News and press releases

More than 25 seaport security and law enforcement officials completed a five-day practical training course on port security management and procedures on 21 December 2018. The course, held at the Turkmenbashi International Seaport on the Caspian Sea, was organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat...

SKOPJE, 21 December 2018 – A helpline for reporting threats, attacks and violence against journalists- 0800-11-011 – presented at the press conference today in Skopje by the the OSCE Mission to Skopje in co-operation with the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM)...

The Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Kunio Mikuriya, and the First Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Service of the Kyrgyz Republic (SCS), Shamil Berdaliev, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the WCO Secretariat in Brussels on 19 December, thereby accrediting the SCS’s Training Centre as a WCO Regional Training Centre...

On 20 December at 08:20 (Moscow time), the eighty-second Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 22 vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All 22 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 20:57 on 20 December.

VIENNA, 20 December 2018 – Wolfgang Benedek, OSCE Moscow Mechanism rapporteur, presented to the OSCE Permanent Council today his report on alleged human rights violations and impunity in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. • The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. • Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Novotoshkivske.* • The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Bakhmut, Kostiantynivka and Lysychansk. • 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. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.*

CHISINAU, 20 December 2018- Accessing new markets by improving digital skills was the focus of a three-day training course held for the representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, which concluded today in Chisinau...

The OSCE Mission to Skopje presented today a Legal Commentary on the Law on Criminal Procedure, the first of its kind, prepared by a group of legal experts that will help lawyers, judges and prosecutors apply the Law in a better and more uniform fashion in the courts.

A two-day train-the-trainer course aimed at strengthening the capacity of Albania to disrupt the financing of terrorist networks was held on 18 and 19 December 2018 in Vienna...

MINSK, 19 December 2018 – 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 19 December 2018:

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 near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. It observed demining activities near government-controlled Shyrokyi and Krasna Talivka. The SMM continued to observe hardship faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure as well as damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a public gathering related to gender issues.Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.

The South East Europe regional workshop on landscape fire management concluded on 19 December 2018 in Skopje...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure as well as damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. 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 at two weapons storage sites in non-government-controlled-areas of Donetsk region, as well as Novoamvrosiivske and Makiivka and close to Voznesenivka, a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region near the border with the Russian Federation.*

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.

ERGNETI, 18 December 2018- The 90th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting took place today in Ergneti...

COPENHAGEN, 18 December 2018 – Migrants can benefit host countries by contributing to economic growth and promoting understanding between societies, said OSCE parliamentarian Nahima Lanjri (MP, Belgium) today, marking International Migrants Day. But in order to promote the benefits of migration and ensure that it is a source of prosperity and sustainable development, it is necessary to improve migration governance, she said...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 18 December 2018 – The OSCE Mission in Kosovo published today a report which assesses the access to pre-university education for non-majority communities in Kosovo. The report, Communities’ Access to Pre-University Education in Kosovo, covers the period from 2014 to 2017 and looks into the provision of education in the majority and community languages...

VIENNA, 18 December 2018- To address labour shortages and allow migrants to be a resource for countries of origin and destination, socio-economic integration is essential, said participants at the OSCE conference held today in Vienna on the occasion of the International Migrants Day...

Between the evenings of 14 and 15 December, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 15 and 16 December, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of a woman who had sustained injuries due to gunfire in Slovianoserbsk and two men injured in a grenade explosion in Krasnohorivka.

Over 70 anti-trafficking practitioners from more than 30 OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation in Europe, Central Asia and North America practiced how to apply a multi-agency and human rights-based approach during the fifth OSCE international simulation-based training to combat

KYIV, 17 December 2018 – Leaders from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights and humanitarian committee today called for all sides of the conflict in eastern Ukraine to lay down their weapons as a critical step in finding a lasting solution to the crisis in and around Ukraine.

A national training course on behavioural analysis and identification of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and criminals at airports for 24 border and customs officers from Montenegro’s Podgorica and Tivat airports, the Civil Aviation Agency and the Intelligence Agency of Montenegro was held from 11 to 14 December 2018 in Podgorica...

How to prevent crime and violence committed by young people by encouraging their engagement in developing life skills, sports and education was explored at a workshop for around 30 high-level policymakers from South-East Europe organized in Belgrade on 17 December 2018 by the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the OSCE Mission to Serbia...

An online, digital platform for monitoring the environment in conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine, and the first baseline assessment of a water monitoring programme in the Siverskyi Donets river basin were presented at an event in Kyiv on 17 December 2018. Both were delivered with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and are designed to be used by the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the State Water Agency to track the environmental situation in the region and keep the general public informed...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM recorded over 60 ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violations of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure as well as damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. 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 at a compound near Donske.* The Mission monitored a public gathering in Kyiv.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to a residential building in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM recorded over 60 ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and 25 near the area. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle after it spotted hardware assessed as electronic warfare equipment near non-government-controlled Lozivskyi. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure as well as damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM monitored the transfer of persons convicted before the beginning of the conflict in 2014 from non-government-controlled to government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a checkpoint near Starolaspa...

