News and press releases

VIENNA, 4 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, published today a legal review of the Austrian draft Law on Diligence and Responsibility Online. The review was officially sent on 23 May 2019 to the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, and to the Ministry for the EU, Art, Culture and Media.

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 31 May and 1 June, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 1 and 2 June, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. A woman was injured by shrapnel in Pikuzy. Residential buildings were damaged by small-arms fire and shrapnel in Chermalyk and Dokuchaievsk. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. The SMM 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. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at a border crossing point outside government control and at a railway station near Voznesenivka, at a checkpoint in government-controlled Bohdanivka, and at checkpoints in non-government-controlled Zaichenko and Novoazovsk. The SMM saw a gathering of members of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Chernivtsi...

TIRANA, 3 June 2019 – Visiting Albania, which will chair the OSCE in 2020, this year’s OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, reiterated today in Tirana Slovakia’s commitment to supporting the country in preparing its 2020 OSCE Chairmanship...

KYIV, 3 June 2019- The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, today made the following statement:...

KYIV, 3 June 2019 – Margareta Kiener Nellen and Kyriakos Hadjiyianni, the Chair and Rapporteur of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee, respectively, today wrapped up a five-day mission to Ukraine, which included visits to the contact line in the east of the country, a centre for internally displaced persons, and medical facilities. Following the visit, which was supported by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), the PA delegation stressed that renewed conflict resolution efforts, freedom of movement for civilians, and concrete humanitarian measures are urgently needed in Ukraine...

BRATISLAVA, 3 June 2019 – OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) spoke today at the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, calling on both organizations to reinforce their partnership to achieve a safe and secure Europe without divisions.

A specialized training course on appropriate and effective responses to gender-based violence for Romanian police and prosecutors, organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department/Strategic Police Matters Unit, was held from 27 to 31 May 2019 in Poiana Brasov, Romania...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. A man sustained shrapnel injuries in Donetskyi. The Mission saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to civilian properties in Vesele. The SMM observed for the first time anti-tank mines near Krasnohorivka and Staromykhailivka. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as to enable the recovery and transfer of the body of deceased Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel from non-government- to government-controlled areas in Luhansk region. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Zaichenko...

VIENNA, 31 May 2019 – The Informal Working Group on Scales of Contribution under the leadership of Lukáš Parízek, Slovak State Secretary and Special Representative for the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship, today discussed new opportunities to finding a durable solution to the question of OSCE scales of contribution...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission saw fresh damage from shelling to civilian properties in non-government-controlled Sentianivka. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near non-government-controlled Pervomaisk. The Mission observed trench extensions in and near the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at checkpoints near non-government-controlled Zaichenko and Verkhnoshyrokivske...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 31 May 2019 – The 10th Annual Central Asian Forum on Internet Development concluded in Almaty today. The Forum was held with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan in co-operation with the International Centre for Journalism MediaNet and the Konrad-Adenauer- Stiftung in Kazakhstan.

A training course on the latest trends in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to fight trafficking in human beings concluded on 31 May 2019 in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The course was organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in co-operation with the Entity Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres (JPTCs) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)...

An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar on modern methods of identifying, suppressing and investigating corruption offenses concluded on 31 May 2019 in Nur-Sultan...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM followed up on reports of two injured civilians (including a child), as well as observed damage from shelling to residential houses in Horlivka and Yasynuvata. The SMM saw anti-tank mines for the first time near non-government-controlled Sentianivka and Olenivka. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. In Lviv, the SMM followed up on reports of an arson attack at an Alfa-Bank branch. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Novoazovsk...

Practitioners and experts from OSCE field operations, civil society and international organizations discussed gender-specific challenges to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of movement in the OSCE area during an expert meeting in Warsaw on 30 May 2019. The meeting was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

YEREVAN / BAKU, 30 May 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), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk, visited the region from 27 to 30 May...

VIENNA, 30 May 2019 – The OSCE bid farewell to the Chief Monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, at a meeting of the Permanent Council in Vienna today with addresses by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovakia’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger...

COPENHAGEN, 29 May 2019 – Some 50 OSCE parliamentarians from 23 countries will deploy to Kazakhstan for the 9 June early presidential election...

CHISINAU, 29 May 2019 – The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Claus Neukirch, today welcomed the decision of the Government of the Republic of Moldova to adopt the “Instruction on the certification of civil status facts occurred and recorded in the localities on the left bank of the Dniester and in Bender municipality”...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas, as well as a new trench and position inside the latter. The SMM saw anti-tank mines for the first time near non-government-controlled Olenivka. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted twice at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske...

An OSCE-supported meeting on the presentation of expert study on freedom of expression and policies to counter incitement of hatred speech took place on 29 May 2019 in Nur-Sultan...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission saw fresh damage from small-arms fire to civilian properties in non-government-controlled Dokuchaievsk and Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas...

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...

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 24 and 25 May, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 25 and 26 May, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. The SMM saw anti-tank mines for the first time near government-controlled Luhanske. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at border crossing points outside government control near Sievernyi and Izvaryne, and at a checkpoint in non-government-controlled Novoazovsk. The SMM monitored a gathering in front of a church in Tovtry, Chernivtsi region...

BRATISLAVA, 27 May 2019 – Sustainable energy is indispensable for growth, prosperity and security in the OSCE region. Participants of the 2nd Preparatory Meeting of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum (EEF) today in Bratislava called for stronger inter-institutional co-operation and an inclusive dialogue among all relevant stakeholders, focused on economic progress and security. They stressed that energy co-operation, good governance and connectivity in the digital era are key prerequisites for a successful energy transition...

