News and press releases

VIENNA, 31 August 2017- The OSCE is closing its Office in Yerevan today.

VIENNA, 30 August 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media today expressed his concern regarding the practice of detention and expulsion of foreign journalists from Ukraine.

France’s presidential election on 23 April and 7 May 2017 was conducted in a pluralistic and transparent manner, but certain aspects of the legal framework for elections could benefit from further review, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in its final report

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on information of a civilian injured by shelling in Lukove. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske, Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. Its access remains restricted there and elsewhere, including at a checkpoint in Novoazovsk. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Kremenivka, Sakhanka, and Bezimenne. The SMM also noted that a previously observed hand grenade and UXO close to civilian infrastructure near Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and Novohryhorivka, respectively, had been removed. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to infrastructure in Zolote, Vesela Hora, Shchastia, and Krasnyi Lyman...

More than 70 school teachers and school administrative personnel took part in three training sessions on piloting teaching methods for a new school course “The basics of religious cultures”...

From 14 August to 28 August 2017 the Programme Office in Bishkek supported a series of training sessions on voter identification procedures and other election-related matters. Twenty-five master trainers, 186 trainers as well as 500 operators and maintenance specialists from all regions of Kyrgyzstan were trained in the effective operation of the voter identification system during the upcoming October presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan. Subsequently, the trained operators and maintenance specialists will instruct over 9,500 operators, who will be engaged in voter identification on Election Day...

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department held a two-day expert meeting on establishing an Advance Passenger Information (API) system in the country, which took place in Bulan-Sogottu, Kyrgyzstan on 23 August and 24 August 2017. The expert meeting brought together more than 40 decision-makers involved in passenger information processing in the country, including border control and airport authorities, airlines, customs officers, and national security officers. It provided participants with a comprehensive understanding of the functions and benefits of API in combating terrorism and transnational crime...