News and press releases

DUSHANBE, 2 August 2017 – Members of Tajikistan’s national working group responsible for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 on preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, together with representatives of relevant ministries and other state agencies from Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, will take part in an OSCE-supported trilateral peer review meeting from 2 to 5 August 2017 in Dushanbe. This is the second such trilateral meeting since August 2016...

ASTANA, 2 August 2017- The OSCE-supported Second International Women’s Forum on Future Energy: Women, Business, and the Global Economy began today in Astana for some 200 participants including high-level government officials and representatives of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, civil society and the business community...

WARSAW, 2 August 2017- Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), praised efforts by countries in the OSCE region to promote greater awareness and recognition of the genocide against the Roma and Sinti people during the Second World War, including increased attention to educating youth about this horrible crime at the hands of the Nazi regime...

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. A Russian convoy of 21 vehicles crossed to Ukraine and returned to the Russian Federation...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of damage to civilian properties caused by shelling and gunfire in Yasne. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas. The SMM camera recorded one explosion inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including again in Verkhnoshyrokivske (twice).* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs of infrastructure in Shchastia and Artema. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control...

Opportunities, challenges and perspectives in combating and preventing human trafficking in Kyrgyzstan were the focus of a roundtable discussion organized by the Kyrgyz State Migration Service and supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek on 28 July 2017. The event was held ahead of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons on 30 July...

Between the evenings of 28 and 29 July the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 29 and 30 July, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside and near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access there and elsewhere remained restricted, including for the third consecutive day in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in the south-western area of Donetsk city, in Avdiivka and near Miusynsk. The SMM followed up and confirmed reports of civilian casualties in Marinka, Khrustalnyi and Staromykhailivka; in the latter it also observed damage to a house caused by gunfire. The SMM continued to observe the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance. The Mission visited three border areas not under government control...