News and press releases

VIENNA, 3 December 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his concerns today regarding the enactment of the law which extends the status of a “foreign agent” to private individuals, and introduces new restrictions on the distribution of information from media outlets categorized as “foreign agents” (known as “media outlets–foreign agents”).

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) together with OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized a two-day visit to Sarajevo on 2 and 3 December 2019 for women from five religious communities and civil society organizations in Kosovo- Islamic, Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish and Protestant Evangelical...

On 28 November at 06:50 (Moscow time), the ninety-first Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of twelve vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All twelve vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 12:38 on 28 November...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized a study visit for representatives of the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) to the Finnish National Audio-Visual Institute (KAVI) on 2 and 3 December 2019 in Helsinki. The visit provided an opportunity for AEM representatives to exchange experiences and learn more about the role and specific activities of the Finnish regulatory body in the area of media literacy...

Following the results of trial monitoring conducted by civil society in Kyrgyzstan, a round table on strengthening a human rights-oriented approach of investigating judges in criminal proceedings took place in Bishkek on 29 November. The event was facilitated by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 29 and 30 November, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 30 November and 1 December, the Mission recorded more ceasefire

On the occasion of International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, marked on 29 November, the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan supported an event bringing together 40 experts, women’s rights activists, lawyers, and civil society representatives. Participants from Aktobe, Almaty, Nur-Sultan, Temirtau and Shymkent attended the event organized as a working breakfast. It took place within the framework of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence...

Seven officials from Montenegro’s international airports took part in a study visit to Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport on 28 and 29 November 2019 to learn about the newest techniques and trends in the field of airport security. The visit was organized by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in close co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro as well as the Dutch Royal Marechaussee...

A three-day training course on methods of investigating drug trafficking crimes on the Internet concluded in Dushanbe on 28 November 2019...

VIENNA, 1 December 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the bringing of criminal charges against businessman Yorgen Fenech for complicity in the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on 16 October 2017...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Small-arms fire occurred close to SMM patrol in non-government-controlled Pikuzy. The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In fields inside the Zolote disengagement area, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle spotted again anti-tank mines, assessed as belonging to the armed formations.

KHARKOV/STANYTSIA LUHANSKA, Ukraine, 29 November 2019 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, together with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar, today visited the repaired and reopened Stanytsia Luhanska Bridge...

“The OSCE recognizes violence against women as both a threat to individuals and a broader security concern,” said the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Maryse Daviet, in an address on 29 November 2019 to the 11th session of the ‘Women’s Parliament’, held within Montenegro’s Parliament, as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence international campaign...

The impact of big data and digitalization on energy, security and society was the focus of the 2nd Vienna Energy Strategy Dialogue, which concluded on 29 November 2019 in Vienna...

The development of bilingual and multilingual education policies and programmes was the focus of a workshop organized by the office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and hosted by Moldova’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Research in Chisinau on 28 November 2019...

SARAJEVO, 29 November 2019 – Arms control, violent extremism and radicalization that leads to terrorism, and cyber security were the focus of “Annual Security Review Days 2019”, a three-day conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which concluded today in Sarajevo...

The emerging threat to the health and safety of society posed by new psychoactive drugs was the focus of a regional meeting organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with the country’s Ministry of Health and the Police Directorate, on 26 and 27 November 2019 in Podgorica...

Promoting economic connectivity through regional stability was the focus of an OSCE-supported preparatory meeting of the Regional Technical Groups (RTG) of the Regional Infrastructure: Confidence Building (RI-CBM) Measures held on 29 November 2019. The event was organized within the framework of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan.

The second futsal tournament "Border Co-operation through Unity in Sports" took place on 27 November in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Teams from the State Border Service of Kyrgyzstan, border servicemen of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan, the Operative Border Service Unit of the Russian Federation based in Osh and a team from the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek participated in the event. The tournament aimed at strengthening regional border co-operation.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM saw that some of the previously observed positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and of the armed formations inside the Zolote disengagement area

YEREVAN, 28 November 2019 – During his visit to Yerevan on the occasion of the 15th Anniversary of the Armenian Human Rights Defender’s Institution, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, encouraged authorities to continue promoting a safe and enabling environment for media freedom.

Intelligence-led policing (ILP) as a modern approach to contemporary law enforcement management that combines intelligence gathering and analysis with informed decision-making procedures was focus the of an OSCE workshop in Bishkek on 28 November 2019...

VIENNA, 28 November 2019 – OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger presented two members of permanent delegations representing their countries in the OSCE with a White Ribbon Award in recognition of their personal commitment and achievements in promoting gender equality.

SARAJEVO, 28 November 2019- Following prior successful co-operation with law enforcement agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the OSCE Mission to BiH organized today a workshop on preventing, handling and combating domestic violence for representatives of all police stations in the Canton Sarajevo and the Canton’s Interior Ministry.

Some 40 officials from governmental institutions, law enforcement agencies and civil society associations attended the launch of a Community Policing Project in Karaganda on 27 November 2019. The project,which emphasizes the joint responsibility of the State and civilians in ensuring public security, is supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs....

