital not only to the equal dignity and worth of every person, but also to achieving and maintaining peace and security, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said on today’s Human Rights Day.

COPENHAGEN, 9 December 2018- Parliamentarians from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have expressed their sorrow over the death of Lyudmila Alekseyeva of Russia, who died today at the age of 91. President George Tsereteli (Georgia) and human rights committee Chair Margareta Kiener Nellen (Switzerland) and Vice-Chair Michael Link (Germany) praised Alekseyeva as an inspirational figure for human rights advocates world-wide.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek supported the conference Strengthening of the Inter-Confessional Dialogue, devoted to the issues of interfaith harmony and tolerance between representatives of various religious organizations of Kyrgyzstan, held on 5 December 2018 in Bishkek.

Milan, 5 December 2018 – On the eve of the 25th OSCE Ministerial Council, top-level OSCE representatives attended the closing session of the OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference that took place today. They received recommendations directed at the OSCE’s executive and political bodies, institutions and participating States.

The OSCE Mission supported a workshop strengthening the capacity of fifty legal professionals from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River to provide legal assistance to the population on documentation-related issues. The event took place on 30 November in Chisinau. Varying practices of the documentation process on both banks prevent the population from effectively exercising their rights. Issues related to civil status and documentation are a part of the discussions between Chisinau and Tiraspol within the framework of the settlement process.

A two-day training course for public transport employees to improve their understanding of persons with disabilities who use public transport was organized in Dushanbe on 29 and 30 November 2018. Marking the celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the event was organized by the League of women with disabilities “Ishtirok” with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.