News and press releases

VIENNA, 25 May 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today reiterated that foreign media outlets and representatives should not be included on sanctions lists, following a recent decision by the Ukrainian authorities with regard to the information agencies RIA Novosti Ukraine and Rossiya Segodnya...

A two-day training course on preventing violent extremism among youth was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe in close co-operation with UNESCO on 24 and 25 May 2018 on the premises of the OSCE Programme Office...

A team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Malta from 22 to 25 May 2018 to present the final report of ODIHR’s election assessment mission for the June 2017 early parliamentary elections. The report’s

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Small arms were again fired near an SMM patrol, near Molodizhne. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Troitske, Svatove, Marinka, Kruta Balka and Zaitseve. It also followed up on reports of a collapsed bridge and injuries to civilians near Ivanivka, and reports of shelling near a residential area of Talakivka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including near Voznesenivka at the border with the Russian Federation, at a checkpoint near Khreshchatytske, and near Ivanivka. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Teple, Kalynove, Vrubivka, Vodiane and Bohoiavlenka. It continued to monitor and facilitate the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to the Donetsk Filtration Station to facilitate repair works and keep it operational; it heard ceasefire violations in the area, despite security guarantees. The SMM also continued to monitor and facilitate repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema and high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a public gathering.

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Bureau for Interethnic Relations of the Republic of Moldova jointly organized an induction training course in Vadul lui Vodă, Moldova, to introduce the country’s civil servants to key concepts of...

On 24 May 2018 at 06:31 (Moscow time), the seventy-fifth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 16 vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All 16 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 14:33 on 24 May...

The links between respecting human rights and countering violent extremism and radicalization that may lead to terrorism were explored during a training workshop for police officers from the Spanish municipality of Fuenlabrada, from 22 to 24 May 2018. The course was organized by the OSCE Office for