News and press releases

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.*

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 21 June 2019 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák, concluded today his trip to the three OSCE field operations in South-Eastern Europe with a visit to the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

Ensuring a gender perspective in legislative drafting was the topic of an OSCE-supported two-day seminar, organized with the support of the parliamentary Gender Equality Committee for the expert service of the parliament of Montenegro, as well as for parliamentarians on 20 and 21 June in Podgorica.

VIENNA, 21 June – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today published the Commentary to the Draft Information Security Concept of Kyrgyzstan for 2019-2023 commissioned by his Office and prepared by Dmitri Golovanov, a legal counsel from the Russian Federation. The Commentary was shared with the Kyrgyz authorities on 22 May 2019.

VIENNA, 21 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his concern about the verdict of the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court, which sentenced journalist Haşim Söylemez on charges of ‘aiding a terrorist organization without being a member’, to 6 years and 3 months in prison.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It saw military presence inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM saw self-propelled howitzers in violation of withdrawal lines near Starolaspa. It spotted anti-tank mines near Marinka, some for the first time. The Mission saw a fresh crater near a petrol station in Khreshchatytske. 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 Shevchenko, Nova Marivka, and in Yasne.

VIENNA, 21 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today deplored the violent incidents and mistreatment of media workers during yesterday’s demonstration in Tbilisi, and said that journalists’ safety must be ensured at all times.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized a roundtable discussion on 10 years of media self-regulation in Tajikistan, its opportunities and challenges on 21 June 2019 in Dushanbe. The event brought together 70 participants, including representatives of the parliament of Tajikistan, chief editors and journalists, as well as international organizations working in the field of media development.

The annual International Summer School “Sustainable Development of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Member States through Dialogue and Digitalization” is taking place from 18 to 23 June 2019 in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan...

An OSCE-supported training seminar on the application of the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) for some 40 government officials and private sector and civil society representatives took place on 21 June in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

ULAANBAATAR, 21 June 2019 – Efforts that promote tolerance, inclusion, inter-faith and inter-cultural understanding must be critical components of any strategy to prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT), said speakers at the opening of a high-level inter-regional conference in Ulaanbaatar yesterday.

Thirty-two representatives of Kyrgyzstan’s State Border Service from across the country have successfully completed a five-day training course on verification and recognition of falsified documents...

The Second Annual Summer School of Young Politicians concluded on 19 June 2019. It was organized by the Legal Prosperity Foundation and supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek...

SARAJEVO, 21 June 2019 – Concluding his two-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák, stressed the need to explore all avenues to get the country back on track, including through adopting key reforms...

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) hosted consultations between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on 20 June in Washington. The Co-Chairs met separately and then jointly with the Ministers. They also briefed Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker on the situation on the ground and the status of settlement talks. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also took part in these meetings.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. One civilian was injured by shelling in Donetsk city. The Mission saw fresh damage from shelling to facilities part of a children’s hospital in Donetsk city. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas, including multiple launch rocket systems near Miusynsk. The SMM saw for the first time anti-tank mines near Shyrokyne and unexploded ordnance near Novooleksandrivka. 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 area and elsewhere. Its freedom of movement was also denied at checkpoints near Novoazovsk and Novolaspa, in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region...

The Albanian government, the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Swiss Embassy signed on 18 June 2019 an agreement for implementing a project to support the Albanian parliament and citizen engagement in decision-making.

VIENNA, 20 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his deep sorrow following the death of journalist and blogger Vadim Komarov, who died last night in the hospital. He had been in a coma since suffering a violent attack on 4 May in Cherkasy, Ukraine.

Journalists from Turkmenistan’s print, online and broadcast media participated in an OSCE-organized training course on how to cover political, economic and humanitarian issues, which took place in Ashgabat from 18 to 20 June 2019. It provided practical tips on how to cover key national and international events, including elections, visits and parliamentary sessions and how to present economic news in a format understandable to audiences

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, together with UNHCR and the government authorities, donors, partner countries, the Council of Europe Development Bank, participated in the 14th Regional Housing Programme (RHP) steering committee meeting on 18 June 2019 in Podgorica.

