News and press releases

Working groups on gender issues from five regions across Tajikistan met on 31 October 2017 to create a central co-ordination body at a roundtable meeting organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.

Washington, D.C., 31 October 2017 – A two-day conference organized by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre on the role of armed and security forces in democratic societies concluded on 31 October 2017 in Washington, D.C.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of two civilian casualties in Kostiantynivka. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and observed calm situations in all three while present. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including at a permanent storage site and near Kachkarske. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Teple, Bakhmut, Lysychansk and Nikishyne. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to power lines between Novozvanivka and Troitske and of essential infrastructure in Shchastia and Artema. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. It also monitored a public gathering in Kyiv calling for political reform. With respect to local elections in newly formed territorial units, the SMM monitored the security situation around polling stations in Odessa region...

Mainstreaming gender in the legislative process in Montenegro was the focus of a workshop for 32 members and secretaries of Montenegro’s parliamentary committees held in Podgorica on 30 and 31 October 2017. The event was organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro with expert support from the OSCE

The fifth annual Model OSCE Conference was organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 26 to 29 October 2017 in Vadul lui Voda, bringing together 35 students from Balti, Chisinau, Cahul, Comrat and Tiraspol to participate in a simulation exercise that engages youth in conflict resolution, thereby honing their negotiation skills...

An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar on the application of the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) Protocol to the Aarhus Convention in Kazakhstan for some 60 representatives of government entities, the private sector, Aarhus Centres and environmental NGOs concluded on 31 October 2017 in Astana.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 27 and 28 October compared with the previous reporting period and more between the evenings of 28 and 29 October compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 27 and 28 October compared with the previous reporting period and a similar number of ceasefire violations between the evenings of 28 and 29 October compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of a casualty in Donetsk city. The SMM observed fresh damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Marinka, Avdiivka, Pikuzy, Oleksandrivka and Sakhanka. The Mission continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including near Metalist (twice).* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Luhanske and in Bakhmut. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to power lines between Novozvanivka and Troitske. The SMM visited a border area not under government control. The Mission continued monitoring the administrative boundary line between Kherson region and Crimea. With respect to ongoing local elections, the SMM monitored the security situation around polling stations in Lviv region and government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, where it observed calm situations.