News and press releases

BRUSSELS, 12 July 2018- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) hosted an introductory meeting between Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov on 11 July in Brussels. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in the meeting. This was the first high-level meeting between the sides in this format since elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan.

More than 500 officials and civil society representatives from across Ukraine were trained on how state-funded social services can be delivered by non-governmental organizations, in a series of eight seminars organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine from May to July. The last workshop in the series, which took place in Poltava, ended on 12 July 2018. The others were held in Kyiv, Odesa, Vinnitsa, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Kramatorsk and Dnipro.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan supported a study visit for six representatives of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Russian Federation and France, which took place from 29 June to 6 July 2018. The delegation consisted of judges and experts and was headed by the Deputy Chairperson of the Court, Askar Gafurov...

A workshop on how to set up an Advance Passenger Information (API) system in Moldova was organized by the Border Security and Management Unit (BSMU) of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) from 10 to 12 July in Chisinau. The aim of establishing an API system is to better regulate exit, entry, and transit of air passengers.

MINSK, 11 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 11 July 2018:

From 4 June to 11 July 2018, the OSCE Presence in Albania, together with the Albanian School of Public Administration, trained 200 public officials on issues of good governance, integrity and anti-corruption. The public officials of mid- and lower management level came from 20 municipalities from the regions of Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan, Gjirokastra and Dibra, with half of them coming from the Tirana Municipality alone...

VIENNA, 11 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his concern about an excessive sentence of 12 years in a penal colony handed down to Khayrullo Mirsaidov by a court in Tajikistan.

This report is for the media and the general public. The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports that a 14-year-old boy had been injured by the explosion of an object, which he had picked up in Zlatoustivka. It also followed up on reports of recent damage caused by shelling in a residential area of Zolote-4/Rodina. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas and again observed military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as near Markyne, Nova Marivka and Bezimenne.* 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 other essential civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Artema, Novotoshkivske and Raivka...

BERLIN, 11 July 2018 – OSCE parliamentarians should spare no effort in conveying OSCE values to parliamentary colleagues and to enact legislation that promotes full implementation of international commitments, the Parliamentary Assembly stated in the Berlin Declaration adopted at the German Bundestag today. (Download the Declaration in English, French or Russian.)

VIENNA, 11 July 2018 –The security situation in the Mediterranean region was a key area of focus at today's joint meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation and the Permanent Council in light of large movements of refugees and migrants.

Seventeen civil society professionals from the left bank of the Dniester/Nistru River successfully completed a two-day capacity-building training course on best practices in identifying and assisting victims of trafficking in human beings. The event was organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova in partnership with the Transdniestrian NGO Women’s Initiatives from 10 to 11 July 2018 in Tiraspol...

On 10 July 2018, the 88th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting was held in Ergneti. Mr. Erik Høeg, Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Mr. James C. O’Shea, representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), co-facilitated the meeting.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, 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 Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and continued to observe military presence inside the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted near Starolaspa in Donetsk region and at a military-type compound in Luhansk region. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Kreminna, Krasnorichenske and Chervonopopivka. 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 Artema, Novotoshkivske, Novoselivka, Stanytsia Luhanska and Bolotene. In Kyiv, the SMM observed a public gathering.

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 by only one person at both BCPs...

BERLIN, 10 July 2018 – The three general committees of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly – the political and security committee, the economic and environmental committee and the human rights and humanitarian affairs committee – have wrapped up their work at the 27th Annual Session in Berlin.

A one-week summer school on communism and the communist legacy in Albania started on 9 July 2018 in Tirana. The event is being held for the second consecutive year and is organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania, in co-operation with the Faculty and the Institute for the Studies of Communist Crimes and Consequences in Albania.

VIENNA, 9 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his concern regarding the law decree issued in Turkey on 8 July, which closed down three newspapers and one TV station, in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 6 and 7 July, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 7 and 8 July the Mission 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 saw a recent trench inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted in Zaichenko, Starolaspa and Olenivka, as well as at a permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region and a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region. 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. The Mission monitored the transfer of mortal remains from government-controlled to non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. It also monitored gatherings in Kherson and Odessa.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has released translations of five publications on different aspects of elections into six Western Balkan languages.

BERLIN, 8 July 2018 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 2018 Annual Session opened today in Berlin with calls for greater political will to ensure the full implementation of international commitments found in the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE documents. As elected representatives of the people, members of parliament have a key role to play in building support among decision-makers in governments for ensuring compliance with these commitments, speakers said at the Annual Session’s opening plenary session.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near non-government-controlled Vesele in Donetsk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted near Izvaryne, Voznesenivka and Siedove, near the border with the Russian Federation, and near Horlivka. 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 other essential civilian infrastructure. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on an incident at an office where a political party was scheduled to hold a meeting.

VIENNA, 6 July 2018- OSCE Representative on the Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir voiced strong disapproval against today’s court decision to imprison Zaman journalists.

VIENNA, 6 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today raised concerns regarding the draft law “On changes to some legislative acts of Ukraine on countering threats to national security in the information sphere”, as it may endanger free access to information online...

VIENNA, 6 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today denounced the fine imposed on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for not complying with a Russian law regulating the activities of media outlets branded by the authorities as “foreign agents.”

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed fresh damage from gunfire to a house in Yasynuvata. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted again near Zaichenko and Bezimenne, as well as in Kruta Balka and at a weapons permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Starolaspa and Marinka. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS), including through monitoring the security situation around the station; it heard explosions close to the station despite explicit security guarantees. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure. It monitored the situation of civilians at the entry-exit checkpoint near the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and noted again that the wooden ramps on the broken part of the bridge were unstable...

