News and press releases

Mainstreaming gender in the legislative process in Montenegro was the focus of a workshop for 32 members and secretaries of Montenegro’s parliamentary committees held in Podgorica on 30 and 31 October 2017. The event was organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro with expert support from the OSCE

The fifth annual Model OSCE Conference was organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 26 to 29 October 2017 in Vadul lui Voda, bringing together 35 students from Balti, Chisinau, Cahul, Comrat and Tiraspol to participate in a simulation exercise that engages youth in conflict resolution, thereby honing their negotiation skills...

An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar on the application of the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) Protocol to the Aarhus Convention in Kazakhstan for some 60 representatives of government entities, the private sector, Aarhus Centres and environmental NGOs concluded on 31 October 2017 in Astana.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 27 and 28 October compared with the previous reporting period and more between the evenings of 28 and 29 October compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 27 and 28 October compared with the previous reporting period and a similar number of ceasefire violations between the evenings of 28 and 29 October compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of a casualty in Donetsk city. The SMM observed fresh damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Marinka, Avdiivka, Pikuzy, Oleksandrivka and Sakhanka. The Mission continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including near Metalist (twice).* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Luhanske and in Bakhmut. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to power lines between Novozvanivka and Troitske. The SMM visited a border area not under government control. The Mission continued monitoring the administrative boundary line between Kherson region and Crimea. With respect to ongoing local elections, the SMM monitored the security situation around polling stations in Lviv region and government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, where it observed calm situations.

Eight monitoring networks to record and investigate hate crimes were established across Kosovo as a result of a series of workshops organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo between 2 and 30 October 2017. The networks are comprised of police investigators, community police officers and prosecutors who will co-operate to address hate crimes across the regions in a more efficient way. The networks will enable a unified institutional approach to properly identifying, recording and investigating hate crimes.

The involvement of young people in social activities and youth empowerment were the key topics of the OSCE-supported Zhas (Youth) Camp, an annual two-day event which concluded on 29 October 2017 in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan.

A one-day roundtable discussion on women, peace and security took place in Dushanbe on 30 October 2017. The discussion was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe with the participation of 30 representatives from Tajikistan’s civil society, political parties, national gender experts and