OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Secretary General call for immediate release of detained OSCE staff in Donetsk and Luhansk

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister of Poland, Zbigniew Rau, and OSCE Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid, today reiterated their call for the unconditional and immediate release of three national Mission members of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), detained in Donetsk and Luhansk for more than three months.

“I call again attention to the unacceptable situation of the national OSCE Mission members still detained in non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, detained for engaging in their official duties as OSCE staff,” said Secretary General Schmid. “OSCE SMM Mission members have always performed their duties with the highest level of professionalism, dedication and impartiality. They must be released immediately“. 

OSCE Chairman-in-Office Rau deplored that SMM staff are held unjustifiably in conditions unknown to their families and loved ones. “I wish to recall their contributions to the SMM’s former mandate to provide impartial information related to the security and humanitarian situation in Ukraine“, said OSCE Chairman-in-Office Rau. “We call for their immediate release.” 

The OSCE’s duty of care towards all of its employees continues during and after the closure of the SMM. The OSCE has and will continue to take steps to pursue all available channels to secure the privileges and immunities of current and former OSCE officials.