News and press releases

A five-day OSCE-supported train-the-trainer course on the detection of forged travel documents and identification techniques for 21 border service officers concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 26 April 2019.

An OSCE-supported two-day roundtable discussion on the development of renewable energy sector in Turkmenistan took place in Ashgabat from 25 to 26 April 2019.

The first in a series of four OSCE-supported training seminars for representatives of the government, civil society and judiciary on human rights protection mechanisms concluded in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl Region on 26 April 2019.

BRATISLAVA, 25 April 2018- It was with deep concern that the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship received the news about the decree signed by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, on simplifying the procedure of granting Russian citizenship to Ukrainians residing in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations and saw fresh craters near the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. The Mission saw mines near Vesela Hora and Novoselivka, unexploded ordnance near Debaltseve and mine hazard signs near Novohryhorivka, Horlivka and Chermalyk, some for the first time. The Mission saw the body of a deceased man at the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk and continued to observe hardships faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at checkpoints of the armed formations in Kreminets, as well as in southern Donetsk region near Verkhnoshyrokivske, Oleksandrivske, Novoazovsk and Zaichenko.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe donated 25 computers and a printer to the Judicial Training Centre of Tajikistan’s Supreme Court to enhance the quality of training conducted for judges and prosecutors. The handover ceremony took place on 19 April 2019 in Dushanbe.

A study visit to Armenia for Tajik state officials was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe from 15 to 19 April 2019. The aim of the study visit was to provide the officials with the opportunity to learn about innovative strategies for economic growth.