News and press releases

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 19 and 20 April, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 20 and 21 April, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. An 11-year-old girl was injured by shelling in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka on 14 April. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Kamianka. The SMM observed a weapon in a government-controlled area in violation of withdrawal lines. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM’s access was also restricted near Zaichenko. The SMM observed a calm security situation in several regions of Ukraine during the second round of the Presidential Elections...

SKOPJE, 22 April 2019 – Sunday’s presidential election in North Macedonia was well run and fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression were respected, and election day was peaceful, orderly and transparent. However, wide-reaching electoral reform is still very much needed, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today...

KYIV, 22 April 2019 – The presidential election in Ukraine was competitive and held with respect for fundamental freedoms, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. The orderly transfer of power should offer the opportunity for strengthening democratic institutions and their accountability, although the campaign for both rounds lacked genuine discussion of issues of public concern, the statement says...

An OSCE-supported seminar on the mechanisms for the legal regulation and digital security of media on the internet took place on 19 April 2019 in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage from shelling to residential houses in Donetsk city. In Donetsk region, an SMM long-range UAV crashed and an SMM mini-UAV sustained damage from gunfire. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted near Markyne, as well as in Novoazovsk and Dovzhanske, areas near the border with the Russian Federation...

At 2045 hrs, 18 April, the SMM launched a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight over government- and non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. At 0126 hrs, 19 April, while near Vuhledar (government-controlled, 48km south-west of Donetsk), the UAV encountered dual GPS signal interference, assessed as due to jamming...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A man was injured due to the detonation of an explosive device in Fedorivka. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed long queues of civilians at the Stanytsia Luhanska entry exit-checkpoint. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted in non-government-controlled Shevchenko and near Novolaspa and Yasne, as well as near a border crossing point outside of government control in Leonove, Luhansk region...

COPENHAGEN, 19 April 2019 – The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights and humanitarian affairs committee, Margareta Kiener Nellen (MP, Switzerland) today reiterated her full support for efforts aimed at achieving a recommitment to a ceasefire in Ukraine on the occasion of the upcoming Easter festivities...

SARAJEVO, 19 April 2019 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) presented today in Sarajevo its second report on the monitoring of corruption cases before courts in BiH. The report concludes that the judicial response to corruption in BiH is insufficient, particularly with regard to processing of medium and high-level cases...

A capacity-building training course for staff of the Probation body and Settlement colonies was organized in Osh, Kyrgyzstan by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek from 15 to 19 April 2019 on how to support the rehabilitation of persons convicted of crimes related to violent extremism and terrorism...

BRATISLAVA, 19 April 2019- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák today expressed his deep regret that the Trilateral Contact Group and its Working Group on Security Issues were not able to agree yesterday on a recommitment to cease fire in eastern Ukraine on the occasion of the upcoming Easter festivities...

VIENNA, 19 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today strongly condemned the killing of journalist Lyra McKee in Northern Ireland, in the United Kingdom...

Strengthening the capacity of police crisis negotiators from across Kazakhstan was the focus of a five-day training course held from 15 to 19 April 2019 in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Karaganda...

KYIV, 18 April 2019 – The Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) and its Working Group on Security Issues convened this afternoon and evening in the videoconference format.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. A woman was reportedly injured due to shelling in Zaitseve. The SMM saw fresh gunfire damage to inhabited houses in Trokhizbenka and Dokuchaievsk. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed a weapon in violation of the withdrawal lines near Novoluhanske. It saw fresh craters near Novoluhanske, as well as anti-tank mines near Petrivske and Vesela Hora. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions and observed the restoration of the water supply to Dokuchaievsk following the completion of repairs to the Vasylivka water pumping station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted near government-controlled Kamianka and in non-government-controlled areas, including at checkpoints near Bezimenne and Verkhnoshyrokivske and at border crossing points near Izvaryne and Sievernyi.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russian Federation, 18 April 2019 – The evolving nature of the threat posed by terrorists and violent extremists requires enhancing co-operation at all levels, including between parliamentarians, said Chair of the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism (CCT) Makis Voridis (Greece) at today’s opening plenary session of the International Conference on Counter-Terrorism in St. Petersburg...

