News and press releases

Policing public order based on democratic principles was the focus of a roundtable discussion organized by the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in Yerevan on 14 November 2019 for 11 high-level Armenian police officers and five Members of Parliament from the Standing Committee on Defence and Security...

WARSAW, 15 November 2019 – Marking the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November with the publication of its annual hate crime dataset, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) urges countries to implement hate crime legislation that has existed on their law books for many years...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM was notified by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and by the armed formations in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region that the withdrawal of

The OSCE Mobile Training Team delivered an interactive training course on the identification of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) for 25 first- and second-line Serbian border officers as well as officials of the country’s Security Information Agency from 12 to 14 November 2019 in Belgrade...

LUND, Sweden, 14 November 2019 – OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella has addressed this morning a high-level conference organized by the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Lund Recommendations on the effective participation of national minorities in public life...

On 14 November at 06:45 (Moscow time), the eighty-ninth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 14 vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All 14 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 13:07 on 14 November...

TASHKENT, 14 November 2019- Judges of the highest criminal courts from 23 countries gathered for a two-day OSCE-wide conference on the role of the judiciary in combating trafficking in human beings that concluded today. The participants discussed current human trafficking-related challenges and ways to foster the implementation of OSCE commitments. Strengthening the role of the judiciary as a part of the criminal justice system as a way to effectively combat trafficking in human beings was also discussed.

Modern approaches to education on journalism were the focus of an OSCE-organized seminar which took place in Ashgabat on 13 and 14 November 2019. The two-day event brought together journalism teachers from four institutions of higher education, journalists from Turkmenistan’s television, radio, print and online media outlets as well as representatives of the Ombudsperson’s Office, Ministries of Education and other relevant institutions...

Strengthening rule of law-compliant criminal justice responses to terrorism was the aim of a two-day seminar which concluded on 14 November 2019 in Tirana. Over 40 Albanian practitioners from relevant government agencies, the Bar Association and civil society representatives attended the seminar...

The fourth Entrepreneurship Support Centre (ESC) in Kyrgyzstan opened on 12 November 2019 in Karakol...

Lund, Sweden,14 November 2019 – OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier today opened a conference marking the 20th anniversary of The Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life in Lund, Sweden...

An OSCE-organized seminar aimed at improving collaboration on human rights promotion and protection in Turkmenistan was held in Ashgabat on 12 and 13 November 2019...

The annual meeting of ‘“Police Persons of Trust’”, organized by Montenegrin Police Directorate with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, the Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector (CIDS) from Norway and Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), was held on 13 November 2019 in Podgorica...

An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion dedicated to the formation of inclusive society in Kazakhstan took place on 14 November 2019 in Nur-Sultan...

Over 40 representatives of ministries and agencies, international organizations, environmental NGOs and the OSCE-supported Aarhus Centers met at a roundtable discussion on 13 November 2019 in Dushanbe to discuss the first draft of the National Action Plan (NAP) for implementation of the Aahrus Convention on environmental protection in Tajikistan. The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe...

BRATISLAVA, 13 November 2019 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Miroslav Lajčák, welcomed today’s conclusion of the withdrawal of forces and hardware from the Petrivske disengagement area.

On 12 November, the SMM received a letter from the armed formations in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, notifying that they had completed the withdrawal of forces and hardware in the agreed disengagement area near Petrivske.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM continued to observe the disengagement process at the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM continued to observe demining activities inside the

A two-day training course on the fight against illegal trade in art and cultural property concluded on 13 November 2019 in Sarajevo. Organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in co-operation with the French Embassy in BiH, the training course brought together representatives of law enforcement agencies from across BiH...

The OSCE Mission to Moldova has handed over a report on a full technical assessment of the Gura Bicului-Bychok Bridge, which connects the two banks of the Dniester/Nistru River, to the Moldovan Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. It was re-opened by Chisinau and Tiraspol on 18 November 2017, after having been closed to vehicles for 25 years, as part of the Transdniestrian settlement process...

Summary Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM observed further withdrawal of Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Petrivske disengagement area. The Mission continued to observe demining activities inside the

VIENNA, 12 November 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his deep concern today regarding the re-arrest of the journalist and writer Ahmet Altan.

MINSK, 12 November 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, issued the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its working groups in Minsk on 12 November 2019:

Enhancing water diplomacy as a way of improving transboundary water co-operation is the focus of a workshop that is taking place on 12 and 13 November 2019 in Strasbourg, France.

