News and press releases

VIENNA, 20 July 2017 – The mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk was extended by three months to 31 October 2017 following a consensus decision today by participating States at the OSCE Permanent Council...

VIENNA, 20 July 2017 – Recognizing that shared challenges require common solutions, Italy’s Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2018 will work to capture the ‘authentic spirit of Helsinki’ and encourage a sense of responsibility and solidarity on the part of each of the OSCE’s 57 participating States to address the multitude of security threats facing the region, Italy’s Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said today as he addressed the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on the upcoming Chairmanship’s priorities.

COPENHAGEN, 20 July 2017 – The three officers of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions – Chair Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain), Vice-Chair Ivana Dobesova (Czech Republic) and Rapporteur Kyriakos Kyriakou-Hadjiyianni (Cyprus) – today issued the following statement regarding the one-year anniversary of Turkey’s state of emergency...

Journalists from Turkmenistan’s media, judges from the supreme, city and district courts, lawyers from the bar association and participated in an OSCE-supported training course on the journalists’ rights and duties on 19-20 July 2017 in Ashgabat...

VIENNA, 20 July 2017 – On the first anniversary of the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet in Ukraine, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called on the national authorities in all OSCE participating States to do their utmost to end impunity for attacks and murders of journalists...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, however more explosions in Donetsk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission confirmed a report of a civilian fatality from Staromykhailivka. It observed multiple impact sites in Zolote-4/Rodina. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Shchastia where the SMM was again denied access and its unmanned aerial vehicle spotted anti-tank mines.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Berkhivka. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to the Mykhailivka-Shchastia Thermal Power Plant high-voltage power lines near Berdianka. It also facilitated and monitored repair works to water pumps in Yashchykove and Krasnyi Lyman. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control in Uspenka and Marynivka. The Mission monitored an ongoing protest in Kherson...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) co-organized an event on the development of globally applicable principles and recommendations for civil registration and identity management in Manila from 17 to 19 July 2017. At the technical seminar, organized in partnership