News and press releases

WARSAW, 11 May 2017 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today condemned the murders of three Roma sisters, ages four, eight and 20, who died in a fire after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at their camper van on the outskirts of Rome early Wednesday morning...

The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations. The Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of shelling and civilian casualties in the Kuibyshevskyi district of “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city and shelling in “DPR”-controlled Bezimenne. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The Mission observed public gatherings in Dnipro and Odessa...

ERGNETI, 11 May 2017- The 77th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Ergneti. Ambassador Kestutis Jankauskas, Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and ambassador Guenther Baechler, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, co-facilitated the proceedings...

A high-level roundtable discussion of the implementation of the new ombudsman law in Turkmenistan, effective from 1 January 2017, and of international standards, guidelines and good practices in establishing and strengthening national human rights institutions took place on 11 May 2017 in Ashgabat...

TBILISI, 11 May 2017 – ‘Fake news’, the dissemination of disinformation and propaganda through traditional and online media and the associated negative repercussions for the freedom of expression were the focus of the 14th South Caucasus Media Conference, which concluded in Tbilisi today...

The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations. The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. In Donetsk region most ceasefire violations were recorded in areas north-east of Mariupol. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The Mission saw multiple weapons in Donetsk and Luhansk cities, in violation of withdrawal lines. It monitored three border areas currently not under government control. The SMM followed up on a reported civilian casualty and assessed impact sites and damage to residential areas caused by shelling. Outside the security zone the Mission observed parades marking 9 May that largely passed off peacefully...

Noting that the 12 February 2017 presidential election in Turkmenistan took place in a strictly controlled political environment characterized by the lack of genuine opposition and meaningful pluralism, thus limiting voters’ choice, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights