News and press releases

VIENNA, 2 July 2019 – Leveraging economic and environmental activities to foster dialogue, build trust and reduce tensions, was the focus of a discussion held in Vienna today amongst OSCE participating States and experts from the field...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM saw damage to houses due to shelling in Pikuzy and in Avdiivka. Small arms fired in direction of SMM unmanned aerial vehicle in Khreshchatytske. The SMM continued to monitor activities related to disengagement at Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violations of withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Luhansk region and in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs and the operations of critical civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its freedom of movement was also denied near non-government-controlled Shevchenko, Sosnivske and Tavrycheske...

MINSK, 2 July 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 2 July 2019...

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 increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week...

An advanced train-the-trainer course on the identification of potential foreign terrorists fighters (FTFs) at the borders was organized by the Transnational Threats Department’s Border Security and Management Unit with support of the Government of Turkey for six newly selected border officers from Greece, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey, from 24 to 29 June 2019 in Istanbul...

The SMM continued to monitor activities related to the disengagement process at Stanytsia Luhanska. Inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the Mission saw that the most forward position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces remained empty; it saw two men in military-type clothing present at the most forward position of the armed formations. The SMM also continued to observe representatives of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine conducting demining activities, as well as members of the armed formations dismantling parts of facilities next to their checkpoint. Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 28 and 29 June, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Between the evenings of 29 and 30 June, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of a man injured due to shelling in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district and observed fresh craters there. The SMM saw damage caused by small-arms fire to a residential building in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. Small-arms fire was assessed as aimed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying over the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in a government-controlled area of Luhansk region. Restrictions to the SMM’s access continued in the disengagement areas. Its freedom of movement was also denied near non-government-controlled Veselohorivka and Oleksandrivske...

Following Estonia’s parliamentary elections on 3 March 2019, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published its final conclusions. The election was run in a professional and efficient manner, with widespread public confidence in most stages of the process.

Profiling and risk assessment for law enforcement and border control officers at aviation checkpoints was the focus of an OSCE-organized practical training course that is taking place from 1 to 5 July 2019.

The office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities has gathered a group of international experts, researchers and professionals in the field of multilingual education to develop tools to support multilingual education in Central Asia. The Regional Expert School on Multilingual and

A five-day training course aimed at further strengthening the capacity of Tajikistan to counter terrorist financing was organized from 25 to 29 June 2019 in Khujand, Tajikistan...

TIRANA, 1 July 2019 – Albania’s 30 June local elections were held with little regard for the interests of the voters in a climate of political standoff, said observers with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in a preliminary statement of their findings...

On 29 June, the SMM received a Note Verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine notifying that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had completed disengagement in the agreed disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska.

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. • The Mission observed demining activities and removal of concrete blocks and other objects inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The SMM followed up on reports of a woman injured due to shelling in Oleksandrivka. • It saw damage caused by gunfire to and near civilian houses and a church in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and Pikuzy. • An SMM long-range UAV was lost in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region. • The Mission saw weapons in violations of withdrawal lines in a government-controlled area in Luhansk region. • The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate the operations of critical civilian infrastructure. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its freedom of movement was also denied near Novoazovsk and Kozatske, and in areas near the border with the Russian Federation, all in non-government-controlled areas.*

VIENNA/BRATISLAVA- 29 June 2019- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) visited Vienna and Bratislava from 27-28 June to brief the Permanent Representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group countries, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak on the results of the Co-Chairs’ recent visit to the region and their recent consultations with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Moscow and Washington, DC.

