News and press releases

WARSAW, 8 February 2022 – A two-day conference at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews under the auspices of Poland’s Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2022 gathered together OSCE leaders and several hundred online and in-person participants to discuss more effective ways of combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and discrimination. The event was preceded by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes.

WARSAW/WASHINGTON, 27 January 2022 – On today’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the OSCE calls for greater efforts to find new forms of remembrance and education in order to fight back harder against anti-Semitism and build peaceful societies free from hate and prejudice.

WARSAW, 11 January 2022 – Two decades after the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in the aftermath of the security challenges following the events of 9/11, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) renews its calls for the camp’s swift closure.

WARSAW, 29 December 2021 – Following two Russian court decisions this week to close both the International Memorial Society and its sister organization Human Rights Center Memorial, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) expressed profound concern and called on the Russian authorities to ensure a safe and enabling space for civil society.

The 2021 early parliamentary elections in Moldova were well administered, competitive, and fundamental freedoms were largely respected. While lower-level commissions enjoyed trust, key decisions by the Central Election Commission brought its impartiality into question. Candidates had ample opportunities to campaign and voters were provided a wide range of alternatives. The legal framework does not adequately regulate electoral dispute resolution, and the handling of electoral complaints further highlighted the importance of strengthening judicial independence...

WARSAW, 17 December 2021- As the world nears the end of a second year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, we see clearly that its impact has hit the most vulnerable hardest, with many migrants who were already facing challenges to access their basic rights now having greater difficulty in accessing employment, education, housing, and even the right to international protection, said the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on the eve of International Migrants Day.

The 2021 parliamentary elections in Cyprus were governed by the legal framework that generally provided for the conduct of democratic elections; however, the legislation remains overly complex and requires comprehensive review. While the party finance legislation was amended to enhance