* Internet freedom under threat in Central Asia, says OSCE media freedom representative

DUSHANBE, 29 November 2011 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, warned today that Internet freedom is increasingly under threat in Central Asia and called for governments in the region to promote, not block, access.

Mijatović spoke at the opening of the thirteenth Central Asia Media Conference, organized by her Office and the OSCE Office in Tajikistan. This year’s event focuses on media pluralism and Internet governance.

“Blocking websites, filtering information, persecuting online journalists, newly adopted restrictive regulations and deficient technical infrastructures are like a plague to the Internet. Although governments have a legitimate role to play when it comes to protecting society from cybercrimes, they also have an obligation to foster Internet access, and any regulation must be free speech-friendly,” she said. “Governments must understand that providing citizens with a variety of views can only strengthen their democracies,”

“The role of governments is to support and invest resources in Internet literacy instead of blocking. Educated Internet users can make educated choices about what to surf, read or learn on the Internet,” Mijatović added.

First Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Mahmudjon Sobirov also addressed the more than 150 media professionals, government officials, academics and civil society representatives attending the two-day conference, which is being held in Dushanbe for the second consecutive year.

Alongside the conference, Andrey Rikhter, the Director of the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media will conduct an event on the digitalization of broadcasting and its implications for media freedom.

Conference participants are expected adopt a declaration on pluralism and Internet governance, which will be available at www.osce.org/fom following the event’s conclusion. Mijatović thanked the authorities of Tajikistan for hosting the Central Asia Media Conference which was financially supported by governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the US.

During her visit to Dushanbe, Mijatović will also meet the Head of the Supreme Court of Tajikistan, Musratullo Abdulloev.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/node/85445

* OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issue statement

BAKU, 30 November 2011 - The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, released the following statement today:

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of the Russian Federation) and Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk (Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office) traveled November 28-30 to Yerevan and Baku. The Co-Chairs were accompanied by Ambassador Jacques Faure, who will succeed Ambassador Fassier as the French Co-Chair of the Minsk Group. In Yerevan the Co-Chairs met with President Sargsian, Foreign Minister Nalbandian, and Defense Minister Ohanyan; in Baku they met with President Aliyev, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov, and Defense Minister Abiyev. In all these meetings, the Co-Chairs reaffirmed the strong commitment of their countries to assisting the sides in achieving a lasting and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Noting recent reports of incidents along the Line of Contact, the Co-Chairs stressed again to the Presidents the importance of respecting the 1994 ceasefire agreement. They reiterated that such incidents demonstrate the need to implement the proposed mechanism to investigate incidents along the front-lines, on which the Presidents have agreed in principle. The Co-Chairs also discussed additional measures for enhancing confidence through people-to-people exchanges and efforts to preserve places of worship, cultural sites, and cemeteries.

On November 29, the Co-Chairs crossed the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan by foot, and met on each side with local officials to discuss the situation in the border region. On November 30, the Co-Chairs met with representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijanis, and underscored that a peaceful settlement must include the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence.

Looking ahead to the December OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Vilnius, the Co-Chairs urged the sides to use this opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to seeking a peaceful settlement and moving beyond the unacceptable status quo.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/node/85548

* Civil society from OSCE participating States and Mediterranean Partners to discuss challenges to democracies in transition

VILNIUS, 1 December 2011 – Civil society representatives from OSCE participating States and the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation will meet in Vilnius on Sunday for a two-day conference to exchange good practices and experiences at a time of rapid change and transition in the Middle East and North Africa.

The conference, which is taking place ahead of the OSCE Ministerial Council, is being organized jointly by the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). It will build on the OSCE’s mandate and work to support international co-operation among civil society.

The conference will provide civil society representatives from the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation with the opportunity to network and share their experiences with their counterparts from OSCE participating States on electoral good practice, political participation, justice and legal reform.

In addition, a special side event entitled, “Tolerance and non-discrimination in democratic transition”, will explore the challenges of countering intolerance and discrimination.

Opening the conference will be Evaldas Ignatavicius, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office; Douglas Wake, First Deputy Director of ODIHR; Achref Aouadi, the founder of Tunisia-based non-governmental organization, I-Watch and Sonja Lokar, the Executive Director of the Central and Eastern Europe Network for Gender Issues.

Journalists are invited to attend the opening of the conference from 9.30 to 10.00 on 4 December at the Crowne Plaza Vilnius Hotel, M. K. Čiurlionio gatvė 84, Vilnius, Lithuania.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/odihr/85563

* First official 5+2 talks after renewal lay ground for further progress on Transdniestrian settlement, says OSCE Chairperson

VILNIUS, 1 December 2011 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, said that the renewed official 5+2 negotiations on the Transdniestrian settlement, which concluded in Vilnius today, laid solid ground for the future work on promoting the conflict resolution.