Press Statement of Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Sajdik on the conduct of disengagement from the agreed area at Stanytsia Luhanska

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. • The Mission saw demining activities inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and further withdrawal of forces and hardware. • The SMM saw fresh craters and damage to houses due to shelling in Pikuzy. • Small-arms fire was assessed as aimed at SMM unmanned aerial vehicles near Sakhanka and Staromykhailivka. • The SMM saw anti-tank mines near Talakivka and Pikuzy, including some for the first time. • The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near non-government-controlled Starolaspa, Shevchenko and Verkhnoshyrokivske.*

BRATISLAVA, 28 June 2019- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák, met with Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov of the Russian Federation and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America, acting also on behalf of Minsk Group Co-Chair Stéphane Visconti of France, and with Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

On 27 June, the SMM was flying a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over government- and non-government-controlled areas of southern Donetsk region. At 23:18, while the UAV was flying near Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 93km south of Donetsk), on-board systems indicated that the temperature of the UAV engine had reached critically high levels and it began to rapidly lose power and altitude. While attempting a controlled descent in an unpopulated area, at 23:22, the SMM lost contact with the UAV...

A group of journalists from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River took part in a two-day workshop organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 27 to 28 June in Chisinau. The workshop aimed to enhance their understanding of the specifics of reporting on diversity and national minorities. Representatives of the Moldovan Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations and Equality Council joined the event...

A five-day OSCE-supported training seminar on the detection of forged travel documents and identification techniques concluded on 28 June 2019 in Aktau, Kazakhstan. Nineteen coast guard officers of Kazakhstan’s Border Guard Service under the National Security Committee took part in the course. The

BRATISLAVA/COPENHAGEN/VIENNA, 28 June 2019 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) George Tsereteli and OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella regret the continuing political tension in Albania and have made the following statement:..

VIENNA, 28 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, paid tribute today to the killed journalists of the media outlet the Capital Gazette on the first anniversary of the horrific shooting in Maryland, USA.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro supported a four-day capacity building meeting of the Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO) Local Branch Officers (LBOs) that was held from 24 to 27 June in Žabljak.

Twenty-four female leaders from the border security and management sector graduated from a staff course at the OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) on 27 June 2019 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It was the sixth course designed and delivered specifically for female leaders by the College since its inception a decade ago.

• The Mission observed the beginning of the disengagement process at the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The SMM saw fresh damage from gunfire to a civilian house in Dokuchaievsk and to a pig farm near Novoluhanske. • It saw anti-tank mines near Petrivske, some for the first time. • The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure, including to water pipelines and powerlines. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere.

More than 30 women MPs from North Macedonia and South-Eastern Europe enhanced their knowledge on gender-sensitive parliaments and use of public funding for gender equality during the OSCE-supported event that ended on 27 June 2019 in Skopje.

At 12:00 on 26 June, the SMM observed the beginning of the disengagement process at the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area.

VIENNA, 27 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called upon the authorities of Tajikistan to investigate reports that a journalist’s family members were intimidated and to reconsider withdrawal of press accreditation for Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent in Dushanbe.

To commemorate the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June, the Coalition against Torture (CAT), with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, held a series of events in the cities of Bishkek and Osh.

KYIV, 26 June 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:

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer Luhansk region. • Small arms were fired in the vicinity of the SMM, and other civilians, in Donetsk city and of an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle near Zolote. • The SMM followed up on a boy injured from the detonation of unexploded ordnance in Holmivskyi. • The Mission saw fresh craters near Vodiane and Molodizhne, and again saw the presence of mines near Vodiane, Travneve, Holmivskyi and Nyzhnie Lozove. • The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water pipelines in Luhansk region and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewere.*

A capacity building workshop for Central Asian states entitled “Strengthening National, Sub-Regional and International Capacities to Prepare for and Respond to Deliberate Use of Biological Weapons” in the framework of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) was conducted from 26 to 27 June 2019 in Bishkek. The workshop was organized by UNODA’s Implementation Support Unit of the BWC in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the Ministry of Economy of Kyrgyzstan...

WARSAW, 26 June 2019 – Eradicating all forms of torture and putting survivors’ rights at the centre of focus must become a priority of countries across the OSCE region, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said on today’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

KYIV, 26 June 2019 – The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Yaşar Halit Çevik, welcomed the willingness expressed at a recent meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group to disengage from the agreed area at Stanytsia Luhanska, and reiterated the Mission’s full readiness to monitor the disengagement process...

