News and press releases

A five-day train-the-trainer course on human rights education for activists from different Tajik civil society organizations concluded at the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe on 10 November 2017.

An OSCE-supported three-day training seminar on risk profiling at transport facilities for 15 transport police officers from across Kazakhstan and 13 instructors of the Aktobe Law Institute under the country’s Interior Ministry concluded in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, on 10 November 2017. The seminar aimed at enhancing the capacities of Kazakhstan’s police to ensure public safety...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. In Pikuzy, a man in military-style clothing fired shots in the air within 50m of the Mission. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations in the Petrivske disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Kreminets and at two heavy weapons holding areas.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Sievierodonetsk. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia, Novozvanivka, Artema, and Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM visited a border area not under government control. It continued to monitor a gathering outside the Parliament in Kyiv...

VIENNA, 9 November 2017 – Violence and threats against journalists are on the rise in large parts of the OSCE region, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir stated today in his report to the OSCE Permanent Council. The report took place on the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Mandate of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media by OSCE participating States...

KYIV, 9 November 2017 – The plight of the civilian population of eastern Ukraine, especially now with the onset of winter, demands immediate attention and action, said Ertugrul Apakan, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), today in Kyiv...

COPENHAGEN, 9 November 2017 – Following last month’s legislative elections and the formation of a new Parliament in Vienna, Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen stepped down today as OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President. As the most senior Vice-President of the Assembly, Georgian parliamentarian George Tsereteli took over as President...

DUSHANBE, 9 November 2017 – An agreement to establish a Regional Explosive Hazards Training Centre at Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence was signed in Dushanbe today by Ambassador Tuula Yrjölä, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, and Lieutenant General Sherali Mirzo, Tajikistan’s Minister of Defence.