News and press releases

Senior trade and customs officials from five Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, and their main trading partners – Russia and Turkey, received practical guidance on trade facilitation at a three-day annual training workshop on 26 July in Dushanbe. The event was jointly organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe hosted the workshop.

On 26 July at 06:35 (Moscow time), the seventy-seventh Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 21 vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All 21 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 15:55 on 26 July.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as in Starolaspa.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Vesele, Svobodne, Khrustalnyi, Novoamvrosiivske and Starolaspa. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Stanytsia Luhanska and Novotoshkivske, as well as in Popasna.

MINSK, 25 July 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 25 July 2018:

MINSK, 25 July 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 25 July 2018:

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period and one ceasefire violation in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk and observed fresh damage in one of its residential areas. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The Mission recorded a ceasefire violation near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and again observed military-type presence in the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as in Yasne and again near Zaichenko. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Bolotene, Stanytsia Luhanska and Novotoshkivske, as well as in Popasna.

VIENNA, 25 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Maryse Daviet, welcomed today the latest efforts by the Montenegrin Technical Working Group on Self-Regulation in developing guidelines for moderating online comments in Montenegro.

VIENNA, 25 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, said today he was saddened by the tragic death of journalist Denis Suvorov in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation.

The OSCE regional meeting of heads of law enforcement departments in Central Asia took place on 24-25 July 2018 in Dushanbe. The meeting was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and the Strategic Police Matters Unit of Transnational Threats Department of the OSCE Secretariat...

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs).

VIENNA, 24 July 2018- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, welcomed today the recent agreement between the authorities and the media community in the Netherlands to counter threats and violence against journalists. The move comes against the background of the deteriorating safety climate for media workers.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. Small-arms fire was assessed as directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle in Artema. The Mission followed up on two civilian casualties caused by an explosion in a courtyard in Marinka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded a ceasefire violation near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and Shchastia, as well as again near Zaichenko and Bezimenne in non-government-controlled areas of southern Donetsk region. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM saw demining near road T-1314 north of Shyrokyi. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Artema, Zalizne, Nelipivka and Novotoshkivske. In Odessa, the SMM saw anti-Semitic graffiti.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 20 and 21 July compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 21 and 22 July, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas as well as, again, near Zaichenko and Bezimenne in non-government-controlled areas of southern Donetsk region. The SMM observed a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines near Vrubivka. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Nelipivka and Novotoshkivske. In Dnipropetrovsk region, the SMM observed 30 young adults participating in a parade aimed at promoting human rights regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Some 130 representatives from Kazakhstan’s Parliament, central and local government authorities, academia and civil society, as well as experts from both Kazakhstan and Russia, participated in an OSCE-supported international conference on transboundary co-operation in the Zhaiyk (Ural) river basin on 23 July 2018 in Uralsk, Western Kazakhstan...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded a ceasefire violation near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas as well as, again, near Verkhnoshyrokivske, Siedove and Bezimenne in non-government-controlled areas of southern Donetsk region. The SMM observed a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines near Korsun. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Nelipivka, Zalizne, Bolotene, Novotoshkivske and Zolote-5. It observed again that the wooden ramps on the broken section of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge were unstable...

TBILISI, 20 July 2018- The 15th South Caucasus Media Conference, a two-day annual meeting organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, concluded yesterday...

Building the capacity of Polish police forces to provide training on effective and human rights-compliant policing in Roma communities was the focus of a course organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the Regional Police Headquarters in Krakow, in Zakopane, Poland from 17 to 20 July 2018.

COPENHAGEN, 20 July 2018 – Following the end of a two-year state of emergency in Turkey earlier this week, the officers of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Chair Margareta Kiener-Nellen (MP, Switzerland), Vice-Chair Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany), and Rapporteur Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (MP, Cyprus) issued the following statement:

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Machine gun rounds were fired in the direction of an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle in Khrustalnyi. The SMM observed damage to civilian properties in a residential area of Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas, as well as in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Zaichenko and Bezimenne. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Khrustalnyi. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Nelipivka, Stanytsia Luhanska, Bolotene, Artema and Novotoshkivske...

