News and press releases

The role of media monitoring and regulation, media coverage and the role and impact of social network platforms during elections was the focus of an OSCE Chairmanship-supported presentation by Slovak media expert Rastislav Kužel in the Montenegrin Parliament on 12 March 2019 in Podgorica...

More ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours, were recorded by the SMM. The SMM observed fresh damage from small-arms fire to a functioning school in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and fresh impact craters near populated areas in Zolote-4/Rodina. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations and observed fresh impact craters inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its access was also restricted in non-government-controlled areas, including at checkpoints near Zaichenko and Kreminets and in Izvaryne, an area close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

Some 20 representatives of Ukrainian government ministries and agencies and the donor community participated in a high-level meeting in Kyiv on 12 March 2019 to review progress in co-operation and joint efforts between the OSCE and relevant Ukrainian authorities in combating illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives (WAE) in the country and across its borders...

The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week....

SKOPJE, 12 March 2019 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) formally opened today an election observation mission for the 21 April presidential election in North Macedonia. The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger presented to participating States a report that gives a detailed picture of the physical, sexual and psychological violence suffered by women and girls in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe in the past decades. The presentation was held on 8 March 2019 in Vienna.

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 8 and 9 March, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and significantly fewer in Luhansk region. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 9 and 10 March, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed fresh shrapnel damage in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and fresh impact craters near Popasna. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. It observed for the first time anti-tank mines on a road in the southern part of the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its access was also restricted in non-government-controlled areas, including at checkpoints near Novolaspa and Novoazovsk and at a heavy weapons holding area in Donetsk region. In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a gathering and later saw a car partially covered with soot...