News and press releases

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 29 and 30 March, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 30 and 31 March, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and fewer in Luhansk regions. The SMM followed up on reports of an injured man in Verkhnotoretske. It observed fresh damage near and in residential areas in Dokuchaievsk and Hlybokyi. The Mission saw military presence inside the Petrivske disengagement area and recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. In addition, the Mission was denied access at a checkpoint near Zaichenko.* The SMM observed a calm situation in several regions in Ukraine during the Presidential Elections.

KYIV, 1 April 2019 – Sunday’s presidential election in Ukraine was competitive, voters had a broad choice and turned out in large numbers. While the existing legal framework offers a sound basis for holding democratic elections, it was often not implemented in good faith by many stakeholders in the run-up to election day. This negatively impacted trust in the election administration, the enforcement of campaign finance rules, and the effective resolution of election disputes, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today...

A four-day train-the-trainer course on appropriate and effective responses to gender-based violence for officials from Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania was held from 25 to 29 March 2019, at the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) Headquarters in Budapest, Hungary...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe held the fourth co-ordination meeting dedicated to the implementation of Tajikistan’s 2020 National Strategy and Action Plan on Prevention of Violent Extremism in Dushanbe on 29 March 2019. It was organized together with Tajikistan’s General Prosecutor’s Office.

SKOPJE, 1 April 2019 – A co-ordinated response to existing and emerging transnational threats is the focus of an OSCE-supported regional conference taking place today and tomorrow in Skopje. The event was opened by Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of North Macedonia, and Ambassador Clemens Koja, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

VIENNA, 1 April 2019- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák yesterday met in Bratislava with Minsk Group Co-Chair Andrew Schofer, of the United States of America, acting also on behalf of Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov of the Russian Federation and Stéphane Visconti of France, and Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. The Chairperson-in-Office was briefed on the results of the meeting between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on 29 March in Vienna, the first meeting of the two leaders under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

VIENNA, 1 April 2019 – Ahead of the first OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting under the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship, which will focus on tolerance and non-discrimination in Vienna, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovak Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Miroslav Lajčák called for more dialogue, respect and closer co-operation in combating intolerance, discrimination and hate crimes...