News and press releases

VIENNA, 7 October 2017 – On the eleventh anniversary of the killing of Novaya gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya,OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, urged the Russian authorities to make more efforts to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties near Betmanove. The Mission facilitated the handover of possible human remains and debris from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote and observed ceasefire violations near but outside both, except for one shot which could not be assessed as in- or outside these areas. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including Shchastia, and its camera near the Prince Ihor monument south of Stanytsia Luhanska was intentionally temporarily disabled. The SMM heard two explosions about 400m from the entry-exit checkpoint in Novotroitske. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Pavlopil, Zaichenko, and Verkhnoshyrokivske. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure in Shchastia, Zolote, Artema, Novozvanivka, and Mykolaivka. In Kyiv, the SMM observed a protest in relation to legislation concerning local governance and reintegration of areas outside of government control in Donetsk and Luhansk regions...

A team of experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was in Montenegro from 4 to 6 October 2017 for the first consultation and planning visit within the framework of the ODIHR project “Support to Elections in the Western Balkans”. The ODIHR team met

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, 6 October 2017- OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova, concluded on Friday a four-day official visit to discuss the country’s implementation of OSCE anti-trafficking commitments.

Education needs to be a tool to overcome, not to cement, divisions, said the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier in meetings with his interlocutors during a visit to Skopje and Tetovo between 2 and 5 October 2017...

On 5 October 2017 the OSCE Mission to Moldova held the fourth in a year-long series of informal club discussions for local civil society groups on the left bank of the Dniester/Nistru River.

COPENHAGEN, 6 October 2017 – The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen, today welcomed the announcement of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and offered congratulations on behalf of the Assembly to the civil society coalition for its achievement...