More than 140 criminal justice practitioners and representatives of the OSCE participating States, OSCE Partners for Co-operation and international organizations explored how to effectively counter cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime at a conference in Vienna on 24 May organized by the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the 2019 Slovak OSCE Chairmanship and the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to civilian infrastructure. • The SMM facilitated and monitored the transfer of persons convicted before the conflict from non-government- to government-controlled areas in Luhansk region. • The SMM’s freedom of movement continued to be restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere.

VIENNA, 25 May 2019 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today strongly denounced the shooting of journalist Hakan Denizli in Turkey. Denizli, founder of the local daily Egemen, was shot in the leg after two persons opened fire while he was leaving his home in Adana.

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Mariupol, Volnovakha and near Khrustalnyi. • The Mission observed ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. • The Mission continued to observe hardship faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line. • The SMM 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.* • In Chernivtsi, the Mission saw a gathering in relation to the change of religious affiliations of local churches.

Forty young people from all over the Western Balkans gathered on 23 May 2019 in Tirana to participate in the Youth Trail 2019...

An OSCE-organized seminar on media law reforms in the digital age for representatives of Turkmenistan’s parliament, the Mejlis, the Office of the Ombudsperson, relevant ministries, research and educational institutions, as well as Turkmenistan’s print, online and broadcast media took place in Ashgabat on 23 and 24 May 2019

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro held a two-day train-the-trainers workshop for parliamentary staff on communication and presentation skills, which concluded on 24 May 2019 in Podgorica. The event was in organized in co-operation with the Department for Human Resources of the parliament.

OSLO, 24 May 2019 – Arctic countries need to maintain concerted efforts to safeguard the High North as an area of peaceful co-operation, while all OSCE countries must commit to the protection of the nature and biodiversity of the Arctic, a delegation of OSCE parliamentarians highlighted today in a visit to Oslo...

TIRANA, 24 May 2019 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 30 June local elections in Albania. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the country’s authorities...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure and to allow for the transfer of a body across the contact line. The Mission observed for the first time anti-tank mines near Pyshchevyk and mine hazard signs near Nelipivka. A man died from natural causes at the entry-exit checkpoint in Marinka. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at non-government-controlled checkpoints near Novoazovsk, Kozatske and Oleksandrivske in Donetsk region.

Promoting change in policies, attitudes and training curricula to achieve higher representation of women and members of minorities in justice sector institutions was the focus of an event in Vienna on 23 May 2019, during which the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) launched its paper Gender, diversity and justice.

The democratic control of armed and security forces in the context of the eastern Mediterranean region was the focus of a seminar organized by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and Cyprus from 20 to 24 May 2019 in Larnaca. The discussion brought together more than 60 participants from OSCE participating States and the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation. The participants included senior officers from the armed forces, senior government officials, and representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, academia and civil society...

SARAJEVO, 23 May 2019 – A two-day training course on the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the context of regional and international security, which gathered some 40 participants from seven countries of South-Eastern Europe started today in Sarajevo. The training course is jointly organized by the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the OSCE Mission to BiH...

LONGYEARBYEN, 23 May 2019 – The concrete impact of global warming and the changing nature of the Arctic region are the focus of an OSCE PA visit hosted by the Norwegian parliament this week. In Svalbard, one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, OSCE parliamentarians explored new local realities in the High North and considered how climate change poses security risks for the entire OSCE region...

On 21 and 22 May 2019, representatives of national human rights institutes and ombudspersons from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia and Azerbaijan as well as experts from international organizations and civil society gathered to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Ombudsperson Office in Dushanbe.

BRATISLAVA, 23 May 2019 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák, congratulated Tajikistan on assuming the four-month Chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation, concluding his visit of three Central Asian countries in Tajikistan on 22 May.

Priority recommendations of the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 24 February 2019 parliamentary elections in Moldova call to eliminate gaps and ambiguities in the legal framework for elections and enhance professionalism of mid-level

Politico-military aspects of border security and management in Central Asia were the focus of a meeting of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) under Tajikistan’s chairmanship on 22 May 2019 in Vienna.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Vrubivka. The Mission observed trench extensions in and near the Petrivske disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM 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. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at a non-government-controlled checkpoint near Novoazovsk in Donetsk region.* In Chernivtsi, the Mission saw gatherings in relation to the change of religious affiliations of local churches...

“Towards Regional Economic Connectivity – National Mechanisms for Trade and Transport Facilitation” was the title of an OSCE regional expert seminar that ended in Ashgabat on 22 May 2019...

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented their  final report in Yerevan on the early parliamentary elections in Armenia that took place on 9 December 2018. The findings and recommendations were presented during a series of meetings with

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. A man was injured by small-arms fire in Donetsk city. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Chermalyk. The Mission saw a tank in violation of withdrawal lines in Luhansk city. The SMM 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. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions at a checkpoint near Novoazovsk and a compound of the armed formations in Stare.* The Mission saw a gathering in Kyiv on the occasion of the presidential inauguration...

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.

ASHGABAT, 21 May 2019 – Visiting Turkmenistan today, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák, underlined the strategic importance of Central Asia for Eurasian security.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, led by Head of Office Pierre von Arx, visited the southern provinces of Kyrgyzstan, Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken from 12 to 18 May 2019 to follow up on and plan programmatic activities with local authorities, implementing partners and civil society...