News and press releases

The SMM recorded a sharp increase in ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed damage as a result of shelling in Loskutivka. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and inside the Petrivske disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Dovhe and near Izvaryne in Luhansk region, at the border with the Russian Federation.*

From 26 to 29 April 2018, the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek organized a training seminar for young journalists and students studying journalism. The workshop aimed to improve their knowledge and skills in covering security issues related to violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism (VERLT), and reporting on inter-communal relations.

ROME, 10 May 2018 – Parliaments and international fora such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have a vital role to play in shaping innovative legislation and policies to reduce threats posed by returning foreign terrorist fighters, or FTFs, said Chair of the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism Makis Voridis at a conference in Rome today.

ROME, 10 May 2018 – Enhanced information-sharing and border security and human rights-compliant rehabilitation and reintegration programmes are among the key measures states need to take in order to address the challenge of returning foreign terrorist fighters, said speakers at the opening of the 2018 OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference in Rome...

A team of experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Skopje from 9 to 10 May 2018 to provide assistance to a working group mandated to review the Electoral Code. The working group was established by the Ministry of Justice of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and held its first session on 10 May.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed a fresh impact site on the eastern edge of Popasna. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including near Voznesenivka in Luhansk region, at the border with the Russian Federation*.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with the Department for Human Resources of the Parliament of Montenegro, facilitated the final session of a train-the-trainers workshop for 11 parliamentary staff on 8-9 May 2018. The training seminar focused on principles of managing change, developing vision statements and project goals, adult learning principles and modern tools to support change in the working environment.