News and press releases

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed military-type presence in the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Verkhnoshyrokivske and again near Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to houses and essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. The SMM followed up on reports of vandalism to crosses commemorating Polish prisoners in Kolomiya during World War I. In Kyiv, the Mission followed up on an attack on St. Andrew’s Church and a ceremony in honour of political prisoners. The SMM observed the first meeting of the temporary parliamentary commission charged with investigating the death of Kateryna Handziuk. In Kherson, the SMM observed a court hearing related to the detained Mekhanik Pogodin tanker.

MADRID, 15 November 2018 – Terrorism is a transnational threat that requires a concerted multilateral response at global, regional and national levels, said Greek parliamentarian Makis Voridis, Chair of the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism (CCT), at a conference in Madrid today. At the same time, the tragic human cost of terrorism must remain at the forefront of policy-making discussions, he said...

The importance of a well-governed and accountable security sector in effectively addressing transnational organized crime, including trafficking in persons and illicit drugs, corruption and terrorism, was the focus of a sub-regional expert-level workshop for senior practitioners and policy-makers from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine in Minsk on 14 and 15 November 2018...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry inaugurated a second model police station in Tajikistan at a ceremony in the Esanboy community of the Rudaki district on 9 November 2018. The station will serve as a community policing centre where local community members can meet and discuss legal and strategic documents on police reform, and provide their recommendations to the Interior Ministry on improving community policing...

From 6 to 9 November, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Gender, Melanne Verveer and OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Amarsanaa Darisuren conducted a country visit to Uzbekistan. The visit was organized by the Italian OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office.

ROME, 12 November 2018 – Greater transparency is needed to achieve comprehensive security in the OSCE area, OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) said in a speech today in Rome. He noted that parliamentarians are essential partners in the fight against corruption...

VIENNA, 12 November 2018 – In Vienna today, Makis Voridis, Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism, addressed the Security Committee of the OSCE and is holding a series of bilateral meetings to build synergy between the OSCE’s executive and parliamentary structures on preventing and countering terrorism.