News and press releases

MINSK, 3 March 2016 – The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ertugrul Apakan welcomed the decisions on mine action and prohibition of live-fire exercises, endorsed yesterday in Minsk by the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG)...

The SMM observed a reduced number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous day. The situation in Luhansk region was relatively calm, with many ceasefire violations related to live-fire exercises. The Mission observed a number of weapons outside holding areas and storage sites – some of them in violation of the respective withdrawal lines. It facilitated and monitored repair works on both sides of the contact line. The SMM followed up on media reports on the alleged blockade of Russian Federation-registered trucks...

SUMMARY Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCP). The overall cross-border traffic decreased at both BCPs. OPERATIONAL REMARKS The OM is currently operating with 21 permanent international staff members (incl.

VIENNA, 2 March 2016 – During his visits to Tbilisi and Tskhinvali in advance of the 35th round of the Geneva International Discussions, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Guenther Baechler, handed over a report relating to a case of three persons who disappeared shortly after the 2008 conflict in Georgia.

DUSHANBE, 2 March 2016 – An OSCE-supported seminar focusing on the use of a technologically advanced passport verification system, the International Civil Aviation Organization’ Public Key Directory (ICAO PKD), concluded today in Dushanbe...

The SMM observed a significantly higher number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region than the previous day, and mostly training-related ones in Luhansk region. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The Mission facilitated and monitored repair work on both sides of the contact line. The SMM encountered three freedom-of-movement restrictions, both in areas of Donetsk region not controlled by the Government.* The SMM noted reduced waiting times for crossing points on the contact line. It monitored public gatherings in Kyiv and Odessa...

Good practices and the challenges in developing and implementing ethics reform were the focus of discussions during an event co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 1 March 2016 in Brussels as part of Ukraine Week in the European Parliament. Organized