KYIV, 6 July 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, today welcomed the reduction in the number of ceasefire violations that has occurred since recommitment to the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, which came into effect shortly after midnight on 1 July 2018...

BERLIN, 6 July 2017 – Hundreds of parliamentarians from North America, Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa are gathering in Berlin for the 27th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, taking place 7-11 July...

On 5 July 2018 a meeting of the Coordination Council for the Reform of the Criminal-Executive System of the Kyrgyz Republic entitled "Assessment of the Health Status of Convicts and Individuals held in Detention: Problems and Solutions" took place in Bishkek on 5 July 2018. The Coordination Council aims to reform Kyrgyzstan’s penitentiary system.

VIENNA, 5 July 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today sounded the alarm on the gravity and deterioration of media freedom in the OSCE region, as he presented his biannual report to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, one year after his appointment...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Zhovte. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area and near the Zolote disengagement area, where an SMM camera recorded two explosions in close proximity. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was also restricted near Izvaryne at the border with the Russian Federation as well as near Zaichenko, Shevchenko and Bezimenne. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Vasylivka, Starolaspa and Sosnivske. 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. The SMM followed up further on the killing of a member of the Roma community in Berehove in Zakarpattia region...

From 3 to 5 July 2018 the OSCE Mobile Training Team delivered in Skopje an interactive course on identifying foreign terrorist fighters for country’s 24 border and security services officers...

An OSCE-supported training seminar on building the capacity of water management lecturers in sustainable water management concluded on 5 July 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

Election administration and the work of the media during election campaigns were at the centre of discussions during two workshops held in Tirana on 3 and 4 July 2018 respectively, with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Presence to Albania.

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 recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area and observed military presence inside the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Zaichenko and Oleksandrivske. 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 other essential civilian infrastructure. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a public gathering...

VIENNA, 4 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today raised his concern about the draft law amending the “Statute on the Mass Media” in the Russian Federation. If adopted in its current state, the law would extend the status of “foreign agent” not only to media but to individual journalists and other authors.

VIENNA, 4 July 2018 – With the number of people killed or injured globally by landmines having doubled in the last five years, today’s OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) meeting in Vienna, held under Slovenia’s Chairmanship, focused on the threat posed by these “silent killers” and on the different approaches the OSCE is taking in affected states to address this challenge...

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana in co-operation with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan organized a two-day seminar “News-making in public relations — an effective tool for securing active presence in social media” from 4 to 5 July 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

Enhancing the assessment of electoral security was the focus of a workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 3 July 2018. The workshop brought together nine experts from civil society organizations involved in electoral issues and several

Over 40 participants from delegations of OSCE participating States, civil society organizations and academia participated in a side event of the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting dedicated to combating violence against women in conflict settings on 2 July 2018...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed bullet holes in windows of residential buildings in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it heard small-arms fire near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Lobacheve, Donetskyi and Bohdanivka. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station. The Mission observed a gathering in Kyiv and the vandalism of a monument in Odessa. In Berehove, the SMM followed up on the killing of a member of the Roma community...

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 slightly decreased at both BCPs. On 28 June, the seventy-six Russian convoy of 17 vehicles crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point...

The functional independence of prosecutors in Eastern Europe was the topic of an expert meeting organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 2 and 3 July 2018. Sixteen participants (8 women and 8 men) – prosecutors, lawyers, and representatives of

With the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek an expert review of the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1540 on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Central Asian states and Belarus was held in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan on 28 June 2018...

Thirty legal and civil society professionals from both banks of Dniester/Nistru River, as well as representatives of the Moldovan Ombudsman’s office, completed a three-day training course on human rights monitoring organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 28 to 30 June 2018. The course was designed to enhance the capacity of the participants and their role in monitoring the human rights situation and to strengthen co-operation between the legal communities on both banks...

VIENNA, 2 July 2018 – Strengthening law-enforcement and judicial responses to violence against women, raising awareness about its multiple and invisible forms and empowering victims are crucial elements of any effective strategy to prevent such violence, participants said today at the opening of a two-day OSCE conference in Vienna...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 29 and 30 June, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 30 June and 1 July – and following a recommitment to the ceasefire – the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM observed fresh damage caused by gunfire in a residential area of Yasynuvata. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it saw a fresh crater and again Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted also in Kozatske, near Izvaryne at the border with the Russian Federation and on three occasions in Zaichenko. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Muratove. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station...

A three-day summer school for young politicians was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek together with the International Republican Institute in Kyrgyzstan, and the Legal Prosperity Foundation from 26 to 29 June 2018 in Bishkek. The school aims to strengthen the capacity of young leaders in Kyrgyzstan and promote their engagement in decision-making processes. The agenda included a panel discussion on the issues of youth employment, as well as problems with accessing higher education for people with special needs...

The Coalition against Torture in partnership with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, the National Centre for the Prevention of Torture, the Voice of Freedom Foundation and the Office of the Ombudsman held an informative workshop dedicated to the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 25 June 2018 in Bishkek...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Sabivka. The SMM observed a fresh shelling impact in a residential area of Dokuchaievsk. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as 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 other essential civilian infrastructure...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on a civilian casualty in a residential area of Pivdenne. The Mission observed fresh damage caused from gunfire in a residential area of Zolote-5 (Mykhailivka). The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as in Molodizhne and Zaichenko. 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 to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema and a water pipeline in Obozne...