Can I bargain with the Mayor?

Brčko District (pronounced [br̩̂t͡ʃkɔː]) in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina is a neutral, self-governing administrative unit, under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is formally part of both BiH entities: the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The seat of the district is the city of Brčko . The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina today called upon the citizens of Brcko District to determine their citizenship before 28 August 2014.It’s a condition of vote in the upcoming general elections. He reminded citizens in Brcko District that they need to opt for one of the entity citizenships to be able to exercise their right to vote and run in the election. The citizens have one month left to act. They can do so in the office of the Brcko District Government or in 14 smaller offices across the District. This is an important issue. Citizens will be unable to fully enjoy their democratic right to vote because they fai...

The Ukrainian government needs the help of the OSCE. Alone, he can’t win. Then, the OSCE Permanent Council decided to extend the mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine for a further six months. Maybe, the SMM will be able to continue to play its crucial role in assisting Ukraine in de-escalating measures. 57 States All participating States work together in the mission. They support financially and in terms of personnel. This consensus indicates that the scope for a co-operative solution to the Ukraine crisis persists among the 57 participating States even under the current challenging circumstances. The timely extension of the current mandate will expire on September 20, 2014. That allows the mission to operate uninterrupted. The value of impartially verified information and objective reporting on developments on the ground cannot be overestimated in tense and volatile situations. The SMM has also proven to be a useful facilitator of contacts...

In Albania today, Bledar Çuçi, the Minister of State for Local Issues, who also serves as Albania’s National Co-ordinator on Anti-corruption, and the OSCE Presence presented the draft Anti-corruption Action Plan 2014-2017. The Action Plan was put together with the support and co-operation of the OSCE Presence in Albania. Attending the presentation of the Plan were some 70 representatives of government and independent institutions, civil society, business community and international organizations. Most of the participants have been involved in the drafting of the Action Plan or were consulted during the drafting process. “Corruption hinders development. Public resources are diverted to the pockets of corrupt individuals instead of being used for investments in transport, energy, environment, health and education,” said Ambassador Florian Raunig, Head of the OSCE Presence, as he presented the plan. “It is important to undertake harmonised efforts and concrete actio...

Today, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented its  Handbook on Promoting Women’s Participation in Political Parties  at a side event on the second day of the OSCE Gender Equality Review Conference in Vienna. The handbook is the first tool of its kind for the OSCE region, produced to support political party leaders in facilitating broader access for women to party structures and elected office. The handbook highlights different strategies for enhancing women’s participation in political parties, including successful examples from political parties in the OSCE region, such as voluntary measures and capacity-building initiatives. Political parties play a key role in increasing women’s political participation, both as candidates and holders of elected office.. We must recognize women’s rights to participate on an equal footing in all spheres of decision-making process within political parties. As part of the event, members of par...

Yesterday, in Sarajevo, the Acting Head of OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Nina Suomalainen today expressed her support for all the efforts aimed at enabling elections in the city of Mostar to be held in parallel with the general elections due in October 2014. She said that she welcome all constructive proposals for finding an end to the deadlock in Mostar. The lack of properly functioning city institutions has been negatively influencing the lives of citizens for too long . People must regain their social rights, and there is still time to resolve this issue and enable them to vote in the autumn. Before yesterday, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) sent to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH a draft suggestion for amendments which would allow holding elections in Mostar this year. The Parliamentary Assembly is responsible for implementing the changes to the Election Law, which must be done before the Statute of Mostar can be amended. Th...

Tensions remained in parts of Donbas. The situation was calm elsewhere across the country. In Kharkiv the situation remained calm.   The situation in parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions was tense and unchanged compared to the previous reporting period.   In the northern part of the Luhansk region, the Special Monitoring (Mission) SMM monitored four checkpoints, with the main focus on the checkpoint at the Svatovo-Severodonetsk junction. The SMM observed military traffic and talked to local residents going into the conflict zone as well as people leaving it. The SMM observed a bus with women and children from Rubezhnoye (100 km north of Luhansk). The SMM talked to passengers on several buses travelling to Svatovo and Lisychansk respectively. Most of the passengers, having spent some time away from the conflict zone, were going back to look after their elderly relatives, who had not left.   The SMM observed heavy military equipment being transported by ...