News and press releases

An OSCE-supported two-day regional workshop on promoting border management and security was held on 7 and 8 May 2018 in Ashgabat.

KRAMATORSK, 13 May 2018 – Following a two-day visit to areas close to the frontline in eastern Ukraine, a delegation of senior OSCE parliamentarians led by Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) called for urgent steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation of people impacted by the armed conflict.

The Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, Tuula Yrjölä, met with students of Gymnasium No. 74 in Dushanbe on 10 May 2018 together with representatives of the State Traffic Police Department to raise their awareness of traffic rules.

A one-day meeting of the informal Central Co-ordination Body resulted in putting together 14 recommendations aimed at finding solutions for issues that impede the advancement of women in Tajikistan. It was organized by the OSCE Programme Office on 4 May 2018 in Dushanbe.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Leonove near the border with the Russian Federation and at a heavy weapons holding area in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Avdiivka and Roty. The Mission continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa water company employees; it heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Almazna. In Kyiv, the SMM observed a group of people preventing a public discussion from taking place, and followed up on reports of vandalism to the office of a non-governmental organization. In Odessa, the SMM followed up on reports of an attack against a member of an anti-Maidan group and observed a gathering in front of the Russian Federation Consulate-General.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed fresh damage caused by shelling in a residential area of Myronivskyi. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area, as well as near the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa water company employees; it heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Almazna and a water pumping station near Artema.

STRUGA, 11 May 2018 – Over the past two days more than 160 participants, including media actors, governments and civil society organizations from across the South-Eastern European region gathered in Struga to discuss the most pressing media freedom challenges and provide recommendations for the improvement of press freedom and the media environment in the region.