News and press releases

NEW YORK/VIENNA, 8 March 2019- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger welcomed the new recommitment to cease fire in eastern Ukraine that came into effect today at 00:01 (Kyiv time) and should bring a decrease in violence...

VIENNA, 8 March 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called on the Ukrainian authorities to reverse the entry ban to Ukraine imposed on Christian Wehrschütz, a journalist with the Austrian Public Service Broadcaster (ORF)...

VIENNA, 8 March 2019 – Greater efforts are needed to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls occurring both in private and public life, which prevents them from being full and equal participants in society, said OSCE senior officials on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

KYIV, 8 March 2019 – Yesterday, the Trilateral Contact Group recommitted to the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. Ertugrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, and Martin Sajdik, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and to the Trilateral Contact Group, welcomed the recommitment by issuing the following statement:...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. A car with armed men inside blocked the SMM’s passage near Sakhanka. An SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted anti-tank mines on the northern edge of Marinka. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement area and its access was also restricted at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Mykolaivka...

VIENNA, 6 March 2019- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed his concern about the high number of lawsuits filed against journalists and news outlets by politicians and public officials in Croatia and an ongoing dispute involving the public service broadcaster HRT. Both issues could negatively affect media freedom in Croatia, he warned...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission saw anti-tank mines close to road H-20 near Olenivka and Berezove. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its access was also restricted at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske, preventing the SMM from following up on reports of a civilian casualty...