An OSCE-supported three-day training course on countering transnational crime and identification of potential foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) concluded on 28 November 2019 in Aktau, Kazakhstan...

MINSK, 27 November 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its working groups in Minsk on 27 November 2019:..

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. A woman was injured due to gunfire in government-controlled Marinka. The SMM saw a trench filled with concrete blocks and soil on the road between

The OSCE’s Mission to Moldova organized a two-day training course on access to healthcare by minority groups on 22 November 2019 in Chisinau. More than 25 representatives of the Agency for Interethnic Relations, the Ombudsman’s office and the Council for Preventing and Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Equality completed the course. The course is part of an effort to establish a coalition of public agencies implementing the National Strategy for Consolidation of Interethnic Relations.

The Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE, based in Geneva, published its activity report for the period 2017–2019 on 26 November 2019, following the completion of the mandate of the outgoing Bureau of the Court, headed by Professor Christian Tomuschat, last month...

KYIV, 27 November 2019 – On 25 November the OSCE launched an awareness-raising campaign entitled “End the Silence” that is taking place during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Today, as part of the campaign, the Gender Section of the OSCE Secretariat and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine organized the conference “Gender Based Violence: From Data to Action” where the results of the 2018 OSCE-led Survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women in Ukraine were presented.

Promoting women’s leadership and political participation at the local level was the focus of a Women’s Forum organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Grodno, Belarus, on 27 November 2019. The event brought together a wide range of women leaders to

YEREVAN, 27 November 2019- Concluding a visit to Yerevan, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) welcomed sustained efforts to firmly establish democratic institutions and practices in Armenia...

On 27 November, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro Maryse Daviet congratulated the management, employees and citizens on the anniversary of National Public Broadcaster (RTCG) for 75 years of Radio and 55 years of Television of Montenegro...

National anti-trafficking state agencies, civil society organizations and international experts gathered in Tashkent on 26 November 2019 for a round-table discussion on good practices and challenges in national frameworks to combat trafficking in human beings...

The Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department (SPMU), in close co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, organized an introductory workshop on Intelligence-led policing (ILP) in Tajikistan’s capital on 26 November 2019. Some 28 senior representatives and managers from the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Anti-corruption Agency, the Drug Control Agency and the State Committee for National Security took part...

The prevention and tackling of violence against women and girls was the focus of an international conference, which concluded on 27 November 2019 in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan. The conference was conducted within the framework of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.

Summary Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Petrivske and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. It also observed demining activities and saw that fortifications had

Best practices in conducting undercover operations to investigate corruption at border crossings were explored during a working visit of more than 30 members of the Regional Anti-corruption Platform from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine to the Anti-corruption General Directorate of Romania’s Interior Ministry in Bucharest on 25 and 26 November 2019...

SARAJEVO, 26 November 2019 – On 25 November, the OSCE launched a campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries across South-Eastern and Eastern Europe during the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. The campaign aims to end the silence on violence against women (VAW) by informing the public about the alarming situation, raising awareness of the extent of the problem and offering solutions.

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week. The ninetieth Russian convoy crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk BCP.

BELGRADE, 26 November 2019 – The OSCE Mission to Serbia will present its 2019 Person of the Year Award at a ceremony today in Belgrade. The recipients of this year’s award are: Bojan Cvejić, Web Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief at the daily Danas, Sonja Stonajović Gajić, member of the Managing Board of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCBP) and Aleksandar Ivanović, Director of the Citizen’s Association Monitor from Novi Pazar...

At the initiative of the Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality, the Montenegrin Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced the Government’s intention to pilot gender responsive budgeting in the next cycle of the agro budget within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The initiative, supported by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, was presented at a press conference on 26 November 2019 in Podgorica...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 22 and 23 November, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 23 and 24 November, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in

BRATISLAVA / VIENNA / WARSAW, 25 November 2019 – On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, OSCE leaders called on participating States to step up efforts to end gender-based violence in all spheres of life, including violence and harassment at home and in the workplace.

TIRANA, 25 November 2019 – Today, on the first day of the Annual 16 Days of Activism on against Gender-Based Violence, the OSCE is launching an awareness raising campaign in Albania entitled “End the Silence”. The campaign will take place during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

PODGORICA, 25 November 2019 – To mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, the OSCE is launching a campaign titled ”End the Silence" in South-Eastern Europe and Eastern Europe, based on the results of the OSCE-led Survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women, which was conducted in 2018. The Montenegro survey and this campaign are supported by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro...

SKOPJE, 25 November 2019 – Contributing to the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will launch a new campaign titled ‘End the Silence’. It aims to raise awareness about the issue of violence against women (VAW), focusing primarily on the rights of women.

KYIV, 25 November 2019 – “Gender inequality and violence against women and girls remain core problems of our times. This concerns us all, and we all need to redouble our efforts to address them in line with OSCE commitments,” Ambassador Yaşar Halit Çevik, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, and Ambassador Henrik Villadsen, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU), said today on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women...