News and press releases

SARAJEVO, 25 September 2017- A group of 20 law and criminology students from seven universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) completed in Sarajevo today the second annual edition of the OSCE Mission’s Extracurricular Workshop on International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice.

BERLIN, 25 September 2017 – The 24 September parliamentary elections in Germany were a strong demonstration of the country’s commitment to democratic processes and provided an opportunity for voters to freely express their will, concluded international observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today following their first-ever election observation mission in the country. The efficiency and professionalism of the election administration, as well as a high level of public confidence in the overall integrity of the electoral process, contributed to the conduct of democratic elections.

An OSCE-supported seminar on the protection of freedom of expression and policies to counter hate speech on the internet took place on 25 September 2017 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

NEW YORK CITY, 23 September 2017 – The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met separately and then jointly with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, on 22-23 September on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk....

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrivske, and recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove and Olenivka. The SMM saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of withdrawal lines near Poltavka. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted near Myrne, an area outside government control in Luhansk region, a large number of tanks and artillery pieces, as well as other hardware, which appeared to be well-maintained, refurbished and loaded with ammunition. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of the thermal power plant in Shchastia and water pipelines in Zolote. It continued to monitor the situation of schools and kindergartens near the contact line on both sides. The SMM continued to monitor a gathering in Kyiv....

VIENNA, 23 September 2017 – “Brutal killing of an American-Syrian journalist and her mother, both reporting about the situation in Syria, highlights the dangers that critical journalists face in their work,” said today OSCE Media Freedom Representative Harlem Désir...

VIENNA, 22 September 2017 –The release from house arrest of Mykola Semena, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been noted by OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, who however condemned the conviction and imposition of a ban on “public activities”.