News and press releases

BELGRADE / VIENNA, 7 January 2015- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier expressed their outrage today at the terrorist attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, condemning the massacre as an attack on the freedom of expression...

As part of its programme on human rights and non-discrimination, the OSCE Mission to Serbia supported the first initial meeting of teachers and experts on 16 and 17 December 2014 in Belgrade on Serbian as a non-mother tongue language...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's Ministry of Interior signed an agreement on 15 December 2014 to train local law enforcement officers in recognizing, understanding and investigating hate crimes.

Holocaust education and remembrance are the main topics of a five-day study visit of Azerbaijani officials to the Netherlands, organized by OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku, in co-operation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, which will take place from 15 to 20 December 2014...

ISTANBUL/ANKARA, 10 December 2014 –For the first time, a joint country visit of the three Personal Representatives of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on combatting discrimination and promoting tolerance took place in Turkey from 8-10 December 2014. The visit included meetings with civil society organizations in Istanbul and Ankara as well as a number of meetings with representatives of the Turkish government in Ankara. The aim of the visit was to discuss good practices and gaps in policy, activities and legislation as well as to consider areas in which the OSCE can provide further support in the implementation of OSCE commitments...

BASEL, Switzerland, 5 December 2014 – The OSCE proved its value and ability as a forum for dialogue while its key principles were defended, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter as the 21st Ministerial Council concluded in Basel today. Burkhalter welcomed decisions on Germany and Austria assuming the OSCE Chairmanships respectively in 2016 and 2017, and lauded decisions to further enhance the fight against terrorism and boost States’ preparedness against the threat of natural disasters...

BRUSSELS, 28 November 2014 – International standards and national practices in the area of freedom of religion and belief were discussed during an OSCE-supported working visit to Belgium that concluded in Brussels today...