News and press releases

ROME, 5 March 2018 – The 4 March parliamentary elections in Italy were a vibrant display of competitive democracy in which voters could readily inform themselves about their political options and could freely cast their ballots, concluded international observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today following their first-ever election observation mission in the country. The elections offered voters a multitude of parties to choose from, and benefitted from extensive media coverage, with diverse and critical analysis of many aspects of the campaigns. In a welcome effort, concerns about ‘fake news’ were taken seriously by authorities and media companies during the campaign. On election day, time-consuming procedures resulted in some delays and long queues for voters...

A five-day training course for some 30 Tajik customs officers from all over the country on the detection of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials at border checkpoints concluded on 2 March 2018 in Dushanbe.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including, again, at three areas near the border with the Russian Federation in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region, as well as near Patriotychne.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in a government-controlled area. The Mission facilitated and monitored repair works to a water pumping station in Artema and to water wells in Krasnyi Lyman. In Kharkiv, the SMM followed up on reports of an exchange of border guard officers between Ukraine and the Russian Federation....

KYIV, 2 March 2018- Ertugrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, today welcomed the recommitment to the ceasefire made by the Trilateral Contact Group and other signatories of the Minsk agreements.

MINSK, 2 March 2018 – The Trilateral Contact Group and the representatives of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions today issued the following statement calling for a ceasefire:

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with more explosions in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed fresh damage caused by shelling to civilian residences in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted in Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote and elsewhere, including, once again, at a border area with the Russian Federation in Luhansk region.* In areas outside of government control, the SMM observed heavy weapons as missing from permanent storage sites. The Mission visited four border areas not under government control. In Uzhhorod, the Mission continued to follow up on reports of an explosion at the building where the office of the Zakarpattia Hungarian Union is located. The SMM observed a vandalized monument in Kherson. The SMM observed a gathering near the Parliament building in Kyiv...

Strengthening the ability of civil society to identify and report hate crimes, and to better support the victims of these crimes, was at the centre of two training workshops organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) this week in Bishkek and Almaty. The