News and press releases

YEREVAN, 21 November 2017 – The protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the further development of effective measures to counter hate crime are central to preventing discrimination against Christians and members of other religions or beliefs, Armenia’s Foreign Minister and OSCE Officials said today at the official opening of a high-level conference in Yerevan, co-organized by the Austrian 2017 OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) with the support of the Armenian Foreign Ministry...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM saw weapons in violation and beyond withdrawal lines in Kalmiuske, and near Buhaivka and Ternove. The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Zalizne, Shchastia, Vesela Hora, and near Krasnyi Lyman. It visited three border areas not under government control. The SMM monitored a peaceful gathering in Odessa...

COPENHAGEN, 21 November 2017 – Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain), Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, expressed concern today over the case of Taner Kiliç, Chair of Amnesty International Turkey. Kiliç, accused of being a member of the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), is set to go to trial Wednesday...

The OSCE Academy in Bishkek, a well-established regional centre for post-graduate education, capacity building and research, worked closely with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek in the summer of 2017 to provide additional broad-ranging internship opportunities for its students...

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 17 and 18 November compared with the previous reporting period and more in Luhansk region. In both regions the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations between the evenings of 18 and 19 November compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske and Zolote disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere.* The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Zalizne and Artema. It visited three border areas not under government control. The Mission observed public gatherings in Odessa and Kyiv...

COPENHAGEN, 20 November 2017 – Welcoming the outcomes of the United Nations climate change conference (COP23), which wrapped up Saturday in Bonn, the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s economic and environmental committee today called for a more robust commitment by all OSCE countries to make progress on addressing climate change...