“The discussion of principles and procedures for the conduct of the negotiations, which took place in a constructive atmosphere, is a stepping stone to achieving further tangible progress on the Transdniestrian settlement,” said Ažubalis.

“Maintaining the positive momentum and continuing regular official meetings is essential now to advance the comprehensive resolution of the conflict – the goal that we all share,” he said. Ažubalis emphasized that registering progress in addressing protracted conflicts has been a priority of the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship in 2011.

The two-day meeting brought together representatives of the sides, mediators and observers in the negotiations – Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the US and the EU. It was chaired by the Special Representative of the Lithuanian Chairperson-in-Office of OSCE for protracted conflicts, Ambassador Giedrius Čekuolis.

The participants agreed that the next official meeting in the 5+2 format – officially, “The Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Framework of the Negotiating Process for Transdniestrian Settlement” – will take place in February, 2012 in Ireland.

A decision to resume the official 5+2 negotiations was taken in Moscow on 22 September, 2011, following a nearly six-year hiatus. The Vilnius meeting was the first round of the renewed official talks.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/cio/85566

* International election observers in Russia to hold press conference on Monday

MOSCOW, 2 December 2011 - The international observers monitoring the State Duma elections in the Russian Federation will present their preliminary post-election statement at a news conference on Monday, 5 December, in Moscow.

The international observation is a common endeavour involving the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

The statement will be delivered by Petros Efthymiou, the Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission and Head of the OSCE PA delegation, followed by Tiny Kox, the Head of the PACE delegation, and Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

This common endeavour comprises over 330 observers from 39 countries, including over 40 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE/ODIHR, some 160 short-term observers seconded by participating States upon request by the OSCE/ODIHR, as well as 90 parliamentarians and staff from the OSCE PA, and 34 from PACE.

Journalists are invited to attend the news conference on Monday, 5 December, at 14:00 in the Marriott Grand Hotel, 26/1 Tverskaya Street, Moscow.

For further information contact:

Neil Simon, OSCE PA, +79104303330 or +4560108380, neil@oscepa.dk Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, OSCE/ODIHR, +79859134614 or +48 603 683 122, jens.eschenbaecher@odihr.pl Angus Macdonald, PACE, +79150765726 or +33630496820, angus.macdonald@coe.int

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/odihr/85651

* 18th OSCE Ministerial Council to open in Vilnius on Tuesday

VILNIUS, 2 December 2011 – The 18th OSCE Ministerial Council will take place on 6 and 7 December in Vilnius. The event will be held at the invitation of the 2011 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis.

The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization’s activities during the past year and offer national viewpoints on security matters.

Journalists are invited to cover the event, which will be held in Lithuanian Exhibition and Convention Centre “Litexpo”. Journalists will follow the proceedings of the meeting through closed-circuit television broadcasts at the Media Centre at Litexpo.

Accreditation is mandatory. Contact: media@urm.lt

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

Please, note that pools will be created for events where photo and video opportunities are foreseen. For the schedule of pools departures from the Media Centre please address the staff of the information desk.

Monday 5 December

14.30 Press briefing by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis and OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović

Tuesday 6 December

8.00-9.20 Handshake ceremony (photo and video) 9.20-9.30 Family photo (photo and video) 9.30-10.00 Opening session (photo and video) 10.00-13.00 First plenary (photo and video) 15.00-18.00 Second plenary (photo and video) 15.00 Press briefing by Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič (Media Centre) 15.45 Press briefing by OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović (Media Centre) 16.30 Press briefing by OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe (Media Centre) 19:00-19.30 Arrival of Ministers to official dinner (Entrance to Museum of Applied Arts, outside, photo and video)

Wednesday 7 December

9.30-12.00 Third plenary session (photo and video) 13.30 Press briefing of the OSCE Troika: OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis; Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, Eamon Gilmore; Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov

Please, note that the time of the OSCE Troika press briefing is subject to change. The press briefing will take place after the conclusion of the MC.

Journalists will be able to follow plenary proceedings on CCTV in the Media Centre.

Information about other media opportunities will be made available to journalists in the media centre on CCTV.

POOLS

Registration for pools:

December 2-5: E-mail media@urm.lt

December 6-7: OSCE MC Media Centre information desk (Tel: +370 693 43187)

Only one journalist (camera operator or photographer) from the media outlet registered per pool.

WEBSTREAMING AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Live streaming of all plenary sessions and the final press conference will be available at: http://www.osce.org/event/mc_2011/live

Updates will be provided on Facebook: www.facebook.com/osce.org - Twitter: http://twitter.com/osce

USEFUL CONTACTS

OSCE MC Media Centre information desk (Logistics/Pools/General Information) Tel: +370 693 43187 E-mail: media@urm.lt

Media accreditation desk Andrius Visockis tel. +370 655 45927

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/cio/85693