SARAJEVO, 20 June 2019 – The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) presented in Sarajevo today the results of the OSCE-led Survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

A three-day workshop on how to establish an Advance Passenger Information (API) system for preventing the movement of foreign terrorist fighters and enhancing aviation security was held in Yerevan from 17 to 19 June 2019. Some 20 representatives from relevant Armenian agencies involved in passenger processing, together with police and customs officials and members of the civil aviation authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended the event.

WARSAW, 20 June 2019- On World Refugee Day and amid ever more restrictive interpretations of international legal standards to protect people in search of international protection, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) calls on governments to do more to ensure the primacy of human rights for all those seeking safety in our countries, so far away from home...

SARAJEVO, 19 June 2019 – The 6th South East Europe Media Conference, organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), concluded today in Sarajevo. The event gathered around 200 journalists and media professionals from the region and abroad to discuss media developments, safety of journalists, the legal environment for media freedom, and sustainable solutions for public service broadcasters...

SKOPJE, 19 June 2019 – On a trip to the Republic of North Macedonia, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, today in Skopje, congratulated North Macedonia on its successes over the last year, in particular the Prespa Agreement on the issue of the country’s name and achieved reforms...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage from shelling to residential houses in Donetsk city. Small-arms fire in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle flying east of Shyrokyne, in areas between positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and of the armed formations The SMM observed small-arms fire impacts inside the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska and recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement area near Zolote. The SMM saw for the first time a piece of unexploded ordnance in an asphalt road near Marinka. 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...

MINSK, 19 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 after the meeting of the TCG and its working groups in Minsk on 19 June 2019:..

BRATISLAVA, 19 June 2019- Trends, challenges and opportunities related to inter-state security in the ICT/cyber space were the focus of a conference that brought together more than 200 representatives of governments, the private sector, civil society, academia and the UN for an OSCE-wide conference on 17 and 18 June 2019. The conference, Cyber/ICT Security for a Safer Future: The OSCE’s Role in Fostering Regional Cyber Security, was organized by the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship, in co-operation with the Transnational Threats Department of the OSCE Secretariat...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM again saw damage from gunfire to a functioning school in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, and saw damage from shelling to residential houses in Khreshchatytske. It also observed damage to an agricultural building near Dokuchaievsk and craters in Prymorske and Sosnivske, as well as near Mykolaivka and Zaitseve. Inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the Mission saw an anti-aircraft gun and a trench extension and recorded a ceasefire violation. The SMM spotted anti-tank mines near Nyzhnie Lozove and Vesela Hora. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement area and elsewhere...

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.

Some 30 young community activists from all seven provinces of Kyrgyzstan participated in an intensive three-day training workshop on the prevention of violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT). The event concluded on 18 June 2019 in Issyk-Kul, northern Kyrgyzstan.

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 14 and 15 June the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Between the evenings of 15 and 16 June, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. Five civilians from one family were injured and their house damaged from shelling in Marinka; the SMM also saw damage from shelling to a house in Donetsk city and small-arms fire damage to a residential building in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. Small-arms fire in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near non-government-controlled Prymorske. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. The SMM saw long queues at checkpoints along the contact line. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its freedom of movement was also denied at a checkpoint near Novoazovsk and at a weapons storage site, both in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region...

VIENNA, 17 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today welcomed the release from custody of journalist Igor Rudnikov, the editor and founder of the Kaliningrad-based Noviye Kolyosa newspaper, and called on the authorities in the Russian Federation to drop all charges and fully acquit the journalist...

To raise awareness of the effect and consequences of gender-based violence and early marriages, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in partnership with the NGO Centre for Roma Initiatives, and supported by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations and International Organizations in Vienna, organized a three one-day training courses for 48 professionals from police, prosecution, education and social welfare in Nikšić, Podgorica and Berane on 27 May, 3 and 10 June 2019...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in partnership with the Montenegrin Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and the Department for Gender Equality, organized three training modules for gender equality focal points from seven Montenegrin municipalities to enhance their skills as trainers on gender equality in Podgorica...

