News and press releases

VIENNA, 6 May 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called for an effective investigation into the attempted murder of journalist Vadim Komarov in Cherkasy, Ukraine...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) presented a spot report on the implementation of the National War Crimes Processing Strategy and its 2018 draft revisions on 6 May 2019 at the Cantonal Court in Bihac...

SKOPJE, 6 May 2019 – The second round of North Macedonia’s presidential election was calm and well run. However, shortfalls in the legal framework continued to be a concern, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement published today...

LEINSWEILER, 6 May 2019 – Bringing together parliamentarians, scholars, OSCE officials, business leaders, and representatives of other regional organizations, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s fifth Leinsweiler seminar this weekend explored lessons learned from European history on the power of economics as an instrument of conflict prevention and rehabilitation – or as a source of conflict...

NUR-SULTAN, 6 May 2019 – On the occasion of the formal opening of the election observation mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the 9 June early presidential election in Kazakhstan, the mission will hold a press conference in Nur-Sultan on Wednesday...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh small-arms fire damage to a residential house in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The SMM recorded an explosion inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to civilian infrastructure and damaged houses, as well as to enable demining activities at cemeteries in government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. It also continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station and monitor the security situation around the pumping station near Vasylivka. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to civilian infrastructure and damaged houses, as well as to enable demining activities at cemeteries in government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. It also continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station and monitor the security situation around the pumping station near Vasylivka. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also denied access at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka, a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region near the border with the Russian Federation.* In Odessa, the SMM monitored three gatherings to commemorate those who lost their lives during the events of 2 May 2014...