News and press releases

A specialized workshop for Belarus law enforcement officials on challenges in combating corruption and financial crimes that make use of new technologies concluded on 27 November 2018 in Minsk...

Strengthening co-operation in tourism between local communities was the focus of a conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in co-operation with the city of Goražde and the municipalities of Foča, Rudo, and Višegrad, held on 27 November 2018 in Goražde...

An OSCE-organized workshop for senior border officials from Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on inter-agency co-operation in border security and management took place in Ashgabat from 19 to 23 November 2018...

VIENNA/ROME, 27 November 2018- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Enzo Moavero Milanesi and Secretary General Thomas Greminger today called for restraint and dialogue to de-escalate the already tense situation in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait.

VIENNA, 26 November 2018- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his concern over the restrictive impact on the distribution of Serbian print media in Kosovo following the introduction of recent trade measures. He recalled the necessity to preserve all citizen’s right to access to information in their language...

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 23 and 24 November, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Between the evenings of 24 and 25 November, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM monitored the security situation following developments at sea near the Kerch Strait. The Mission observed heavy weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in Kostiantynivka. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to a water pipeline in Pervomaisk and continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. In Kyiv, Lviv and Kherson, the Mission monitored public gatherings commemorating the 85th anniversary of Holodomor. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as near Kostiantynivka, Novolaspa, Zaichenko and two areas close to the border with the Russian Federation, Voznesenivka and Novoazovsk.

Strengthening police and community interaction to address safety and security issues affecting communities was the focus of a series of training courses conducted by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, in co-operation with the international organization Saferworld.

COPENHAGEN, 26 November 2018 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) expressed deep concern today over the escalation of tensions in the Kerch Strait between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, called for restraint, and reiterated support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity...

The SMM followed up on the security situation in relation to reported developments at sea, near the Kerch Strait, where on 25 November, three vessels of the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces – two artillery boats “Berdiansk” and “Nikopol” and one tug boat “Yany Kapu” – en route from Odessa to Mariupol had been involved in an incident with vessels of the Russian Federation. Reportedly, weapons were used, six sailors were wounded and the three Ukrainian vessels were seized...

KYIV, 26 November 2018 – The OSCE Chairperson’s Special Representative to the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, said today that they followed recent incidents at sea, near the Kerch Strait, with great concern...

In order to support ethical and professional reporting, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights organized a two-day workshop on gender equality for media representatives in Podgorica, on 22 and 23 November.

Members of Parliament, parliament service staff and representatives from the government and civil society organizations participated in an oversight simulation in Mavrovo from 23 to 25 November 2018 to learn about and practice how to organize public hearings in the parliament...

• 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 near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • Access for the SMM remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district, Novolaspa and near Lozove*. • It continued to monitor queues of civilians at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. • The Mission monitored a public gathering in Ivano-Frankivsk commemorating events at Maidan.

A team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the  final report of the ODIHR election assessment mission for the October 2017 parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic during their visits to Prague and Brno from 20 to 23 November

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), Lamberto Zannier, during his visit to Ashgabat and the Dashoguz Region from 20 to 23 November 2018, agreed with...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on a civilian injured by small-arms fire in Olenivka. It observed fresh damage caused by shelling in a residential area of Zolote-5/ Mykhailivka. The SMM observed military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area and recorded ceasefire violations while positioned near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted at a compound in Starohnativka. It monitored delays for civilians at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. The Mission observed a convoy of trucks labelled “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation” in Luhansk city...

Developing women’s entrepreneurship through innovation and investment was the focus of an international conference organized by the Association of Business Women of Uzbekistan, Tadbirkor Ayol, with support from the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and several other domestic and international organizations on 23 November 2018 in Tashkent...

How to enhance the implementation of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security- a landmark document adopted in 1994 highlighting the governance of the security sector and the role of armed and security forces in democratic societies – was the focus of a symposium held on 22 and 23 November 2018 at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin...

More than 90 representatives of a wide range of initiative groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from both sides of the Dniester/Nistru River and development partners gathered for the annual Donors Forum organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova on 22 November 2018 in Chisinau...

Women need to be safe in public, the workplace and at home so they can unfold their full potential and actively contribute to political and socio-economic development, said Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Ertugrul Apakan and Senior Project Officer of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine Jeff Erlich on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2018...

SAMARKAND, 23 November 2018 – Addressing the Asian Forum on Human Rights yesterday, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) and human rights committee Chair Margareta Kiener Nellen (MP, Switzerland) stressed the central role that parliaments play in upholding human

Ensuring the protection of human rights when conducting investigations in the counter-terrorism context was the topic of two training workshops for law enforcement officers held in Tirana on 22 and 23 November and in Madrid on 13 and 14 November 2018. The courses were jointly delivered by the OSCE

Some 20 representatives from the Financial Monitoring Committee and Academy of Law Enforcement Agencies under the Office of the Prosecutor General completed a five-day course on strategic analysis on 23 November in Astana. The event was jointly organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Committee and the United States Embassy in Astana.

