News and press releases

VIENNA, 31 May 2019 – The Informal Working Group on Scales of Contribution under the leadership of Lukáš Parízek, Slovak State Secretary and Special Representative for the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship, today discussed new opportunities to finding a durable solution to the question of OSCE scales of contribution...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission saw fresh damage from shelling to civilian properties in non-government-controlled Sentianivka. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near non-government-controlled Pervomaisk. The Mission observed trench extensions in and near the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at checkpoints near non-government-controlled Zaichenko and Verkhnoshyrokivske...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 31 May 2019 – The 10th Annual Central Asian Forum on Internet Development concluded in Almaty today. The Forum was held with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan in co-operation with the International Centre for Journalism MediaNet and the Konrad-Adenauer- Stiftung in Kazakhstan.

A training course on the latest trends in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to fight trafficking in human beings concluded on 31 May 2019 in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The course was organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in co-operation with the Entity Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres (JPTCs) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)...

An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar on modern methods of identifying, suppressing and investigating corruption offenses concluded on 31 May 2019 in Nur-Sultan...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM followed up on reports of two injured civilians (including a child), as well as observed damage from shelling to residential houses in Horlivka and Yasynuvata. The SMM saw anti-tank mines for the first time near non-government-controlled Sentianivka and Olenivka. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. In Lviv, the SMM followed up on reports of an arson attack at an Alfa-Bank branch. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Novoazovsk...

Practitioners and experts from OSCE field operations, civil society and international organizations discussed gender-specific challenges to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of movement in the OSCE area during an expert meeting in Warsaw on 30 May 2019. The meeting was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).