News and press releases

The SMM observed more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared to the previous day. The Mission followed up on reports of shelling and civilian casualties. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, and noted armoured combat vehicles and an anti-aircraft weapon in the security zone. The SMM observed the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO), monitored the situation of civilians at checkpoints, and observed border areas not controlled by the Government. The Mission’s freedom of movement was restricted on seven occasions. The SMM monitored the situation of demobilized veterans in Chernivtsi and Lviv regions...

KYIV, 27 May 2016 – The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ertugrul Apakan today expressed his dismay at two violent incidents putting SMM members in danger and preventing the Mission from effectively monitoring the situation in the conflict-affected east of Ukraine. An SMM patrol came under small-arms fire during a foot patrol in Avdiivka-Yasynuvata area in Donetsk region on 27 May; none of the patrol members was injured. Also today, the SMM’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicle was downed while flying near “DPR”-controlled Horlivka...

BERLIN, 27 May 2016 – Following two recent incidents targeting the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) in the country’s east, OSCE Chairperson-in Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following statement...

DUSHANBE, 27 May 2016 – A one-month Border Management Staff Course for Women Leaders concluded today at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe, which trained 25 female border officials representing ten OSCE participating States- Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, and Ukraine- and one OSCE Partner for Co-operation, Algeria...

The finalization of a Regulatory Reform Roadmap for Armenia was the focus of a workshop co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the Ministry of Justice of Armenia and the OSCE Office in Yerevan on 27 and 28 May 2016 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO / BRČKO DISTRICT, 27 May 2016 – The use of videoconferencing for interviewing witnesses at remote locations was the focus of a two-day peer-to-peer meeting the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina organized for judges and prosecutors who are working on war crimes cases in courts and prosecutors' offices at the entity level and Brčko District...

A seminar organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova on 25 May 2016 trained 25 judges and prosecutors on investigating and prosecuting a range of cybercrimes, including online child pornography and human trafficking over the Internet...