News and press releases

KYIV, 21 September, 2014 –We welcome the Memorandum of 19 September 2014 on concrete steps to be taken to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine...

The SMM continued to monitor the non-use of weapons provision of the Minsk Protocol, noting sporadic shelling around Donetsk and Mariupol cities, and in an area west of Luhansk city. Elsewhere in Donbas, however, calm prevailed, most notably in Luhansk city, where, in addition to a cessation of violence, normal services are beginning to be restored...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Ukraine from 15 to 17 September 2014 to take stock of the situation since her last visit. She said that while the situation remains extremely tense and challenging, there are positive developments, including the ceasefire following the signing of the Minsk Protocol on 5 September 2014.

Identifying needs and possible strategies to address human rights priorities in Ukraine was the focus of a meeting organized by OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 18 and 19 September 2014. The consultation meeting, with participation of 23 representatives

The SMM continued to carry out activities related to the monitoring of non-use of weapons in areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Interlocutors from the Crimean Tatar community informed the SMM that the building of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in Simferopol had been searched by Russian Security Services...

VIENNA, 19 September 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about the fate of Avdet, the weekly newspaper of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, following a week of acts of intimidation by the de-facto authorities in Crimea...

KYIV, 19 September 2014 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 26 October 2014 early parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs...