News and press releases

Members of Parliament, parliament service staff and representatives from the government and civil society organizations participated in an oversight simulation in Mavrovo from 23 to 25 November 2018 to learn about and practice how to organize public hearings in the parliament...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • Access for the SMM remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district, Novolaspa and near Lozove*. • It continued to monitor queues of civilians at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. • The Mission monitored a public gathering in Ivano-Frankivsk commemorating events at Maidan.

A team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the  final report of the ODIHR election assessment mission for the October 2017 parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic during their visits to Prague and Brno from 20 to 23 November

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), Lamberto Zannier, during his visit to Ashgabat and the Dashoguz Region from 20 to 23 November 2018, agreed with...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on a civilian injured by small-arms fire in Olenivka. It observed fresh damage caused by shelling in a residential area of Zolote-5/ Mykhailivka. The SMM observed military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area and recorded ceasefire violations while positioned near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted at a compound in Starohnativka. It monitored delays for civilians at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. The Mission observed a convoy of trucks labelled “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation” in Luhansk city...

Developing women’s entrepreneurship through innovation and investment was the focus of an international conference organized by the Association of Business Women of Uzbekistan, Tadbirkor Ayol, with support from the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and several other domestic and international organizations on 23 November 2018 in Tashkent...

How to enhance the implementation of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security- a landmark document adopted in 1994 highlighting the governance of the security sector and the role of armed and security forces in democratic societies – was the focus of a symposium held on 22 and 23 November 2018 at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin...