News and press releases

STRASBOURG / WARSAW / VIENNA, 21 March 2018. Promoting equality and combating racism are essential to fortify social cohesion and democratic security, the heads of three European human rights institutions said in a joint statement on today’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination...

BERLIN, 21 March 2018 – Germany’s strong support for the OSCE is evident in the high level of commitment seen in its ongoing organization of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 27th Annual Session to be held this summer in Berlin, PA President George Tsereteli said today...

On the occasion of World Social Work Day, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) supported the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo and the Association of Social Workers of the Federation of Bosnia in organizing the conference “Social Work in Education”, which concluded on 20 March 2018 in Sarajevo...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Pikuzy. It observed damage to civilian properties in residential areas of Sakhanka caused by shelling. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including at checkpoints near Olenivka and Staromykhailivka.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Lomakyne. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to a pumping station near Artema and continued to facilitate access for workers to and from the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM monitored a peaceful gathering in Odessa....

VIENNA, 20 March 2018 – “The decision of the European Court of Human Rights shows clearly that the rights to liberty and security, as well as to freedom of expression of two Turkish journalists, Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan, have been violated,” the OSCE media freedom representative Harlem Désir said in a reaction on the Strasbourg court ruling...

THE HAGUE, 20 March 2018 – OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier today launched a call for nominations for the 2018 Max van der Stoel Award. The award of 50,000 euros recognizes extraordinary and outstanding achievements in improving the position of national minorities in OSCE participating States. The deadline for nominations is 1 May 2018...

CHISINAU, 20 March 2018- The OSCE Mission to Moldova will hand over four sets of technical equipment to the Military Observers of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces on behalf of the Republic of Moldova, of the Transdniestrian region, Russian Federation and Ukraine at the meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) on Thursday, 22 March. The equipment, consisting of notebooks, colour printers, GPS tracking devices and photo cameras, was purchased at the request of the JCC to improve information exchange between the Military Observers and the JCC about the situation in the Security Zone...