Lobbying against corruption was the topic of a training event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Mission to Serbia from 16 to 18 April in Belgrade. The event gathered 52 participants (36 women and 16 men) from the Serbian Anti-Corruption Agency, the Embassy of the United States and civil society organizations...

VIENNA, 18 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, condemned the intimidation and threats against TV21 journalists in the municipality of Aracinovo, in North Macedonia...

As part of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro’s ongoing support to municipalities in achieving gender equality, the Mission, in partnership with the Department for Gender Equality within the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, organized three workshops to support the development of local action plans on gender equality in the municipalities of Rožaje, Mojkovac and Cetinje from 10 to 15 April 2019...

Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya, together with the Chairperson of the State Customs Service (SCS) of the Kyrgyz Republic Almaz Onolbekov, with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, opened a new Regional Training Centre of the World Customs Organization in Kyrgyzstan on 16 April 2019 in Bishkek...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe conducted a training course on environmental journalism and the main environmental challenges in Tajikistan for 35 young journalists from Dushanbe and different regions of the country on 17 and 18 April 2019. The event was jointly organized with the Committee on Environmental Protection under the Government of Tajikistan...

VIENNA, 17 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called on the authorities in Uzbekistan to end the blocking of media outlets, in order to ensure that important news and current affairs resources be made accessible to the public...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to houses in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Khrustalnyi, in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission was also restricted at a checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske in a non-government-controlled area of southern Donetsk region, as well as at a railway station in Voznesenivka and at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region...

VIENNA, 17 April 2019 – Following reports about the recent arrest of several citizen journalists in Crimea, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today condemned the continued deterioration of freedom of expression and the safety of journalists on the peninsula...

Addressing hate crimes and other violations of the human rights of migrants at borders in South-Eastern Europe, including abuses motivated by racism and xenophobia, was the topic of discussion at an expert meeting in Zagreb on 16 and 17 April 2019. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organized the event in co-operation with the Office of the Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia.

ASHGABAT, 17 April 2019 – Some 200 representatives of Central Asian and other OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation, as well as experts from international organizations, attended today in Ashgabat an OSCE high-level regional conference on countering terrorist financing and organized crime...

ASHGABAT, 17 April 2019 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Central Asia, Austrian parliamentarian Roman Haider, is in Turkmenistan this week, where he has attended the OSCE Regional Meeting of Heads of OSCE Field Operations in Central Asia and a conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the opening of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. He has also met with Turkmen officials and members of the international community...

A two-day training course on trafficking in human beings (THB) and migration for judges and prosecutors from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) started today, 17 April 2019, in Teslic...

ASHGABAT, 17 April 2019 – An OSCE-organized conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat took place yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat...

The OSCE Best Practice Guide on Deactivation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) was the focus of a two-day regional workshop organized by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and the Ministry of Defence of Belarus on 16 and 17 April 2019...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to two apartments in Dokuchaievsk. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area and again saw mines inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both side of the contact line. The Mission saw upgrades at the entry-exit checkpoints in Hnutove and Maiorsk. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including close to the pumping station near Vasylivka, which reportedly resumed its operations. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission was also restricted at checkpoints in non-government-controlled Zaichenko, Lukove, Tavrycheske and Bezimenne, as well as at a railway station in and a border crossing point outside government control near Voznesenivka.

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...

VIENNA, 16 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his concern regarding the legislative amendments introducing a liability for distribution of foreign print media on the territory of the Russian Federation without the permission of the authorities...

Experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented ODIHR’s final report on the 7 October 2018 general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina during a visit to Sarajevo on 15 and 16 April 2019.

BRATISLAVA, 16 April 2019 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák stated today that constructive dialogue and concrete, small steps in confidence-building are needed to keep the positive momentum in the Transdniestrian settlement process.

