News and press releases

Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya, together with the Chairperson of the State Customs Service (SCS) of the Kyrgyz Republic Almaz Onolbekov, with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, opened a new Regional Training Centre of the World Customs Organization in Kyrgyzstan on 16 April 2019 in Bishkek...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe conducted a training course on environmental journalism and the main environmental challenges in Tajikistan for 35 young journalists from Dushanbe and different regions of the country on 17 and 18 April 2019. The event was jointly organized with the Committee on Environmental Protection under the Government of Tajikistan...

VIENNA, 17 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called on the authorities in Uzbekistan to end the blocking of media outlets, in order to ensure that important news and current affairs resources be made accessible to the public...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to houses in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Khrustalnyi, in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission was also restricted at a checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske in a non-government-controlled area of southern Donetsk region, as well as at a railway station in Voznesenivka and at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region...

VIENNA, 17 April 2019 – Following reports about the recent arrest of several citizen journalists in Crimea, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today condemned the continued deterioration of freedom of expression and the safety of journalists on the peninsula...

Addressing hate crimes and other violations of the human rights of migrants at borders in South-Eastern Europe, including abuses motivated by racism and xenophobia, was the topic of discussion at an expert meeting in Zagreb on 16 and 17 April 2019. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organized the event in co-operation with the Office of the Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia.

ASHGABAT, 17 April 2019 – Some 200 representatives of Central Asian and other OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation, as well as experts from international organizations, attended today in Ashgabat an OSCE high-level regional conference on countering terrorist financing and organized crime...