News and press releases

BERLIN, 8 July 2018 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 2018 Annual Session opened today in Berlin with calls for greater political will to ensure the full implementation of international commitments found in the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE documents. As elected representatives of the people, members of parliament have a key role to play in building support among decision-makers in governments for ensuring compliance with these commitments, speakers said at the Annual Session’s opening plenary session.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near non-government-controlled Vesele in Donetsk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted near Izvaryne, Voznesenivka and Siedove, near the border with the Russian Federation, and near Horlivka. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on an incident at an office where a political party was scheduled to hold a meeting.

VIENNA, 6 July 2018- OSCE Representative on the Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir voiced strong disapproval against today’s court decision to imprison Zaman journalists.

VIENNA, 6 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today raised concerns regarding the draft law “On changes to some legislative acts of Ukraine on countering threats to national security in the information sphere”, as it may endanger free access to information online...

VIENNA, 6 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today denounced the fine imposed on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for not complying with a Russian law regulating the activities of media outlets branded by the authorities as “foreign agents.”

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed fresh damage from gunfire to a house in Yasynuvata. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted again near Zaichenko and Bezimenne, as well as in Kruta Balka and at a weapons permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Starolaspa and Marinka. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS), including through monitoring the security situation around the station; it heard explosions close to the station despite explicit security guarantees. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure. It monitored the situation of civilians at the entry-exit checkpoint near the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and noted again that the wooden ramps on the broken part of the bridge were unstable...

KYIV, 6 July 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, today welcomed the reduction in the number of ceasefire violations that has occurred since recommitment to the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, which came into effect shortly after midnight on 1 July 2018...