News and press releases

WARSAW, 28 October 2018 – Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today joined United States and international leaders in condemning Saturday’s attack on a Pittsburg synagogue and offering condolences to the families of 11 people killed in the shooting.

VIENNA, 28 October 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the results of yesterday’s referendum in Ireland calling for a removal of blasphemy provisions from the national Constitution.

At 01:18 on 27 October, while flying over an area near Kalynove (non-government-controlled, 72km east of Donetsk), an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted a surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) and a fuel truck east of Nyzhnokrynske (non-government-controlled, 66km east of Donetsk).

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed damage to a civilian property in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district. It recorded small-arms fire inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Khoroshe. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema, power lines in Berehove, houses in Marinka, Krasnohorivka and Avdiivka, as well as to enable demining activities near Nyzhnoteple.

VIENNA, 27 October 2018- Today, following a court decision to impose an extremely high fine on The New Times online news outlet, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, called on authorities of the Russian Federation to protect freedom of the media and preserve pluralism of opinion in the country as an essential element of an open and democratic society.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties as a result of a mine explosion near Zalizne. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Verkhnoshyrokivske and Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to power lines near Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, as well as to enable demining in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Novotroitske. The Mission observed a convoy of trucks marked, “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation”, in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.

MALAGA, Spain, 26 October 2018- Growing economic and human interconnectedness have triggered developments that Europe and the Mediterranean region can only successfully govern if countries join forces in action-oriented dialogue and co-operation, say participants at 2018 OSCE Mediterranean Conference closing today in Malaga...