News and press releases

In Donetsk region, the SMM observed more ceasefire violations on 18 June compared to the previous day, but fewer on 19 June compared to each 17 and 18 June. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations on each day compared to 17 June. The Mission assessed damage to houses in Kominternove, Sakhanka and Trudivskyi district of Donetsk city, and continued to monitor the build-up of armed positions at Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. The SMM monitored the withdrawal of weapons and the presence of unexploded ordnance. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs in Vesela Hora, Holubivske and Berezivske. The SMM visited three border areas not controlled by the Government*. The Mission’s freedom of movement was restricted on two occasions, in areas not controlled by the Government, and once by Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel.*

LAMPEDUSA, 20 June 2016 – On the occasion of World Refugee Day, OSCE parliamentarians called on countries across the OSCE region to more equitably share responsibilities towards refugees and migrants, as well as to improve integration measures to ensure that they can contribute to society...

VIENNA, 20 June 2016 – The detention of two journalists and a human rights activist for expressing solidarity with their colleagues is the latest, and a most severe, blow to freedom of expression and media freedom in Turkey, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE media freedom representative said today...

VIENNA / WARSAW, 20 June 2016 – On the occasion of World Refugee Day, Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), emphasized that any solutions to the refugee crisis in Europe must ensure the dignified treatment and protection of the human rights of all refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and migrants...

BERLIN, 20 June 2016- Government experts of the 57 OSCE participating States met in Berlin today to discuss efforts to continue the important fight against anti-Semitism. The meeting that took place in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs was opened by Gernot Erler, Special Representative of the German government for the OSCE Chairmanship, and focused on exchanges of strategies, methods and good practice in combating anti-Semitism...

VIENNA, 20 June 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed the arrests of three people for the murder of radio journalist Luka Popov in Serbia...

ASTANA, 20 June 2016 – An OSCE-supported training seminar for some 30 prosecutors and defence lawyers from different regions of Kazakhstan on plea bargaining and the role of procedural prosecutors in criminal procedure began today in Astana...