News and press releases

MINSK, 25 April 2016 – OSCE’s engagement in the environmental sphere contribute to sustainable development- mapping of radiation risks, wildfire containment and co-operation between Aarhus Centres- in areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy, said Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Yurdakul Yigitguden at an international conference in Minsk today marking 30 years since the disaster...

BELGRADE, 25 April 2016 – The 24 April early parliamentary elections in Serbia offered voters a variety of choices and fundamental freedoms were respected, although there was biased media coverage, an undue advantage for incumbents and a blurring of the distinction between state and party activities, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. The election administration performed its duties efficiently and generally enjoyed the trust of electoral stakeholders, they said...

BISHKEK, 25 April 2016 – A three-day OSCE-supported orientation seminar for some forty members of parliament and new parliamentary staff on the role and functions of Kyrgyzstan’s 120-seat legislature, the Jogorku Kenesh, concluded today at the Suparu ethno-complex outside Bishkek...

The SMM recorded an increased number of ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared to the previous day. The Mission conducted crater analysis in Donetsk city. It observed weapons at holding areas and noted weapons absent from them. The SMM continued to monitor long queues at entry-exit checkpoints near the contact line. The Mission monitored one border area not controlled by the Government. The SMM followed up on reports of an alleged arson attack on a vehicle in Kharkiv.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded a lower level of violence, with half the number of explosions compared to the previous day. In Luhansk region, the SMM noted a similar number of ceasefire violations in comparison to the previous day. The Mission continued to observe a number of weapons in Luhansk city, in violation of withdrawal lines. It noted that numerous weapons were missing from holding areas. The SMM did not experience any specific freedom-of-movement restrictions in the Donbas for the first time in a month. In Kyiv city and Kherson region, the Mission monitored public gatherings...

WARSAW, 22 April 2016 Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), welcomed the UN Human Rights Committee’s decision yesterday on human rights defender Azimjan Askarov’s complaint, calling on Kyrgyzstan to release Askarov and overturn his sentence...

On 21 April 2016 at 07:29hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 43 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services. All of the 43 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 15:18hrs on 21 April...