News and press releases

A roundtable discussion on the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Kazakhstan took place in Astana on 15 July 2016...

KYIV, 15 July 2016 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine today opened a new sphere of project assistance to Ukraine – improving democratic control of defence and security sectors – with a presentation of international experience and best practices at a conference in Kyiv...

COPENHAGEN, 15 July 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) issued the following statement in response to an apparent terrorist attack that killed at least 84 people in Nice, France, Thursday night...

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana supported a national public hearing on combatting torture in the penal system, organized by the Public Council under the Interior Ministry in Astana, Kazakhstan on 15 July 2016...

BISHKEK, 15 July 2016 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Regional Office for Central Asia of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR ROCA) completed a training course in Bishkek today for 35 advisors and experts of the Kyrgyz parliament on promoting human rights in the legislative process...

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded a higher number of ceasefire violations compared to the previous reporting period, with violence focused around Svitlodarsk, Avdiivka, Yasynuvata, and Shyrokyne. In Luhansk region, however, for the first time in four days, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations. The SMM followed up on reports of shelling and conducted crater analysis in Horlivka, Vozdvyzhenka, and Novotoshkivske. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential infrastructure in Shumy, Kirove, and near Pryshyb. The Mission monitored also the withdrawal of weapons, and observed a stockpile of MLRS rockets north of Mariupol. The SMM continued noting long queues at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. Its freedom of movement was restricted on four occasions, all in areas outside government control.* The SMM observed the arrival of the new Russian Federation contingent to the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) at a border crossing point in Kharkiv region...

BERLIN / VIENNA, 15 July 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today condemned the deadly terror attack in Nice, France...