OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Secretary General deplore so-called “legal proceedings” against detained staff in Donetsk and Luhansk, demand their immediate release

VIENNA/WARSAW, 15 September 2022 - OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid today unequivocally condemned the so-called “legal proceedings” launched against two national mission members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) and the continuing detention of one other national mission member. The three national mission members have been detained for almost five months.

“Our dedicated Mission members are being held for performing their official duties as OSCE staff – as mandated by all 57 participating States. For over four months now, they have been held in unknown conditions, heightening concerns about their wellbeing and leaving their loved ones in distress and pain,” Secretary General Schmid said.

“The continued detention of our Mission members and the so-called “legal proceedings” against them are completely unacceptable. They are held unjustifiably on fabricated charges,” Chairman Rau said. 

Chairman Rau and Secretary General Schmid reiterated their call for the unconditional and immediate release of OSCE staff and called on the OSCE participating States to increase pressure on all responsible for those detentions to immediately release the Mission members.

The OSCE remains in close contact with relevant stakeholders, including other international organizations, to facilitate the release of detained SMM staff. 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.