News and press releases

In its final report on the 10 October parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, published on 20 December, ODIHR concluded that: "[the] elections constituted a further consolidation of the democratic process. Political pluralism, a vibrant campaign and confidence in the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda... characterized the elections. The authorities displayed the political will tohold democratic elections in line with OSCE commitments. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for profound electoral legal reform."

Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, the head of ODIHR's election observation mission for the presidential election in Belarus on 19 December 2010, presented the mission's preliminary findings during an extraordinary session of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels on 12 January.

On 8 December, staff from ODIHR and members of ODIHR’s Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief provided a one-day training session in Vienna for 23 participants from non-governmental organizations and religious or belief communities from all parts of the OSCE region.

VIENNA, 7 December 2010- Representatives from the 56 OSCE participating States, civil society and international organizations will gather in Vienna on Thursday to discuss how to promote freedom of religion or belief and how to respond to emerging challenges...

As part of its training module for public officials and counter-terrorism practitioners, ODIHR has completed two training courses for law-enforcement officers and police students on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism.

ASTANA, 1 December 2010- Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms must underpin sustainable security in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian area, emphasized the heads of OSCE institutions on human rights and democratic institutions, media freedom and national minorities at the OSCE Summit which began in Astana today...

ODIHR's third annual meeting for its network of national contact points on combating hate crime got under way in Warsaw on 16 November, International Day of Tolerance.