In response to a request from the Media Trade Union, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized a workshop for local public broadcasters on social media outreach on 11 and 12 November 2019 in Podgorica...

More than 50 representatives of religious communities, local authorities and civil society organizations from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) gathered to discuss freedom of religion or belief at a conference on 12 November 2019 in Sarajevo, organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH.

A training seminar for international observers aimed to enhance participants’ knowledge of the rights and obligations of election observers concluded in Nur-Sultan on 12 November 2019. The seminar was based on using key OSCE/ODIHR tools related to election observation...

An OSCE-supported seminar on the protection of freedom of expression and judicial regulation of hate speech took place on 12 November 2019 in Nur-Sultan. The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan co-organized the event with the NGO Legal Media Centre and the Academy of Justice under the Supreme Court.

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...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 8 and 9 November, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Between the evenings of 9 and 10 November, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in

VIENNA, 11 November 2019 – Human trafficking is at its core a financially motivated crime, and yet anti-trafficking efforts in the area of financial investigations are falling short across the OSCE region. In response to this, the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings presented today a groundbreaking compendium of resources for financial investigators based on a review of publications across the globe together with a practical step-by-step guide...

With the aim to improve parliamentary oversight, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized a workshop for Members of Parliament on 5 November and for Parliamentary service staff on 6 and 7 November in Podgorica...

KYIV, 9 November 2019 – The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Yaşar Halit Çevik, welcomed the beginning, today, of the withdrawal of forces and hardware from the Petrivske disengagement area...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Small-arms fire was assessed as directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near non-government-controlled Khrystove. The Mission observed demining

Shortly after 12:00 (Eastern European Time) on 9 November, the SMM observed the beginning of the disengagement process at the Petrivske disengagement area. SMM patrols positioned near the disengagement area saw the launch of flares by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the armed formations, signaling both sides’ readiness to disengage...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. A boy was injured by a stun grenade in non-government-controlled Ilovaisk. The Mission continued to observe demining activities inside the Zolote

Challenging intolerance and discrimination by raising awareness about the complexity of migrant integration and promoting a human rights-centred approach to migration were the topics of a workshop in Brussels on 7 and 8 November 2019. “Governments and politicians, through their policies and

How youth engagement can combat violent radicalization was the topic of a two-day workshop on 7 and 8 November 2019 in Budva. The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, together with the Ministry of Sports and Youth, organized the event...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) organized a panel discussion entitled: Women in Media — Safety Challenges and Ways Forward on 8 November 2019 in Sarajevo. The event was organized in co-operation with the Balkan Investigative Regional Reporting Network (BIRN Hub).

KYIV, 8 November, 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made today the following statement to the press with regard to the decision of the TCG on the start of the withdrawal of forces and hardware in the area of Petrivske:

An OSCE regional training workshop dedicated to criminal intelligence databases and IT structures supporting intelligence-led policing (ILP) took place on 7 and 8 November 2019 in Skopje.

The third stage of an OSCE-supported train-the-trainer course on detecting forged travel documents and identification techniques for 20 border service officers concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 8 November 2019.

KYIV, 8 November 2019 – On behalf of the Trilateral Contact Group, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the TCG, Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made today the following statement to the press:

The fourth Aarhus Centre in Kyrgyzstan officially opened on 5 November 2019 in Naryn. The new Centre is part of the co-operation between the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the University of Central Asia.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk region and Luhansk regions. The Mission observed demining activities inside the Zolote disengagement area. Inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the Mission continued to

INTERPOL’s Works of Art Unit delivered the second awareness-raising and basic training course on its systems on 6 and 7 November 2019 in Podgorica.

MOSCOW, 7 November 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, condemned today the targeting of six journalists in Spain.

A lecture series on the structure, principles and values of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe took place from 5 to 7 November 2019 at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. Around 40 students specializing in International Law and International Relations from the Institute of International Relations and the International University for Humanities and Development attended the event.

An OSCE-supported technical meeting on rational use and protection of water resources of the Zhaiyk (Ural) River, including assessment of climate change on water resources, took place on 7 November 2019 in Oral, Western Kazakhstan.

On 7 November at 06:51 (Moscow time), the eighty-eighth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 13 vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All 13 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 12:28 on 7 November.