The Government of Montenegro presented its national platform for suppressing violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT) in Podgorica on 14 December 2018. It was developed by the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior and the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT) with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro.

VIENNA, 14 December 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today conveyed his concern about a new draft law in Russia which can impose excessive restrictions on media and citizens using their right to free expression online...

Building the capacity of human rights defenders to use open source investigation techniques for human rights monitoring projects was the focus of a training workshop, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the nonprofit technology

The progress Uzbekistan has made in combating corruption over the course of this year was the focus of an international conference and subsequent media forum organized by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and other international organizations on 13 and 14 December 2018 in Tashkent.

A one-week advanced training course for 15 Albanian border officers from various regions of the country on increasing their operational awareness regarding the detection of forged travel documents was conducted in Tirana from 10 to 14 December 2018. The training was organized by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Security Academy of Albania.

Countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism was the focus of a workshop for regulators and policymakers organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan with the co-operation of the Department on Combating Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan and the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) from 11 to 14 December 2018 in Tashkent...

More than 100 high-level officials from South-Eastern Europe dealing with preventing corruption, together with senior representatives of Serbian institutions, civil society organizations and the media gathered for a regional conference in Belgrade on 13 and 14 December 2018 to mark International Anti-Corruption Day...

The Prime Minister, government ministers and mayors of all 81 local self-government units in the country gathered on 14 December 2018 for a national conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Association of Municipalities (ZELS) to discuss the remaining challenges related to the decentralization process...

Young people must take the lead in dismantling barriers and promoting genuine regional reconciliation that will create a better future in their countries and the Western Balkans. This was a key conclusion of the conference Youth Exchange as Motor of Regional Co-operation, organized by Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO) with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in Podgorica on 13 December 2018.

The prevention of domestic violence was the focus of the international conference on the development of crisis centres for victims of domestic violence which concluded on 7 December 2018 in Astana...

Improving institutional interaction and furthering co-operation between the OSCE and the EU in areas of common interest across all three OSCE security dimensions – politico-military, economic and environmental and human – was the focus of the first-ever EU–OSCE annual high-level meeting, held on 12 December in Brussels.

Way in which proactive and intelligence and/or information-led policing approaches can enhance the fight against serious and organized crime were explored at a regional workshop for law enforcement representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and the Russian Federation conducted by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Strategic Police Matters Unit in Minsk on 13 December 2018...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM saw an apartment building in Antratsyt that had sustained shrapnel damage. The SMM observed a calm situation near all three disengagement areas. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water infrastructure on both sides of the contact line and to damaged houses in Marinka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM monitored the transfer of detainees not related to the conflict from non-government-controlled to government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at checkpoints near Oktiabr Mine and Zaichenko...

KYIV, 13 December 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Ambassador Martin Sajdik made the following statement regarding the transfer of convicted persons from CADR to the territory controlled by the government of Ukraine...

VIENNA, 13 December 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today met with Olivera Zekić, a member of Serbia’s Council of the Regulatory Authority of Electronic Media (REM), to discuss issues related to REM’s operation, including external influence and the need for independence. The meeting in Vienna took place following a request from the REM Council’s Deputy President...

An OSCE-supported three-day train-the-trainer course for law enforcement personnel on risk profiling techniques, for use when developing a security system to prevent criminal acts during large-scale events, concluded in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, on 13 December 2018...

GENEVA, Switzerland, 13 December 2018- The 46th round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) took place yesterday in a business-like and respectful atmosphere...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Small-arms fire was directed at SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicles near Maiorsk and in Khoroshe. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water and electric infrastructure on both sides of the contact line and to damaged houses in Marinka. 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 at a checkpoint near Zaichenko.

Twenty-three leaders and representatives of religious communities in Cyprus came together for a training event on freedom of religion or belief in Nicosia, on 11 and 12 December 2018. The event was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation

VIENNA, 12 December 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today condemned an attack on a journalist’s house in Vrčin, Serbia...

KYIV, 12 December 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and to the Trilateral Contact Group Аmbassador Martin Sajdik made the following statement regarding the transfer of detainees not related to the conflict from CALR to the territory controlled by the government of Ukraine...

Guidelines on general principles regarding non-punishment provisions for victims of trafficking in human beings (THB) were presented to Montenegrin police officers, state prosecutors and judges on 12 December 2018 in Podgorica...

The contribution of young women and men to all three dimensions of the OSCE’s peace and security agenda – politico-military, economic and environmental and human– was the topic of an interactive side event on 7 December 2018 during the 25th OSCE Ministerial Council in Milan, organized by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO)’s Special Representatives on Youth and Security together with Spain. Later that day the Ministerial Council adopted Declaration MC.DD/17/18 on the Role of Youth in Contributing to Peace and Security Efforts.

Customized teaching materials to address anti-Semitism were presented at a train-the-trainer workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development in Belgrade on 11 and 12 December 2018.