News and press releases

VIENNA, 2 November 2022 – "Can there be security without media freedom?" That is the title of the report that Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro launched today, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the mandate of the OSCE RFoM.

WARSAW/VIENNA, 1 November 2022 – Today a new donor-funded Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU) was launched by contributing OSCE participating States. The Support Programme addresses some of the immediate challenges to civilians posed by the war waged against Ukraine and supports the long-term democratic and social resilience of Ukrainian institutions and civil society organizations.

Eleven journalists covering parliamentary affairs from different media outlets in Albania and staff of the Communication Service of the Assembly of Albania traveled to Ljubljana, from 27 to 29 October, to share experiences with their Slovenian counterparts and learn from their best practices. The

Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), visited Foča today. The visit served as an opportunity for Ambassador Aggeler to meet key local counterparts. On this occasion, he met with Miralem Hodžić, the Main Imam of Foča, to discuss opportunities for fostering inter-religious dialogue while also visiting the historic Aladža mosque complex. Ambassador Aggeler also met with Milan Vukadinoviċ, Mayor of Foča, Srđan Draškoviċ, Municipal Assembly Speaker and Izet Spahić, Municipal Assembly Councilor to discuss topics that impact all citizens of Foča. “I am glad to be here today and to have an opportunity to discuss local developments with a focus on human rights and trust-building. On the topic of trust-building: the Upper Drina Initiative is a brilliant step towards sustainable cross-entity co-operation. We expect to see more positive developments in the future that will be in the best interest of all citizens of Foča. Indeed, the Mission will continue to support the efforts of the authorities in Foča in achieving that,” said Ambassador Aggeler. Ambassador Aggeler concluded his first official visit to Foča by meeting Jelena Vilotić, President of NGO “Tračak nade.” “I am impressed with the work of this service center and with the passion and dedication of people working here. Their tireless efforts to improve living conditions for the most vulnerable in society bring hope in a better future,” concluded Aggeler.

Almost thirty representatives of the Moldovan ombudsperson’s (People’s Advocate) institution participated in a two-day human rights webinar, organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova on 25 and 26 October 2022. The participants discussed the institution’s possibilities to increase efficiency of their

WARSAW/VIENNA, 31 October 2022 – Following the lack of consensus by the OSCE Permanent Council to extend the mandates of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and the Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, due to the position of the Russian Federation, the OSCE is closing these two field operations today.

Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) visited Žepče today and laid flowers at the Memorial to all Civilian Victims of War.