VIENNA 24 June 2019 – The OSCE has the framework, the platform and the tools needed to address today’s complex security challenges. What is needed to make effective use of those tools are political will, seeking new opportunities for dialogue and new ways of communicating and negotiating, all keynote speakers agreed at today’s opening session of the Annual Security Review Conference (ASRC).

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. A girl was injured by shelling in Horlivka. It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line, including in training areas in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The SMM saw anti-tank mines near Krasnohorivka and Vodiane, some for the first time. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its freedom of movement was also restricted on a road near non-government-controlled Staropetrivske and at a checkpoint of the armed formations near Novoazovsk.

The OSCE Presence in Albania signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Prosecution Office of Tirana and the Albanian State Police, respectively, on 24 June 2019 in Tirana...

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.

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN, 25 June 2019 – The 13th annual OSCE Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) seminar began today in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

Anti-corruption screening of national regulatory acts and identifying corruption risk factors were the focus of a five-day training course, which concluded on 21 June 2019 in Dushanbe.

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 21 and 22 June the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Between the evenings of 22 and 23 June, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. Two men were injured by shrapnel in Horlivka and Vesele, and a woman was injured and a house damaged by gunfire in Chermalyk. The SMM saw fresh damage from gunfire to a residential house in Pikuzy. Small-arms fire was assessed as aimed at an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle on two occasions near Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and Pervomaisk, including in the vicinity of a patrol. The SMM saw an anti-personnel mine, tailfins from exploded mortar rounds and remnants of exploded grenades between Popasna and Pervomaisk, some for the first time. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. The SMM continued to follow up on hardship faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line. It saw the body of a man who reportedly died of natural causes while queuing at the entry-exit checkpoint north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. The Mission saw people apply for “LPR passports” in Kadiivka to be able to later apply for Russian Federation passports. The SMM monitored the Kyiv Pride 2019 march in Kyiv. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its freedom of movement was also restricted at checkpoints of the armed formations near Zaichenko, Yuzhna Lomuvatka and Verkhnoshyrokivske.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized a three-week training course from 10 to 29 June 2019 in Tashkent, targeting some 200 junior and mid-level female managers from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan...

The Fourth International Summer School for Junior Diplomats from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Mongolia, supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, is taking place from 24 to 29 June 2019 in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan...

The OSCE completed its third cascade training conducted for Tajik border officials from 17 June to 22 June 2019 in the town of Khorog, Tajikistan. The training was the last of a series of similar courses conducted earlier this year in the Khatlon and Sughd regions of Tajikistan. All courses were conducted by national experts of the Tajik Border Troops who are alumni of previous OSCE courses.

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier visited Tajikistan from 18 to 22 June 2019, where he continued to promote the adoption of multilingual education that achieves a balance between ensuring that minorities are able to learn in their own languages and making them

NUR-SULTAN, 24 June 2019 – An OSCE-organized week-long simulation exercise on how to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking kicks off today at the Regional Hub for Countering Global Threats in Nur-Sultan. More than 70 professionals from law enforcement, labour inspectorates, border and migration authorities, prosecutorial offices, NGOs and public social services from 17 OSCE participating States are participating in the live-action training...

An OSCE-supported train-the-trainer course on effective teaching skills for representatives of the legal profession concluded on 22 June 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The second Model OSCE conference in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded on 22 June 2019 in Banja Luka. Over 35 participants from Serbia, Croatia and the host country BiH gathered to enhance their theoretical and practical knowledge about the history, role and functioning of the OSCE and the work of its Permanent Council and field operations, particularly with regards to conflict prevention...

A high-level government delegation from Uzbekistan, supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, is attending the 22nd Diplomatic Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), from 18 to 24 June 2019 in The Hague...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed two residential houses damaged by shelling in government-controlled Chermalyk. The SMM observed about 160 explosions and about 4,600 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire in areas south-east of government-controlled Popasna. The SMM saw 30 multiple launch rocket systems in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its freedom of movement was also denied in non-government-controlled areas of southern Donetsk region at checkpoints near Novoazovsk, Naberezhne and in Kozatske.*