News and press releases

On 14 June, the OSCE organized a regional workshop on energy co-operation and natural resource management in Central Asia within the context of the situation in Afghanistan. The event gathered around 30 policymakers and experts from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to discuss possible ways forward.

STRUGA, 14 June 2023 — Promoting security and stability in the OSCE area through sustainable development, and resilient and inclusive economic growth, was the focus of the 2023 Struga Conference on the Economic and Environmental Dimension of the OSCE that took place in Struga, North Macedonia, on 13 and 14 June.

SKOPJE, 14 June 2023 — The OSCE Mission to Skopje unveiled a renovated administrative building for the Police Canine (K9) Unit of North Macedonia today in Hipodrom, a suburb of Skopje. The Mission helped equip the building with modern IT surveillance infrastructure and provided secure access control systems to the weapon storage facility for authorized personnel. These efforts help improve working conditions for police officers, making them better equipped to respond to emerging threats and ensure the efficient deployment of police service dogs.

From 12 to 14 June, 26 young professionals from Western Europe had the opportunity to try their hand at diplomatic negotiations as they simulated the Helsinki Process by renegotiating the Helsinki Final Act as part of the 2023 Model OSCE event. The event, which takes place annually, was organized by the OSCE Office of the Secretary General, in close co-operation with the OSCE Chair of North Macedonia, and in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe.

The first two groups of operators and dispatchers of Ukraine’s National Police emergency “102” hotline have strengthened their knowledge and skills in effective communication with children during a series of two-day trainings organized by the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine in Uzhhorod from 6 to 9 June 2023.

On 14 June, in co-operation with the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department and OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) held a regional consultation on the United Nations Programme of Action for cybersecurity. The consultations seek to advance responsible behaviour in the use of information and communications technologies in the context of international security.

On 8 June, Judge Erkki Kourula, Vice-President of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, addressed the Permanent Council, reporting on the Court’s activities in the past year. He reminded that the OSCE Court, based on a treaty concluded within the OSCE, should not be considered only as a theoretical example of legal idealism but also as a mechanism based on flexible models to achieve practical results.