SARAJEVO, 17 June 2019 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), with the support of the European Union (EU), presented today in Sarajevo a spot report War Crimes Management at the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek organized a five-day training seminar for 20 customs officers from all regions of Kyrgyzstan introducing them to effective ways of tracking illicit drug trafficking, cybercrime, and legalization of criminal proceeds. The event was held at the Regional Training Centre of the World Customs Organization in Kyrgyzstan and concluded on 14 June 2019 in Bishkek.

A five-day training course aimed at further strengthening the capacity of Kazakhstan to counter terrorist financing was organized in Burabay, Kazakhstan, from 11 to 15 June 2019. The training seminar was delivered to participants from the capital and from the country’s Akmola, Aktobe and Karaganda regions.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM saw damage to a functioning school and to a shop in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, to a house in Dokuchaievsk and to two apartments in a residential building in Yasne. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. The SMM monitored a protest against the lack of running water in Kostiantynivka. It spotted military trucks travelling back and forth between a railway station and a warehouse in non-government-controlled Sukhodilsk near the border with the Russian Federation. 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 and elsewhere, including in non-government-controlled areas at checkpoints near Verkhnoshyrokivske and in Prymorske and Sosnivske.

ISTANBUL, 14 June 2019- Concluding his four-day official visit to Turkey, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called on the Turkish authorities to urgently address and reverse current media freedom violations and pressure that journalists face.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM saw damage from shelling to two residential properties and fresh craters in Nova Marivka, as well as damage to a house in Travneve and craters near a gas pipeline near Novoluhanske. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations and observed an extended trench inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw a surface-to-air missile system in violation of withdrawal lines in Khreshchatytske. It saw pieces of unexploded ordnance for the first time in Popasna and Hruzko-Lomivka. 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 and elsewhere.

Bratislava, 14 June 2019- Following a meeting with President Zelensky on 13 June, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák calls on the international community to support the Ukrainian President's constructive steps towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis in and around Ukraine. He also offers the full support of the Slovak Chairmanship in this endeavour.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro supported the State Election Commission (SEC) in developing a strategic work plan identifying key activities for 2019 and 2020 by organizing a three-day workshop from 12 to 14 June in Podgorica. The workshop was attended by five commissioners and ten service staff members...

On 14 June 2019 in Baku, the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities together with the Director of the Port of Baku launched the project Promoting Green Ports and Connectivity in the Caspian Sea Region...

An OSCE-supported four-day regional training seminar on the practical implementation of the Vienna Document 2011 and the implementation of confidence- and security-building measures concluded on 14 June 2019 in Nur-Sultan. Some 30 military officers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia took part in the event.

A four-day specialized training course on appropriate and effective responses to gender-based violence for Bulgarian criminal justice practitioners was held from 10 to 14 June 2019, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria...

Members of the OSCE Mediterranean Points of Contact Network on border security and management completed an intensive and interactive four-day training course on Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems on 14 June 2019 in Bari, Italy...

KYIV, 13 June 2019 – Visiting Ukraine for the second time since taking over the OSCE Chairmanship, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other members of the Ukrainian leadership to explore steps towards a peaceful political solution to the crisis in and around Ukraine as well as to discuss ways to ease human suffering on the ground...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • Two men were injured and a tractor destroyed by a mine explosion in a field south of Popasna. • The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • 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. • It saw two international organization convoys transporting humanitarian aid in Pikuzy and Sakhanka and near Olenivka. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at checkpoints near non-government-controlled Ternove and Novoazovsk...

A two-day national seminar on a whole-of-society approach to countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT), organized by the OSCE and the Government of Georgia, began on 13 June 2019 in Tbilisi. This is the first seminar of the kind organized by the OSCE in the country...