News and press releases

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek supported the bringing together of more than 80 representatives of religious organizations and communities of Kyrgyzstan for a tree-planting event in the capital on 6 April 2019. Some 100 trees were planted during the event, which aimed at enhancing inter-confessional dialogue, promoting inter-religious tolerance and raising public awareness about the denominations represented in the country.

Some 70 experts and practitioners involved in multilingual education shared their experiences at a conference on “Multilingual education in the OSCE region: experiences and perspectives for Moldova” on 11 April 2019 in Chisinau. The conference was organized by the office of the OSCE High

VIENNA, 11 April 2019 – The benefits and potential of biometric technology in countering terrorism, and how to responsibly use and share collected biometric data, are being explored at a two-day conference which launched today in Vienna. More than 200 decision-makers, policy-makers, experts in biometrics and private sector representatives from the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation are taking part...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by probable mortar or automatic grenade launcher rounds to residential houses in Pervomaisk. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. It observed that the entry-exit checkpoint near Marinka had re-opened following its closure on 6 April. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at a compound in Luhansk city and at a checkpoint near Yasynuvata...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the BiH Ministry of Defence organized a visit to the new ammunition testing laboratory in a Technical Workshop for Repair and Destruction of Ammunition (TROM Doboj) on 11 April 2019 in Doboj...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Two members of the State Emergency Services of Ukraine injured and one reportedly dead after the detonation of an explosive device near Maiorsk. The SMM observed damage from mortar rounds to residential houses in Trokhizbenka and damage from gunfire to residential houses in Pikuzy. It recorded ceasefire violations and military presence inside the Petrivske and Zolote disengagement areas, as well as mines seen for the first time in the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM observed long queues of civilians at a checkpoint near Olenivka and saw that the entry-exit checkpoint in Hnutove had re-opened. The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM observed, for the first time, mines and unexploded ordnance near Krasnohorivka and Debaltseve. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure and demining activities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. In addition, the Mission was denied access near non-government-controlled Shevchenko, Hryhorivka and Novoazovsk...

MINSK, 10 April 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 10 April 2019:...