News and press releases

VIENNA, 14 August 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his concern today over the closure of the TV channel Aprel in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and called for respect for diversity in the media...

To support media outlets in moderating online comments, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized in Podgorica a six-day training course for five media outlets from Montenegro from 12 to 17 August 2019 in Podgorica...

To support media outlets in moderating online comments, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized a six-day training course for five media outlets from Montenegro from 12 to 17 August 2019 in Podgorica.

• Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The SMM saw that demining works continued inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line, including multiple launch rocket systems near non-government-controlled Khrustalnyi. • The SMM monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs of and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure, as well as to enable the removal of unexploded ordnance between the entry-exit checkpoint in Pyshchevyk and the checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued; the Mission observed the presence of mines close to the Petrivske disengagement area and inside the one near Zolote. SMM unmanned aerial vehicles were subjected to signal interference.*

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 OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe co-supported the Pamir Invest Forum in Khorog and Ishkashim in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) on 6 and 7 August 2019. The two-day forum brought together investors and foreign entrepreneurs to learn more about investing and implementing socio- economic programmes in the GBAO.

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 9 and 10 August, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Between the evenings of 10 and 11 August, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. In Troitske, two women sustained injuries due to shelling, prior to the recommitment to the ceasefire. The SMM saw that demining works continued inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area on 10 August. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines at the train station in Bakhmut. The SMM monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable the drilling of wells near Raivka and facilitate the operation of essential civilian infrastructure. The Mission observed a calm situation at the crossing point between Chonhar and Crimea and in nearby areas. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including at non-government-controlled checkpoints near Verkhnoshyrokivske, Zaichenko, Oleksandrivka and Kreminets...