News and press releases

The Western Balkans Trial Monitoring report “From Paper to Practice”, developed within the regional project implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, was published today with recommendations on how judicial response to organized crime and corruption cases in these five jurisdictions can be improved.

In a significant step towards gender equality and the elimination of violence against women, Presidents of Women’s Forums and representatives from 10 political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have reached a consensus on the Principles for Political Engagement. The OSCE Mission to BiH facilitated this crucial meeting in Sarajevo, where the finalized text of these principles was agreed upon.

As part of the continuous efforts to strengthen the media self-regulatory bodies in Montenegro, the OSCE Mission organized a study visit to Netherlands for the representatives of the Technical Working Group on Self-Regulation on 30 and 31 May.

The OSCE Asian Partners for Co-Operation Group and OSCE participating States met in Vienna on 3 June to discuss the pressing issue of Afghan women’s rights, emphasizing the broader implications for regional and global stability. This event focused on exploring actionable strategies for empowering Afghan women and mitigating the challenges they face. The meeting brought together high-level representatives and experts to address the significant challenges faced by Afghan women and the global implications of their plight. This special meeting was organized by North Macedonia as Chair of the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group.

BELGRADE, 3 June 2024 – Serbia’s local elections were well run and freedom of expression and assembly were respected, but the dominance of the ruling party as well as the fragmentation of the opposition reduced their competitiveness, while allegations of widespread pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources favoured the ruling coalition, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement today.

The OSCE Mission supported a delegation of six senior officials of the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety (KAPS) and its public safety agencies to conduct a visit to North Carolina Justice Academy (NCJA) in the United States (US) from 27 May to 1 June 2024. The visit was part of Mission’s continued

On 29-30 May, 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, in collaboration with the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), conducted a training seminar in Almaty. The seminar focused on combating money laundering arising from tax crimes, entrepreneurial activities, and public procurement offenses. This initiative is part of a broader, multi-year co-operation aimed at strengthening Kazakhstan’s capacity to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.