News and press releases

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan supports a “National Cyber Incident Classification” workshop for representatives of participating States from Central Asia and South Caucasus as well as from Mongolia on 21 and 22 September 2023 in Tashkent. The workshop is organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD), in co-operation with the Cyber Security Center Uzbekistan.

The regional conference on Promoting Women's Participation in Law Enforcement in Central Asia, held on 14 and 15 September 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan, marked a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to empower women in the region's law enforcement agencies. It brought together representatives of national authorities, including the Ministry of Interior, Police Academies, Prosecutor Offices, Policewomen Associations, and other relevant law enforcement agencies, alongside OSCE structures and field operations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and international organizations.

As part of its ongoing multi-year programme to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department implemented the third in a series of regional interactive workshops on combatting illicit trafficking of art, antiquities and cultural property in Pula, Croatia from 11 to 15 September. The training course was held for law enforcement, border management officers, and museum experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.

SKOPJE/VIENNA, 12 September 2023 – The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, and Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid reinforced their repeated calls for the immediate release of three Ukrainian OSCE officials that have been in detention in Donetsk and Luhansk for more than 500 days.

The Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and the Council of Europe’s Anti-Trafficking Division organized a joint roundtable in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 7 to 8 September 2023, which focused on strengthening the role of the private sector, particularly financial institutions, in preventing and combating human trafficking.

PODGORICA, 8 September 2023 — OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concluded her visit to Montenegro today. During her visit, she met with high-level government officials and representatives of civil society organizations.

On 5-7 September 2023, the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department, with the support of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMiK) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), organized a three-day training course in Pejë/Peć on how to use financial intelligence to effectively cut off terrorism financing channels.