News and press releases

Researchers and practitioners from the OSCE region discussed a wide range of analytical perspectives in the study of political parties, party systems, elections, representative democracy and closely related areas, and the practical implications of these for democracy-support efforts during a Winter

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission saw the body of a deceased man near the entry-exit checkpoint at Stanytsia Luhanska. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere.* The SMM followed up on reports of a confrontation at a church in Zhytomyr region.

CHISINAU, 19 January 2019 – Concluding his visit to Moldova today, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák said Slovakia’s 2019 OSCE Chairmanship attaches great importance to advancing the Transdniestrian Settlement Process as part of Slovakia’s focus on the prevention and mediation of conflicts, and in mitigating their impact on people.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw damage from gunfire to a residential house in Zolote-4/Rodina. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission followed up on reports that a woman had died while waiting at a checkpoint near Horlivka. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a border crossing point with the Russian Federation near Voznesenivka. In Kherson, the SMM monitored a court hearing at which the pre-trial detention of the former editor-in-chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine was extended...

VIENNA, 18 January 2019 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) has wrapped up a visit to Vienna, in which he addressed the ambassadors of the OSCE’s 57 participating States and held a number of bilateral meetings with OSCE counterparts...

GENEVA, 18 January 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today met with the Director General of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Noel Curran, and EBU experts in Geneva to discuss political and public support for public service media across the OSCE region, highlighting the important role they can play in strengthening democracy...

MINSK, 18 January 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 17 January 2019:...

Latvia’s 6 October 2018 parliamentary elections were administered in a professional and efficient manner with a high level of confidence among stakeholders, concludes the final report issued by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 17 January 2019. The report

VIENNA, 17 January 2019 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) and OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella met on Wednesday with the President of the Austrian National Council and Head of the Delegation of Austria to the OSCE PA, Wolfgang Sobotka...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission recorded military presence inside and ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • The Mission saw long queues of civilians waiting to travel across the contact line. • In Odessa, the SMM followed up on reports of a public gathering in front of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. It saw splashes of red paint on the ground in front of the Consulate... • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.*

KYIV, 17 January 2019 – Concluding a two-day official visit to Ukraine, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák said he was shocked by the alarming conditions of people living near the contact line in the country’s east, and called on the sides to step up their efforts for a peaceful political solution to the crisis.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Small-arms fire damaged a window of an apartment building in Dokuchaievsk. A civilian woman died while crossing the contact line near Maiorsk entry-exit checkpoint. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.* The SMM continued to follow up on a fire at the Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv. The Mission observed a calm situation at the crossing point in Chonhar and at a Ukrainian State Border Guard Service position in Valok, in the south-eastern part of Kherson region.

PARIS, 16 January 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) hosted consultations between Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on 16 January in Paris. The Co-Chairs met separately and then jointly with the Ministers. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in these meetings. This was the fourth meeting of the two Ministers.

CHISINAU, 16 January 2019 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission (EOM) for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 24 February in Moldova. The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the authorities...

VIENNA, 16 January 2019- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir yesterday sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Srđan Darmanović, regarding the recent court sentence against investigative journalist Jovo Martinović...

VIENNA, 16 January 2019 – Switzerland aims to bring a new perspective to established and current politico-military issues, said the State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Pascale Baeriswyl, as she opened the country’s Chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) in Vienna today. Baeriswyl added that Switzerland will engage in dedicated discussions and constructive debates to achieve more confidence and transparency on politico-military issues amongst all 57 OSCE participating States...

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 was 9,000 at both BCPs. It was not possible to compare the data regarding persons crossing the border to the previous reporting period, as no information regarding this category was provided to the OM...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Chermalyk, Donetsk region and close to SMM patrols in Popasna and Kriakivka, Luhansk region. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and an armoured combat vehicle in the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions as well as to enable the removal of an unexploded ordnance in Kriakivka, Luhansk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at two border crossing points with the Russian Federation near Izvaryne and Sievernyi...

Identifying and building a regional approach to countering hate crime was the focus of an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Milan Bar Association and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, in Milan on 15 January 2019. The discussion

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 11 and 12 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 12 and 13 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Chermalyk, Donetsk region. Small-arms fire damaged a house in a residential area of Chermalyk. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region. Participants of a gathering in Kherson demanded the release of a Crimean Tatar activist reportedly detained in Simferopol. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a railway station in Voznesenivka, an area near the border with the Russian Federation...

COPENHAGEN, 14 January 2019 – With the persistence of a dangerous climate for journalists in many countries of the OSCE region, the leaders of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee, Chair Margareta Kiener Nellen (MP, Switzerland), Vice-Chair Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany), and Rapporteur Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (MP, Cyprus), today called for increased attention to the importance of the safety of journalists. Recent developments demonstrate that journalists have been facing increasing repression, intimidation, physical attacks and restrictions on their freedom to work, they said...

VIENNA, 10 January 2019 – OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (Georgia) and Secretary General Roberto Montella welcomed the priorities outlined by the new OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajcak, in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council today.

COPENHAGEN, 14 January 2019- The leaders of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee, Chair Margareta Kiener Nellen (MP, Switzerland), Vice-Chair Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany), and Rapporteur Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (MP, Cyprus), today called for urgent steps by Turkish authorities to ensure the safety of Member of Parliament Leyla Güven, imprisoned pending trial.

