News and press releases

VIENNA, 6 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today denounced the fine imposed on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for not complying with a Russian law regulating the activities of media outlets branded by the authorities as “foreign agents.”

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed fresh damage from gunfire to a house in Yasynuvata. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted again near Zaichenko and Bezimenne, as well as in Kruta Balka and at a weapons permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Starolaspa and Marinka. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS), including through monitoring the security situation around the station; it heard explosions close to the station despite explicit security guarantees. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure. It monitored the situation of civilians at the entry-exit checkpoint near the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and noted again that the wooden ramps on the broken part of the bridge were unstable...

KYIV, 6 July 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, today welcomed the reduction in the number of ceasefire violations that has occurred since recommitment to the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, which came into effect shortly after midnight on 1 July 2018...

BERLIN, 6 July 2017 – Hundreds of parliamentarians from North America, Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa are gathering in Berlin for the 27th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, taking place 7-11 July...

On 5 July 2018 a meeting of the Coordination Council for the Reform of the Criminal-Executive System of the Kyrgyz Republic entitled "Assessment of the Health Status of Convicts and Individuals held in Detention: Problems and Solutions" took place in Bishkek on 5 July 2018. The Coordination Council aims to reform Kyrgyzstan’s penitentiary system.

VIENNA, 5 July 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today sounded the alarm on the gravity and deterioration of media freedom in the OSCE region, as he presented his biannual report to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, one year after his appointment...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Zhovte. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area and near the Zolote disengagement area, where an SMM camera recorded two explosions in close proximity. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was also restricted near Izvaryne at the border with the Russian Federation as well as near Zaichenko, Shevchenko and Bezimenne. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Vasylivka, Starolaspa and Sosnivske. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure. The SMM followed up further on the killing of a member of the Roma community in Berehove in Zakarpattia region...