The HAGUE, 20 July 2018 – High school students from the Municipality of Jajce in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) were selected as the winner of the 2018 Max van der Stoel Award. The award is given in recognition of their outstanding courage and inspirational activism, which led to the prevention of further segregation in schools in Jajce as well as throughout the country.

Strengthening the capacity of crisis negotiators from across Kazakhstan was the focus of a five-day training course held from 16 to 20 July 2018 in Koschi, Kazakhstan. The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, the Embassy of Israel in Astana and the Ministry of Public Security of the State of Israel, together with the Law Enforcement Agencies Academy under Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

VIENNA, 19 July 2018 – While a new recommitment to cease fire that came into effect on 1 July has brought an immediate decrease in violence, a comprehensive ceasefire is yet to be reached, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, said in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today...

TBILISI, 19 July 2018 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) participated this week in the 15th annual South Caucasus Media Conference organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in Tbilisi, Georgia...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a woman injured by shelling in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near and observed again military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas as well as near Hryhorivka and, again, in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Zaichenko and Bezimenne and in areas of Luhansk region outside government control at the border with the Russian Federation. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Alchevsk and Buhaivka. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Stanytsia Luhanska, Bolotene and Novotoshkivske. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a court hearing in relation to an attack on members of the Roma community. In Zakarpattia region, the SMM followed up on reports of a fire at a church kindergarten attended entirely by children of the Roma community...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) supported the development and launch of a digital government service enabling Ukrainian individuals and businesses to initiate minor construction projects via a simple on-line notification without visiting a government office in person. The service, launched on 18 July in Kyiv, helps to remove a potential avenue for official abuse or corruption. The online service, covers 80 percent of construction projects, was presented today by the Ukrainian State Architecture and Building Inspection, State e-Governance Service and Ministry of Justice.

VIENNA, 19 July 2018- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his great concern in a letter to Ukrainian authorities following the recent detention and extradition of a journalist to Turkey.

VIENNA, 19 July 2018 – Slovakia’s OSCE Chairmanship next year will pursue strategies that boost multilateralism, promote conflict prevention and focus on addressing the needs of people, said the country’s Foreign and European Affairs State Secretary Lukáš Parízek in Vienna today, as he addressed the Permanent Council on the incoming Chairmanship’s priority areas...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near and observed again military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas as well as, again, in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Zaichenko and Bezimenne. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Artema, Zaitseve and Novotoshkivske. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a gathering outside the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office...

VIENNA, 18 July 2018 – Slovenia worked towards restoring confidence and advancing meaningful dialogue among OSCE participating States and placed particular focus on the role of women in security processes, said Chairperson of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) and Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the OSCE Ambassador Andrej Benedejčič as he opened the last meeting of the FSC as Chair...

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 11 April 2018 early presidential election in Azerbaijan recommends that electoral legislation be revised through a genuine participatory and consultative process, sufficiently in advance of the next

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 has increased at both BCPs...

An Information Resource Centre for Public Environmental Awareness and Culture and Improving People’s Ecological Knowledge was opened by the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan, with the support of the Group of Ecological Movement Deputies within the Legislative House of Uzbekistan’s parliament, the Oliy Majlis, and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, on 17 July 2018 in Tashkent...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized a series of awareness-raising discussions on requirements of UN Security Resolution 1540 and its implementation by Tajikistan.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM heard explosions (assessed as outgoing mortar rounds) and small-arms fire about 100m from its position in a residential area of non-government-controlled Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted in all three areas. It was again restricted in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Zaichenko and Bezimenne, as well as in Voznesenivka, an area of Luhansk region close to the border with the Russian Federation. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Artema, Novotoshkivske, Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, as well as in Zalizne and Horlivka. In Odessa, the SMM followed up on reports of an attack against journalists...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, organized a co-ordination meeting with municipal gender focal points on 11 July in Podgorica. The participants evaluated accomplishments and activities carried out by the municipalities in the last period and discussed and co-ordinated future activities.

