News and press releases

BERLIN, 6 July 2017 – Hundreds of parliamentarians from North America, Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa are gathering in Berlin for the 27th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, taking place 7-11 July...

On 5 July 2018 a meeting of the Coordination Council for the Reform of the Criminal-Executive System of the Kyrgyz Republic entitled "Assessment of the Health Status of Convicts and Individuals held in Detention: Problems and Solutions" took place in Bishkek on 5 July 2018. The Coordination Council aims to reform Kyrgyzstan’s penitentiary system.

VIENNA, 5 July 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today sounded the alarm on the gravity and deterioration of media freedom in the OSCE region, as he presented his biannual report to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, one year after his appointment...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Zhovte. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area and near the Zolote disengagement area, where an SMM camera recorded two explosions in close proximity. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was also restricted near Izvaryne at the border with the Russian Federation as well as near Zaichenko, Shevchenko and Bezimenne. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Vasylivka, Starolaspa and Sosnivske. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure. The SMM followed up further on the killing of a member of the Roma community in Berehove in Zakarpattia region...

From 3 to 5 July 2018 the OSCE Mobile Training Team delivered in Skopje an interactive course on identifying foreign terrorist fighters for country’s 24 border and security services officers...

An OSCE-supported training seminar on building the capacity of water management lecturers in sustainable water management concluded on 5 July 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

Election administration and the work of the media during election campaigns were at the centre of discussions during two workshops held in Tirana on 3 and 4 July 2018 respectively, with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Presence to Albania.