News and press releases

KYIV, 24 February 2017- Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ertugrul Apakan today condemned the targeting of SMM monitors and the seizure of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by “DPR” members...

VIENNA, 24 February 2017 – The final session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 16th Winter Meeting on Friday featured a special debate on protecting human rights in times of crisis. Dozens of interventions by members of parliament from more than 20 OSCE participating States addressed issues related to counter-terrorism, radicalization, protracted conflicts in the OSCE region, and challenges to state authority, emphasizing the importance of upholding fundamental rights during periods of heightened security concerns...

The SMM recorded more explosions in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24-hour period and no explosions in Luhansk region. The Mission observed impact sites in Pikuzy. The Mission saw weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines. Its freedom of movement was restricted on both sides of the contact line. The SMM, in co-ordination with the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), facilitated and monitored repairs of critical infrastructure. The Mission continued to monitor the situation of civilians near the contact line and to observe blockade of railway tracks near Hirske, Bakhmut and Shcherbynivka. It monitored a peaceful demonstration of about 15,000 people in Kyiv...

The Equal Opportunities Caucus, a cross-faction union at the Ukrainian parliament, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) formally committed on 23 February 2017 to continue co-operation to support national efforts towards gender equality.

VIENNA, 23 February 2017 – International terrorism, human rights and combating climate change are among the issues topping the agenda as some 250 members of parliament from more than 50 OSCE countries gather for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 16th Winter Meeting in Vienna...

The OSCE-supported Fourth Prison Forum dedicated to the assessment of the results of the prison reform and presentation of a new government project on the prevention of torture took place on 23 February 2017 in Astana...

The implementation of Moldova’s Strategy for Consolidation of Inter-ethnic Relations 2017¬¬¬–2027 was discussed at a conference organized by the office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and the Bureau of Inter-ethnic Relations in Chisinau on 16 February 2017...