News and press releases

CHISINAU/TIRASPOL, 1 September 2018 – Two Vehicle Registration Offices were opened in the left-bank cities of Tiraspol and Ribnita today by the Chief Negotiators in the Transdniestrian Settlement Process, from Moldova and Transdniestria, respectively. This event marks the beginning of the implementation of the so-called “licence plate” agreement signed by the Sides on 24 April 2018 to establish a mechanism for allowing for access of vehicles from Transdniestria to international road traffic...

VIENNA- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir expressed serious concern today about arrests of two journalists and search of their property in Northern Ireland...

Following a recommitment to the ceasefire as of 00:01 on 29 August, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period, however 85 per cent of violations in Donetsk region were attributed to training in non-government-controlled areas. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian fatality near Dokuchaievsk. It heard ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as again in Zaichenko and near Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Horlivka, Starolaspa and Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable demining and repairs to water infrastructure in Luhansk region, at a gas distribution station in Krasnohorivka and the South Donbas water pipeline between Avdiivka and Yasynuvata. The SMM continued to see a fire near Berezove and noted that the entry-exit checkpoint near Novotroitske remained closed; it facilitated adherence to the ceasefire to enable firefighting activity near Berezove. In Kyiv the SMM monitored a gathering in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation. The SMM monitored gatherings in commemoration of the “Ilovaisk battle” in Lviv and Chernivtsi...

Strengthening skills in recognizing and investigating hate crimes was at the centre of a train-the-trainer workshop for women police officers organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the European Network of Police Women (ENP) from 29 to 31 August

International human rights standards guaranteeing the freedom of peaceful assembly and good assembly policing practices were the focus of a train-the-trainer workshop for representatives of Ukrainian law enforcement training institutions and police, which took place in Kyiv from 27 to 31 August 2018. The training was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

A two-day train-the-trainers course for Kyrgyz government officials on countering terrorist financing was organized in Vienna on 30 and 31 August by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Programme against Money Laundering (UNODC/GPML) and the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (EAG)...

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded a five-day ‘train-the-trainer’ course on identification of domestic violence for community policing units. The course was held from 27 to 31 August 2018 at the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety in Vushtrri/Vučitrn...