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 12 and 13 April, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 13 and 14 April, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on reports of a man injured by the explosion of a damaged cartridge in Dmytrivka. It saw fresh damage caused by gunfire in a residential area of Chermalyk. Small-arms fire was directed at SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicles near Prymorske, Vershyna and Heivka.* The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Vynohradne. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. In addition, the Mission was denied access at a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region and at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Starolaspa.

MOSCOW, 15 April 2019- On 15 April, the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia – Sergey Lavrov, Elmar Mammadyarov, and Zohrab Mnatsakanyan – held a working meeting in Moscow at the initiative of the Russian side. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Andrew Schofer of the United States of America, and Stéphane Visconti of France), as well as Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, joined the meeting...

The first debating competition among universities from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH, in co-operation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Students’ Union of the Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar, the Gorgija Debating Club of the University of Zenica. The event was held at the Faculty of Law of the Dzemal Bijedic University from 12 to 14 April 2019 in Mostar...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Judicial Academy of the Czech Republic have agreed to co-operate in enhancing the ability of prosecutors to recognize and prosecute hate crimes in the country, ODIHR and Czech officials announced on 15 April 2019.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe conducted a two-day training course for 28 young men and women, youth representatives of seven registered political parties of Tajikistan, on 12 and 13 April 2019 in Dushanbe...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe donated computer equipment to the Training Centre of the Committee of Emergency Situation and Civil Defence of Tajikistan on 12 April 2019 in Dushanbe...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM followed up on reports of a woman injured due to shelling in Staromykhailivka on 8 April and the death of a member of State Emergency Services near Maiorsk on 9 April. The Mission saw fresh damage from shelling in Zolote-3/Stakhanovets and fresh impact craters near populated areas in Orlivka. Shots were fired close to the Mission near a compound of the armed formations in Smile on 11 April. The SMM recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas near Zernove, Michurine, Smile and Starolaspa. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. It heard ceasefire violations while monitoring adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to a water pipe near Kruta Balka. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission was also denied access at two heavy weapons holding areas in non-government areas of Donetsk region, at a compound near Smile and near Izvaryne close to the border with the Russian Federation...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission saw gunfire damage and a crater at a functioning school in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government controlled areas. It saw unexploded ordnance near Debaltseve and the Donetsk Filtration Station and mines in Trokhizbenka. The SMM saw mine hazard signs in Krasnyi Lyman and Pryshyb and demining activities in Volnovakha. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at a checkpoint near Zaichenko...

COPENHAGEN, 12 April 2019 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is deploying nearly 50 observers, including 31 parliamentarians, to North Macedonia next week for the 21 April presidential election. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office has appointed French parliamentarian Sereine Mauborgne as Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission. Austrian parliamentarian Reinhold Lopatka will lead the OSCE PA’s delegation of observers...

A three-day training course aimed at further strengthening the capacity of Albania to counter terrorist financing was organized from 10 to 12 April 2019, in Tirana...

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek supported the bringing together of more than 80 representatives of religious organizations and communities of Kyrgyzstan for a tree-planting event in the capital on 6 April 2019. Some 100 trees were planted during the event, which aimed at enhancing inter-confessional dialogue, promoting inter-religious tolerance and raising public awareness about the denominations represented in the country.

Some 70 experts and practitioners involved in multilingual education shared their experiences at a conference on “Multilingual education in the OSCE region: experiences and perspectives for Moldova” on 11 April 2019 in Chisinau. The conference was organized by the office of the OSCE High

VIENNA, 11 April 2019 – The benefits and potential of biometric technology in countering terrorism, and how to responsibly use and share collected biometric data, are being explored at a two-day conference which launched today in Vienna. More than 200 decision-makers, policy-makers, experts in biometrics and private sector representatives from the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation are taking part...

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 caused by probable mortar or automatic grenade launcher rounds to residential houses in Pervomaisk. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. It observed that the entry-exit checkpoint near Marinka had re-opened following its closure on 6 April. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at a compound in Luhansk city and at a checkpoint near Yasynuvata...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the BiH Ministry of Defence organized a visit to the new ammunition testing laboratory in a Technical Workshop for Repair and Destruction of Ammunition (TROM Doboj) on 11 April 2019 in Doboj...