UDINE, Italy, 16 July 2018 – Where states focus on efforts to integrate majority and minority communities on their own territories, societies become more resilient and national minorities are less likely to be at the centre of inter-State issues, said participants at the conclusion of today’s conference in Udine, Italy, marking the 10th anniversary of the OSCE High Commissioner’s Bolzano/Bozen Recommendations on National Minorities in Inter-State Relations.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine is aware of the reporting of the ARD programme «Fakt» on Tuesday, 17 July. The Mission is concerned about any alleged breach of its security and is determined to examine all the allegations thoroughly in accordance with established procedures...

VIENNA, 16 July 2018 – The effectiveness of current drug control policies and strategic and innovative approaches to reducing the supply and demand of illicit drugs are the focus of the two-day OSCE-wide anti-drugs conference that opened in Vienna today. The conference brings together some 130 representatives of OSCE participating States and OSCE Partners for Co-operation...

The first Summer School on Political Parties and Democracy, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), took place in Warsaw from 9 to 15 July 2018. The Summer School brought together MA and PhD

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 13 and 14 July, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 14 and 15 July, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and the same number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted in all three areas. It was also restricted in areas of Donetsk region outside government control, including again near Zaichenko and Bezimenne, and in Horlivka. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novozvanivka. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to a phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne...

An OSCE-organized national seminar on professional integrity and ethical standards in law enforcement took place on 12 and 13 July 2018 in Ashgabat. Officials from the national security, interior, justice and defence ministries, the Supreme Court, the State Service to Combat Economic Crimes, the State Migration Service and other law enforcement bodies of Turkmenistan participated in the event.

A five-day training course aimed at strengthening the capacity of government officials from Kyrgyzstan to counter terrorist financing was organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s Global Programme against Money Laundering, from 10 to 15 July 2018...

BERLIN, 13 July 2018 – An OSCE Parliamentary Assembly seminar held this week in Berlin, Germany, focused on how to prevent ethnic conflicts through law and the exchange of best practice, notably through the protection of national minorities and accommodating ethnic diversity. The participants discussed in an informal setting the central role which parliamentarians could play in forming government policy towards national minorities and in promoting legislation that can protect the rights of national minorities.

KYIV, 14 July 2018 – Concluding a two-day visit to Kyiv, the OSCE PA Special Representative on Gender Issues, Dr. Hedy Fry (MP, Canada) underlined the need for greater equality between women and men to fully exploit Ukraine’s reform agenda and conflict-resolution efforts.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, compared with the previous reporting period, and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near Lozove and at an SMM long-range UAV near Sakhanka. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it again observed military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area and saw a white signal flare fired near a checkpoint south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* It was also restricted in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Lozove, Zaichenko and Bezimenne.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. An SMM long-range UAV recorded outgoing explosions and impacts close to a position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Sakhanka, while a position of the armed formations was only about 260m away. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Zaitseve, Novotoshkivske, Zhovte and Stanytsia Luhanska.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Krasnohorivka and Zoria. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Zaichenko and near Dovzhanske, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Muratove and Kreminna. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Zaitseve, Novotoshkivske, Raivka and Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM monitored a court hearing in Kherson and a gathering in Kyiv.

BISHKEK, 12 July 2018- The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek (POiB) and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) co-organized a seminar on Central Asia-Afghanistan policy partnership. The purpose of the event was an exchange of views on establishing policy partnerships at the expert-analytical level and deepening ties among researchers in the region.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe completed its activities aimed at building community resilience against terrorist radicalization and violent extremism at grassroots level in the Sughd region on 12 July 2018...

VIENNA, 12 July 2018- Co-operation between the OSCE’s participating States and role of public-private partnerships in enhancing cyber stability between States was the focus of today’s OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, compared with the previous reporting period, and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it again observed military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. Its access was also restricted near Khrustalnyi, Zaichenko and Kozatske, as well as near Izvaryne and Sievernyi, near the border with the Russian Federation, and near Druzheliubivka in Kherson region.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Starolaspa, Novooleksandrivka and Khrustalnyi. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Artema, Stanytsia Luhanska, Novotoshkivske and Raivka. The SMM monitored two gatherings in Kyiv, a gathering in Dnipro and followed up on court cases in Kharkiv region related to the fishing ship Nord...