News and press releases

A 4-module specialized training program organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo for 49 officers of the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK) on combating corruption and increasing police integrity concluded today in Prishtinë/Priština...

A three-day train-the-trainer course for Albanian participants on countering terrorist financing was organized in Vienna from 27 February to 1 March 2019 by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Programme against Money Laundering (UNODC/GPML)...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area and noted that a piece of unexploded ordnance previously observed near the road inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area had been removed. The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at checkpoints near Popasna, Verkhnoshyrokivske and in Staromykhailivka...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded a workshop for the promotion and implementation of the 2019 Community Cohesion Action Plan on 1 March 2019 in Trebinje.

VIENNA, 1 March 2019 – The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on 20 February and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 21 February to discuss preparations for a meeting of the leaders in the near future, including possible topics for discussion. The Co-Chairs also held discussions with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in their respective capitals. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk...

16 representatives of the Akimats (regional administration) of 14 regions of Kazakhstan responsible for the work of the regional commissions on combating illegal export, import and trafficking in human beings took part in an OSCE-supported training seminar on combating human trafficking, which concluded on 1 March 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Representatives of law enforcement bodies and non-governmental organizations also participated in the two-day event, which was jointly organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, the United States Embassy in Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

KYIV, 28 February 2019 – OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) and Treasurer Doris Barnett (MP, Germany) have wrapped up a two-day visit to Kyiv where they were on a pre-electoral visit ahead of the observation mission to be deployed for the 31 March presidential election...