News and press releases

WARSAW, 22 August 2019 – Amid increasingly violent outbreaks of religious intolerance, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) welcomes the first-ever United Nations International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion today, and calls on governments to promote the interfaith dialogue and education needed to combat hatred and violence.

WARSAW, 10 July 2019 – In honoring the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in 1995, we must ensure that such acts are never repeated by addressing early indicators of mass atrocities, such as hate crimes, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir said today, ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary of the beginning of the massacre...

The security needs of Jewish communities were the focus of an awareness raising event held in Chisinau on 15 May 2019. It was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Moldova, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Jewish Community of Moldova...

PODGORICA/CETINJE, 7-9 May 2019 – To further strengthen Montenegro’s capacities in creating a digital cultural property database, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro with the support of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) organized a three-day workshop on best practices in protecting cultural heritage from traffickers in cultural property from 7 to 9 May 2019 in Podgorica and Cetinje...

Addressing hate crimes and other violations of the human rights of migrants at borders in South-Eastern Europe, including abuses motivated by racism and xenophobia, was the topic of discussion at an expert meeting in Zagreb on 16 and 17 April 2019. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organized the event in co-operation with the Office of the Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Judicial Academy of the Czech Republic have agreed to co-operate in enhancing the ability of prosecutors to recognize and prosecute hate crimes in the country, ODIHR and Czech officials announced on 15 April 2019.

PODGORICA, 2 April 2019- OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger concluded today a two-day visit to Podgorica, during which he met with Montenegro’s highest officials and highlighted the significant progress achieved in fulfilling strategic reforms in the country...