News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 12 February 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) has appointed Bulgarian parliamentarian Kristian Vigenin to serve as the Assembly’s Special Representative on the South Caucasus...

VIENNA, 12 February 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today condemned recent threats issued against journalists reporting on organized crime activities in the Republic of Ireland and praised law enforcement authorities for taking action to protect them...

The SMM observed numerous ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. It followed-up on reports of civilian casualties near government-controlled Marinka, and shelling of residential areas in Donetsk city. The Mission encountered freedom-of-movement restrictions, the majority in areas not controlled by the Government.* The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repair work to critical infrastructure.

VIENNA, 11 February 2016 – In his address to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov spoke about current security challenges in the South Caucasus and stressed the need to revitalize the Minsk Group for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict...

VIENNA, 11 February 2016 – Today’s attacks against several Turkish media outlets are unacceptable and must be swiftly investigated, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media said today...

The SMM observed numerous ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The Mission encountered freedom-of-movement restrictions, the majority in areas not controlled by the Government.* The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repair work to critical infrastructure.

The SMM observed a significant number of explosions in the early morning hours in Donetsk region compared to the previous day, while the number of violations in Luhansk region remained low. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The Mission encountered freedom-of-movement restrictions, the majority in areas not controlled by the Government; in particular, “DPR” members demanded that SMM patrols provide passports, “accreditations” and signed patrol plans in order to proceed – all in violation of the SMM’s mandate.* The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repair works on critical infrastructure, and noted long queues of civilians at checkpoints along the line of contact. The Mission monitored numerous false bomb threats in several cities around Ukraine.