News and press releases

BISHKEK, 5 September 2016 – With the support of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the Crisis Management Centre of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan conducted a series of 14 training courses for operators of the Unified State Emergency Dispatching Agency (USEDA). The training was held from 22 August to 4 September 2016 in the Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Chui regions...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (three explosions compared with 18) and also in Luhansk region (one explosion compared with eight) compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian injuries, conducted crater analysis in Shchastia and Kamianka, and observed damage from shelling to civilian infrastructure. The SMM monitored three border crossing areas, in Zhovtneve, Petrivka and Uspenka, and visited schools on both sides of the contact line. The SMM encountered impediments to its freedom of movement, including threats of violence against SMM members, all in areas outside of government control. The SMM continued to monitor a calm situation al ong the administrative boundary line between the mainland and Crimea. The SMM observed clashes between protestors and the dispersal of a public gathering in Odessa...

The Central Election Commission (CEC) and the OSCE Presence in Albania organized a series of voter information and education sessions for 140 women in the municipality of Dibra on 1 and 2 September 2016, ahead of the 11 September mayoral by-election. The events, which took place in three administrative units of the municipality- Peshkopi, Muhur and Maqellarë- raised awareness among women, including first time voters, about their rights and the importance of voting...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (18 explosions compared with 95 on 31 August) and also in Luhansk region...

WARSAW, 2 September 2016 – Michael Georg Link, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today expressed concern over the mob violence against the Roma community in the village of Loshchynivka, Ukraine, in the Odesa region, and called on Ukrainian authorities to speak up against anti-Roma rhetoric and violence, immediately address interethnic tension and restore respect for the rule of law...

Joint initiatives to promote human rights protection in Armenia were the focus of a meeting hosted by the OSCE Office in Yerevan with Armenia’s Human Rights Defender’s (Ombudsperson) Office on 31 August 2016...

Terrorist attacks have shaken the OSCE region and beyond causing horror, fear, anger, grief and despair. The attacks have forcefully added to the OSCE participating States’ concerns about how to prevent and fight terrorism to keep our societies safe...