News and press releases

Summary The SMM recorded no ceasefire violations in Donetsk or Luhansk regions. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Inside the disengagement area near Zolote, an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle observed people during evening

COPENHAGEN, 13 August 2020 – Disturbed by reports of excessive force following Sunday’s presidential election in Belarus, including the use of rubber bullets, water cannons, stun grenades and mass arrests, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli called today for authorities in Minsk to halt the repressive tactics and fully uphold international human rights standards. He also stressed that protests should be nonviolent...

A two-day online high-level event focusing on the rights of young people, the Samarkand Forum on Human Rights, was held on 12 and 13 August 2020. The meeting, supported by the OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Uzbekistan, was attended by representatives of the OSCE Secretariat, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and other OSCE field operations. The event was co-organized with the Government of Uzbekistan represented by the National Human Rights Centre of Uzbekistan, the UN Country Team and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The Samarkand Forum on Human Rights is the continuation of the Asian Forum which took place in 2018 in Samarkand.

Summary The SMM recorded four ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (compared with one in the previous reporting period) and one in Luhansk region (compared with none in the previous reporting period). The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and

COPENHAGEN, 12 August 2020 – To address challenges such as armed conflicts, climate change, widespread poverty and inequality, it is necessary to actively include youth, as well as women and minorities, in decision-making mechanisms, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) said Wednesday at the Samarkand Human Rights Web Forum...

Summary The SMM recorded one ceasefire violation in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. (In the previous reporting period the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations in both regions). The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske.

VIENNA / TIRANA, 11 August 2020- Ahead of tomorrow’s International Youth Day, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Special Representative on Youth and Security, Keisi Seferi, said that amid the challenging times of the COVD-19 pandemic, this was an opportune moment to strengthen inclusive youth engagement for global action to the benefit of comprehensive security...