News and press releases

An OSCE project to support criminal justice systems in Eastern Europe in their fight against gender-based violence, developed by the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD/SPMU), was launched on 20 and 21 September 2018 in Vienna...

Strengthening rule of law-compliant criminal justice responses to terrorism was the aim of a two-day seminar for over 30 Montenegrin practitioners from relevant government agencies, which concluded on 19 September 2018 in Budva...

The role of national referral mechanisms (NRMs) in protecting the rights of trafficked persons was addressed in an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 18 September 2018, on the margins of the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting.

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons slightly decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. On the night of 16-17 September, the Mission heard small-arms fire 30-50m from its position. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. Inside the Petrivske disengagement area, the SMM saw Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and a recent extension of a trench assessed as belonging to the armed formations. The Mission’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas, as well as in Bohdanivka and again near Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines near Ocheretyne, Shyroke, Novoamvrosiivske and Khrustalnyi. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs and maintenance works to critical water infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as demining and repairs at the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station between Marinka and Oleksandrivka and repairs to houses in Avdiivka. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a protest in front of the General Prosecutor’s Office, where it saw protestors clash with police officers...

Representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in an OSCE-supported two-day regional seminar “Combatting financing of terrorism: best practices within the OSCE region”. The event concluded in Ashgabat on 18 September 2018.

An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar on applying a risk-based approach to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism for some 80 representatives from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Financial Monitoring Committee and the second-tier banks concluded on 18 September 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...