News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors welcomes progress towards dedicated premises for Bujanovac Department
Publishing date: 10 February 2015
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Serbia from 2 to 4 February 2015, where she took stock of progress at the Bujanovac Department of the Subotica Faculty of Economics of the Novi Sad University and met with key interlocutors to discuss issues related to her mandate.
Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev and High Commissioner on National Minorities meet in The Hague
Publishing date: 31 January 2015
Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev and High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors met in The Hague on 30 January 2015 to discuss the situation of the Crimean Tatar community in Crimea, Ukraine. Among others, they touched upon political participation, land ownership and linguistic rights...
High Commissioner Thors in Skopje: Integration is needed to avoid parallel societies
Publishing date: 16 December 2014
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors discussed the government’s plans to address the ethnic divide in society during her visit to Skopje, Tetovo and Struga from 9 to 12 December 2014. In Skopje, Thors discussed with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Fatmir Besimi a possible set of government-owned initiatives that would signal the authorities’ commitment to integration...
Office of High Commissioner on National Minorities organizes meeting of political parties and minority representatives in Akhalkalaki, Georgia
Publishing date: 15 December 2014
The office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities organized a meeting for representatives of national minorities and political parties with the aim of supporting dialogue in Akhalkalaki, Georgia on 8 December 2014. Akhalkalaki, in Georgia’s Samtskhe Javakheti region, is densely populated by ethnic Armenians...
OSCE Mission to Skopje supports cultural event to foster co-operation between communities
Publishing date: 11 December 2014
SKOPJE, 11 December 2014 – Promoting the country’s cultural diversity, enhancing respect for minority rights, and fostering inter-cultural relations, are the aim of a cultural event taking place in Skopje tonight, which features dances, songs, poems and stories from different ethnic communities around the country...
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities facilitates regional co-operation on multilingual education in Central Asia
Publishing date: 11 December 2014
The office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) organized two events in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 4 and 5 December 2014, as part of the HCNM’s Central Asia Education Programme. They build on previous HCNM initiatives to stimulate regional dialogue and co operation on the education of national minorities and the integration of society in the Central Asian States...
Despite some progress in return, displaced persons remain affected by unresolved property issues and security situation, OSCE Mission in Kosovo report says
Publishing date: 8 December 2014
PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 8 December 2014 – Fifteen years after the conflict, and despite substantial international assistance, some 220,000 people displaced outside of Kosovo and some 17,000 people displaced within Kosovo are still without durable solutions regarding their return or integration at the place of displacement, concludes the fifth report on voluntary returns published today by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. The report adds that the number of returns to Kosovo is decreasing every year...