News and press releases

DUSHANBE, 9 August 2016 – Fostering gender-sensitive approaches in water management in Central Asia is the focus of today’s side event organized by the OSCE and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) during the High-level Symposium on implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 in Dushanbe...

VIENNA, 9 August 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed deep sorrow following the death of Željko Kopanja, journalist and owner of Nezavisne novine and Glas Srpske, who died on 8 August...

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations during the daytime of 6 August and a lower number of violations during the night of that day, compared to the respective time period of 5 August. An increase in the number of recorded violations was noted during the daytime of 7 August with almost triple the number of explosions as compared to the previous period. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in the daytime of 6 August compared to the day before. No violations were recorded during the night of 6 August and the whole day of 7 August. The Mission followed up on civilian casualties in Avdiivka, Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district and Yasynuvata, and conducted crater analysis in Petrovskyi district, Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove) and Sakhanka. It faced six freedom-of-movement restrictions, all but one in areas not controlled by the Government. The SMM followed up on media reports about the closure of the three crossing points at the administrative boundary line between Kherson region and Crimea. On the morning of 6 August, the SMM heard an explosion 3.9km east of its location in Luhansk city and saw a severely damaged vehicle at the scene. On the late morning of 7 August, the SMM experienced an earthquake whilst in its location in Mariupol...

MOSCOW, 8 August 2016 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 18 September State Duma elections in the Russian Federation. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the Russian authorities...

A two-day OSCE-supported mock election exercise for some 40 participants from the State Elections Commission (SEC) and Municipal Election Commissions (MEC) concluded on 5 August 2016 in Podgorica...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared to the previous day. The Mission recorded a significant level of fighting during the night of 5-6 August in Donetsk region. The SMM analysed craters in Krasnohorivka, Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove) and Sakhanka. It observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas. The Mission noted the absence of 12 towed howitzers from permanent storage sites in “LPR”-controlled areas. It faced four freedom-of-movement restrictions, all in areas not controlled by the Government. The SMM received concrete responses to recent incidents by the Ukrainian Armed Forces representative at the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination, but no such information regarding incidents that took place in areas not controlled by the Government...

On 6 August at 07:51hrs the SMM heard an explosion approximately 3.9km east of its location in Luhansk city...