News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions – including, however, more explosions in Donetsk region – compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; its access remained restricted in the three areas and elsewhere, including near Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure near Shchastia, Zolote, Artema and Druzhba. The Mission visited a border area not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM again observed a protest in relation to legislation concerning local governance and reintegration of areas outside of government control in Donetsk and Luhansk regions...

YEREVAN / BAKU, 7 October 2017- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan on 6 October and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 7 October to finalize preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Presidents, including possible topics for discussion. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk...

VIENNA, 7 October 2017 – On the eleventh anniversary of the killing of Novaya gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya,OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, urged the Russian authorities to make more efforts to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties near Betmanove. The Mission facilitated the handover of possible human remains and debris from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote and observed ceasefire violations near but outside both, except for one shot which could not be assessed as in- or outside these areas. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including Shchastia, and its camera near the Prince Ihor monument south of Stanytsia Luhanska was intentionally temporarily disabled. The SMM heard two explosions about 400m from the entry-exit checkpoint in Novotroitske. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Pavlopil, Zaichenko, and Verkhnoshyrokivske. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure in Shchastia, Zolote, Artema, Novozvanivka, and Mykolaivka. In Kyiv, the SMM observed a protest in relation to legislation concerning local governance and reintegration of areas outside of government control in Donetsk and Luhansk regions...

A team of experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was in Montenegro from 4 to 6 October 2017 for the first consultation and planning visit within the framework of the ODIHR project “Support to Elections in the Western Balkans”. The ODIHR team met

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, 6 October 2017- OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova, concluded on Friday a four-day official visit to discuss the country’s implementation of OSCE anti-trafficking commitments.

Education needs to be a tool to overcome, not to cement, divisions, said the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier in meetings with his interlocutors during a visit to Skopje and Tetovo between 2 and 5 October 2017...