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations and saw military presence and anti-aircraft guns inside the Zolote disengagement area. It recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. • In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a protest during which protestors expressed views critical of veterans and of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs. • In Zhytomyr, the SMM monitored a court hearing of a journalist accused of involvement in anti-state activities. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.*...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The SMM followed up on reports of three civilians injured near Vasylivka as the result of an explosion and three civilians who reportedly died of heart attacks while at a checkpoint in Horlivka. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. • The Mission continued to observe hardships faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line related to inclement weather and long wait times. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The SMM followed up on reports of a fire at a church in Rzhyshchiv, Kyiv region. • The SMM observed a peaceful public gathering in Kherson. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued, including in all three disengagement areas. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle was targeted by small-arms fire while flying near Popasna.*

VIENNA, 11 January 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, published today a legal review of two laws on the fight against the manipulation of information, which were adopted on 20 November 2018 by the French parliament. The review was shared with the French authorities in November...

VIENNA, 10 January 2019- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, expressing his concern over the sentencing of investigative journalist Pelin Ünker...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission continued to monitor the situation of civilians near the contact line. • The Mission saw a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines in Klynove, Donetsk region. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk Region. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued, including in all three disengagement areas.

VIENNA, 10 January 2019 – The major challenges facing the OSCE region and beyond demand more co-operation and more dialogue than ever before, said Slovakia’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák, when presenting the priorities of the Slovak Chairmanship to the Permanent Council in Vienna today...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued, including in all three disengagement areas...

VIENNA, 9 January 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, expressed his serious concern about the situation and health condition of the imprisoned blogger and chair of the media NGO Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, Mehman Huseynov, and called on the authorities to drop new criminal charges brought against him. Huseynov has reportedly been on a hunger strike since late December 2018...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 4 and 5 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. • Between the evenings of 5 and 6 January, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. • Between the evenings of 6 and 7 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. • The Mission saw fresh damage from gunfire to a functional school and a store in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a peaceful public gathering related to the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted in Staromykhailivka, near Starolaspa and near Leonove, close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). During the reporting period the data on persons crossing was not available...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and in Shchastia.

Between the evenings of 2 and 3 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission recorded about 450 ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area and observed military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM’s access was also restricted near non-government-controlled Izvaryne and Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.

Between the evenings of 30 and 31 December 2018, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. Between the evenings of 31 December 2018 and 1 January 2019, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. Between the evenings of 1 and 2 January, it recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission observed damage caused by gunfire to a residential building in Dokuchaievsk and to a fire station building in Slovianoserbsk. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Artema. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a railway station and border crossing point not under government control in Voznesenivka and near Sofiivka. The SMM saw damage caused by fire at a chapel and followed up on reports of a fire at another chapel in Kyiv region.

VIENNA, 1 January 2019 – “The Slovak 2019 OSCE Chairmanship aims to be ambitious in promoting dialogue, trust and stability in the OSCE area, and in supporting the good functioning of the organization. But we also have to be realistic: challenges and complexities are rife. Any further deterioration in the safety and lives of people in our societies is unjustifiable,” said today Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák as he assumed the post of Chairperson-in-Office of the regional security organization.

Following the beginning of a recommitment to the ceasefire on the occasion of New Year and Christmas festivities at 00:01 on 29 December, between the evenings of 28 and 29 December, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 29 and 30 December, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission was also restricted in Michurine, Starolaspa, near Zaichenko and at two border crossing points with the Russian Federation near Izvaryne and Sievernyi.*

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM continued to observe hardships faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line: it saw the body of a deceased man at a checkpoint in Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and in Shchastia.*

Summary • Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Buhaivka and Khrustalnyi. • The Mission continued to observe long queues of civilians travelling across the contact line near Stanytsia Luhanska. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure. • In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a gathering in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation • In Kherson, the SMM monitored a court hearing at which the pre-trial detention of the former editor-in-chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine was extended. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted near Novoazovsk and Voznesenivka close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 23 and 24 December, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 24 and 25 December, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. Between the evenings of 25 and 26 December, it recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. An armed man in camouflage clothing damaged an SMM vehicle and verbally insulted its patrol members in Khoroshe, Luhansk region. The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. It observed for the first time unexploded ordnance inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at checkpoints of the armed formations near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka and Starolaspa, at a heavy weapons holding area in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region and near Izvaryne, a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

KYIV, 27 December 2018 – Today, the Trilateral Contact Group has adopted the following Statement on recommitment to the ceasefire on the occasion of New Year and Christmas festivities: “The Trilateral Contact Group, with the participation of representatives of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, reiterate their full commitment to a permanent ceasefire on the occasion of New Year and Christmas festivities, starting at 00:01 (Kyiv Time) on 29 December 2018.

KYIV, 27 December 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and to the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, welcomed today the sides’ recommitment to the ceasefire on the occasion of the New Year/Christmas festivities...

Following the publication, on 24 December 2018, of the interview conducted by the German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung with OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger...

Summary • Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 21 and 22 December, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. • Between the evenings of 22 and 23 December, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. • It observed damage caused by gunfire to civilian properties in Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. • The Mission saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • It continued to observe long queues of civilians travelling across the contact line near Marinka. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted near Novolaspa and Izvaryne, an area of Luhansk region close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

• 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 man injured due to gunfire in Chermalyk. • The Mission observed damage to a house caused by shelling in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and by small-arms fire to a post office in Holubivske. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. • The Mission saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The SMM continued to observe long queues of civilians travelling across the contact line near Stanytsia Luhanska. • The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure and damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. • It monitored public gatherings in Odessa and Lviv.

VIENNA, 22 December 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed serious concern following a court decision in Azerbaijan ordering a well-known investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova to pay a high fine for an alleged tax debt...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission continued to observe long queues of civilians travelling across the contact line near Stanytsia Luhanska. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure and damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. • The Mission observed convoys of trucks marked “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation” in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted near Izvaryne, an area of Luhansk region close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

VIENNA, 21 December 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, organized on 19 December in Bishkek the first Central Asia Judicial Dialogue, to discuss how to protect freedom of expression while combating violent extremism...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published an online database of election-related recommendations for the Western Balkans.