News and press releases

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. The fifty-eighth and fifty-ninth Russian convoys, both consisting of ten vehicles crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point on 21 and 28 February respectively...

The first in a series of six OSCE-supported one-day training seminars on good legislative and judicial practices to combat trafficking in human beings began in Astana on 1 March 2017...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 26 and 27 February compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM observed houses damaged by shelling in Zolote and Pikuzy. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Petrivske and Zolote, but its access remained restricted.* The Mission reviewed video footage from the SMM camera in Zolote that revealed ceasefire violations near the disengagement area on 25 February. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines. The SMM noted the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance in Nova Marivka and Zolote, and near Shchastia. A “DPR” member returned an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle seized by armed men in Yasynuvata on 24 February. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable maintenance and repairs near Artema and Krasnyi Lyman. The SMM monitored the blockade of a railway track near Hirske. It visited two border areas not under government control. The SMM monitored public gatherings in Kyiv and observed removal of graffiti from a bank in Odessa, as well as a cross erected in a Jewish cemetery in Ivano-Frankivsk...

On 28 February 2017 at 06:55 hrs (Moscow time), the fifty ninth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of ten vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services prior to them crossing into Ukraine. All of the ten vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 12:32 hrs on 28 February...

On 28 February 2017 at 06:55 hrs (Moscow time), the fifty ninth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of ten vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services prior to them crossing into Ukraine. All of the ten vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 12:32 hrs on 28 February...

The final report on the 11 December early parliamentary elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) recommends further review of the legal framework, to be conducted in a public procedure after consultations among

VIENNA, 27 February 2017- Ensuring the safety of journalists and promoting media ethics are top priorities for protecting media freedom and enhancing comprehensive security, peace and democracy across the entire OSCE region, participants at an OSCE Chairmanship conference on media freedom in the Western Balkans agreed today...