A five-day OSCE-supported training seminar on the detection of forged travel documents and identification techniques concluded on 23 November 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Challenges and good practices in safeguarding the judicial independence of administrative courts and tribunals across the OSCE region were the focus of an expert meeting organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 22 November 2018. The meeting

Six members of permanent delegations representing their countries in the OSCE were presented with a White Ribbon Award by the OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, in recognition of their personal commitment and achievements in promoting gender equality. The award ceremony took place at the Hofburg congress centre on 22 November 2018 in Vienna.

MINSK, 22 November 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 22 November 2018:

The security needs of Jewish communities were at the centre of an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Sofia on 22 November 2018. The event, organized in partnership with Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry, the “Shalom” Organization of Jews in Bulgaria

On 22 November at 06:44 (Moscow time), the eighty-first Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 19 vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All 19 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 15:07 on 22 November...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. It observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines, mostly in non-government-controlled areas. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema and to the Donetsk Filtration Station as well as assessments of a water pipeline near Pervomaisk. The Mission visited three border areas not under government control. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted at compounds in Novoselivka and near Siedove, an area close to the border with the Russian Federation.

A Security Policy Course supported by the OSCE, that gathered some 30 participants from government institutions, law enforcement agencies and armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded today, 22 November 2018, in Sarajevo

Aims and principles of performance management processes and steps to define key performance indicators was a focus of a two-day OSCE Mission to Montenegro workshop for officials from Montenegro’s parliamentary services, held on 19 and 20 November 2018 in Podgorica...

From 20 to 22 November 2018, the OSCE Mobile Training Team delivered an interactive national course on identifying foreign terrorist fighters at the borders for 25 first- and second-line border and security officers, including four female participants, in Astana...

A three-day training course aimed at further strengthening the capacity of Tajikistan to counter terrorist financing was organized in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from 19 to 21 November 2018...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission followed up on reports of a grenade explosion in Khartsyzk in which a woman was injured and a man died. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure near Artema and Holmivskyi, as well as repairs to houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Access for the SMM remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, near Syvash and near Novoazovsk, an area close to the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission monitored protests in Kyiv, Lviv and Chernivtsi.

TASHKENT, 21 November 2018 – OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) welcomed today in Tashkent the continued engagement of Uzbekistan with the OSCE, and discussed with the country’s authorities how parliamentary diplomacy can contribute to stability and development in Central Asia...

Implementing effective anti-corruption legislation was the focus of an international conference organized by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on 21 November 2018 in Tashkent...

A two-day OSCE-supported training course on the anti-corruption screening of legal acts for 20 representatives from Tajikistan’s government authorities, education institutions, and civil society concluded on 21 November 2018 in Dushanbe...

While noting that there is public confidence in the election administration, the final report on the 9 September 2018 parliamentary elections in Sweden by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) recommends taking measures to ensure the secrecy of the vote and the

A team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Berlin and Karlsruhe from 19 to 21 November 2018 to present the final report of ODIHR’s election expert team for the 24 September 2017 elections to Germany’s federal parliament (Bundestag).

VIENNA / PODGORICA, 21 November 2018 – Two legal reviews of Montenegro’s draft Law on media and draft Law on amendments to the Law on the national public broadcaster RTCG, were presented by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Maryse Daviet. The legal reviews were commissioned upon the request of Montenegro’s Ministry of Culture.

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM followed up on reports of two civilians injured by shooting and shelling Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The SMM observed heavy weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near all three disengagement areas and observed armoured combat vehicles in the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to essential infrastructure near Artema and Zolote-4/Rodina, as well as repairs to houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Access for the SMM remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, near Zaichenko as well as Izvaryne, an area close to 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 decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week...

VIENNA, 20 November 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today held a meeting with the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, in Vienna to establish new co-operation with Albania on the future regulation of online media...

Business ethics and compliance mechanisms in the healthcare sector were the topics of a two-day training seminar for healthcare regulators and professionals organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) on 19 and 20 November 2018 in Tashkent, in support of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in partnership with the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and the Department for Gender Equality, delivered three two-day workshops during October and November 2018 to gender equality focal points from 12 Montenegrin municipalities on how to train their colleagues on understanding gender equality and gender mainstreaming...

On 19 November 2018 the OSCE Mission in Kosovo completed the installation of indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras in the primary school Ali Hasi in the village Cërmjan/Crmljane, located in the municipality of Gjakovë/Djakovica, with the aim of reducing violence in schools. This brings the total number of schools equipped with cameras by the OSCE Mission to 15.

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana supported a roundtable discussion on steps Kazakhstan could take to regulate the release and marketing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)- any organism or microorganism, including agricultural products, whose genetic material has been altered by means of genetic engineering- on 20 November 2018 in Astana...

A training seminar dedicated to the monitoring of media coverage during elections concluded in Astana on 20 November 2018. The event was organized by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan (CEC) in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Youth involvement in promotion of gender equality, lessons learnt and experience in supporting the advancement of women and girls in their communities and among families, friends and peers were the focus of a roundtable discussion conducted by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe on 14 November 2018 in Dushanbe.