News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Lajčák closes Bratislava Ministerial Council with plea for more political will, dialogue and diplomacy
Publishing date: 6 December 2019
BRATISLAVA, 6 December 2019 – The OSCE’s participating States need to show more political will and commitment to real dialogue and diplomacy to effectively address the multitude of, and increasingly transnational, security challenges facing the region, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák as he closed the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council today in Bratislava. “There is a compelling case for co-operative security,” he said...
OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Daily Report 289/2019 issued on 6 December 2019
Publishing date: 6 December 2019
Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and the same number in Luhansk region. The SMM observed a team from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine placing concrete obstacles on a road west-north-west of the Petrivske
OSCE-supported regional workshop on the use of open data and new digital technologies to prevent and combat corruption held in Skopje
Publishing date: 6 December 2019
Government representatives, civil society members, and open data experts from Eastern and South Eastern Europe emphasized the importance of the use of open data and new digital technologies in preventing and combating corruption at an OSCE-organized workshop on 2 and 3 December 2019 in Skopje...
OSCE event focuses on importance of improving the situation of people affected by the crisis in and around Ukraine
Publishing date: 5 December 2019
BRATISLAVA, 5 December 2019 – The humanitarian aspects of the crisis in and around Ukraine were at the centre of discussion at a side event at the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council in Bratislava today.
OSCE Chair Lajčák appoints Heidi Grau as Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group
Publishing date: 5 December 2019
BRATISLAVA, 5 December 2019- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia Miroslav Lajčák today announced the appointment of Ambassador Heidi Grau of Switzerland as the OSCE Chairperson’s Special Representative in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group. Ambassador Grau succeeds Ambassador Martin Sajdik, whom the OSCE Chair thanked for his dedication and important work, which included concrete achievements towards the full implementation of the Minsk agreements...
Effective multilateralism can support conflict resolution and prevention, build a safer future for people, OSCE Chair Lajčák tells Ministerial Council
Publishing date: 5 December 2019
BRATISLAVA, 5 December 2019 – States must do more to work together through effective multilateralism to support the resolution and prevention – and mitigate the humanitarian impact- of conflict, and build a safer future for all people, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák in his opening address to the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council today in Bratislava...
Spot Report by OSCE Observer Mission: 92nd Russian convoy of ten vehicles crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point
Publishing date: 5 December 2019
On 5 December at 06:20 (Moscow time), the ninety-second[1] Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of ten vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All ten vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 12:35 on 5 December...