News and press releases

On 7 and 8 June 2018, the Programme Office in Dushanbe hosted a delegation from the Japanese Permanent Mission to the OSCE in Vienna. The main purpose of the visit was to assess the effectiveness of projects funded by Japan and implemented by the Office in the past several years.

The OSCE and the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) have published a study on 8 June 2018 analysing asset recovery mechanisms in Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova and Romania...

MINSK, 11 June 2018- Highly toxic rocket fuel components completely removed in Belarus on 11 June 2018. The representatives of the OSCE, Belarus Defence Ministry, the Contractor, international experts and donors signed the final certificates of the joint project closure today in Minsk...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. In Sakhanka, the SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty and observed fresh damage to civilian infrastructure. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside and near the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was also restricted at a checkpoint in Maiorsk and in Naberezhne. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. The Mission continued to monitor the security situation around the Donetsk Filtration Station. It also continued to monitor and facilitate repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema. The SMM followed up on reports of an incident at a Roma community camp in Kyiv.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a boy injured while handling unexploded ordnance and civilians injured in Holubivske; it observed damage to civilian infrastructure in Dokuchaievsk and Pivdenne. In Pivdenne, the SMM observed the presence of Ukrainian Armed Forces in residential areas and heard about the lack of basic services in the area. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was also restricted in Voznesenivka near the border with the Russian Federation and in Pivdenne, where the SMM heard warning shots nearby. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Holmivskyi and Sofiivka. The Mission continued to monitor the security situation around the Donetsk Filtration Station and facilitated the departure of workers from the station. It continued to monitor and facilitate repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema. The SMM visited two railyards in areas not under government control.

CHISINAU, 8 June 2018 – The Personal Representative of the Italian OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism, Rabbi Andrew Baker, concluded his three-day trip to Moldova today, which is a follow-up to his first visit to the country last year. Over the course of his visit, Rabbi Baker met with representatives from the government, the parliament, and the Jewish community to discuss the progress of the implementation of the Action Plan for 2017-2019 in the field of Holocaust education and remembrance. The Action Plan was adopted by the Moldovan government on 22 May 2017.

VIENNA, 8 June 2018- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today sent a letter to the United States authorities to express concern about the seizure of a journalist’s records as part of an ongoing investigation into the leaking of classified information and to enquire whether the seizure respected national and international standards on the protection of journalistic sources...