News and press releases

VIENNA, 2 May 2018- The importance of national export control systems and deactivation programmes as essential instruments in preventing the destabilising accumulation and uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons (SALW) was emphasized by speakers at today’s OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation meeting in Vienna, held under Slovenia’s Chairmanship...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian injured by small-arms fire in Olenivka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines. It continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) for Voda Donbassa employees and continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka. In Kharkiv and Kyiv, the SMM monitored public gatherings. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on reports of alleged arson on 21 April in a camp set up and inhabited by Roma community members...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 27 and 28 April, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 28 and 29 April, it recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske and the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Izvaryne, Kadiivka and Voznesenivka.* Members of the armed formations told an SMM patrol that it would be detained if it did not comply with requests to inspect SMM vehicles at a checkpoint north of Horlivka*. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM observed damage in residential areas in Pikuzy and Bila Hora and followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Dokuchaievsk and Donetsk city. It continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa employees and heard ceasefire violations in the area, including by a multiple launch rocket system, despite security guarantees. The SMM also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka and confirmed that Vodafone services had been restored in several non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. It visited two border areas outside of government control. In Odessa, the SMM monitored a gathering at the Duke of Richelieu monument...

An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on Kazakhstan’s new Environmental Code concluded on 28 April 2018 in Astana...

THE HAGUE, 30 April 2018 – The deadline for receiving nominations for the Max van der Stoel Award 2018 has been extended to 14 May 2018. The award of 50,000 euros recognizes extraordinary and outstanding achievements in improving the position of national minorities in the OSCE participating States...

At 14:00 on 28 April 2018, at a checkpoint north of Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk) six armed members of the armed formations stopped an SMM patrol, comprising two armoured vehicles and five members travelling from government- to non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. They demanded to inspect the trunks of the SMM vehicles; the patrol complied with the request...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian injured by a mine blast near Yasne. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including to a weapons holding area not under government control.* Small arms were fired near an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near Novoluhanske, assessed as targeting the UAV.* Near Bohdanivka and Talakivka SMM UAVs were jammed.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa employees and heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees. It also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka and at a pumping station near Artema. The SMM facilitated damage assessments and repair works carried out by Vodafone employees in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, which resulted in restoration of the signal in these areas...

Rome/Vienna, 27 April 2018- OSCE Chairperson-in-office and Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and OSCE Seretary General Thomas Greminger welcomed today the announcement of a peace treaty to be signed by the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea before the end of the year and the commitment of the two states to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The SMM recorded similar numbers of ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Zolote-5. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as at a checkpoint near Kreminets.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Kostiantynivka, Bakhmut, Vodiane, Bohoiavlenka and Popasna. The Mission saw anti-tank mines near Novotoshkivske and Zholobok for the first time and, again, in a non-government-controlled area south of the bridge near Shchastia. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka, and to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa employees. It also facilitated damage assessments carried out by Vodafone employees in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. The Mission monitored two gatherings in Kyiv and followed up on reports of damage to two bank office branches in Lviv. The SMM continued to monitor the situation at a church in Ptycha, Rivne region, following reports of an incident on 2 April...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) organized a study visit for over 70 secondary school students and teachers from Mostar that concluded on 27 April 2018 in Sarajevo. The students visited the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Central Election Commission and Sarajevo City Hall.

The first in a series of four training seminars on human rights protection mechanisms for representatives of local administrations, law-enforcement bodies and civil society concluded on 27 April 2018 in the village of Kazakhstan, in the South Kazakhstan region.

VIENNA, 27 April 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today welcomed a number of positive steps for media freedom in Kyrgyzstan.

More than 100 public servants and civil society representatives engaged in anti-trafficking activities on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River, strengthened their capacities to protect and assist human trafficking victims at workshops conducted by the OSCE Mission to Moldova between 11 and 27 April 2018. The workshops, held in Chisinau, were organized in close co-operation with the Permanent Secretariat of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings.

Representatives of the State Commission on Emergency Situations, military and law-enforcement bodies, the State Seismology Service under the Academy of Science, and relevant ministries discussed the protection of energy infrastructure from natural hazards at an OSCE-organized seminar held in Ashgabat on 26 and 27 April 2018.

The second OSCE-supported international forum on the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture (NPM) concluded on 27 April 2018 in Astana...

An OSCE-supported two-day seminar on enhancing media awareness on newly adopted amendments to media legislation concluded on 27 April 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

VIENNA, 26 April 2018 – Six entrepreneurs from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia were presented today with the OSCE GEMS Award for young green entrepreneurs making social impact in Mediterranean region. Each winner received a €15,000 grant...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed damage to civilian properties in a residential area of Yasynuvata. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas and spotted new military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM saw for the first time anti-tank mines in a non-government-controlled neighbourhood of Zaitseve.

The first in a series of employment fairs organized by the OSCE Mission for some 70 members of Kosovo Roma, Kosovo Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptian communities to enhance their employability concluded on 25 April 2018 in Roma Mahala, Mitrovicë/Mitrovica South.

VIENNA, 26 April 2018 – With the volatile and unpredictable security situation in eastern Ukraine continuing, there is an urgent need to protect civilians living there, said the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today...

VIENNA, 26 April 2018- While welcoming the acquittal of three Cumhuriyet staff, and the release of CEO Akın Atalay, OSCE media freedom representative Harlem Désir strongly condemned the prison sentences issued by the court in Silivri, Turkey, to the majority of the defendants...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Vrubivskyi. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske, including shots fired 200m and 700m from a patrol inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Dovhe.* The Mission observed weapons in violation in Lysychansk and Vrubivka. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs of water pipelines in Maiorsk and electricity lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka, as well as to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for its employees.

Indicators of money laundering, terrorism financing and corruption and best practices for interagency co-operation were discussed at an OSCE-organized seminar that concluded on 25 April 2018 in Ashgabat...

SARAJEVO, 25 April 2018 – A specialized three-day training course on trial advocacy in war crimes cases for prosecutors of the Special War Crimes Department on the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded today in Sarajevo...

VIENNA, 25 April 2018- The continued functioning of OSCE confidence- and security- building measures (CSBMs) and arms control instruments is key to reducing the risk of conflict in Europe, said speakers at today’s OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation meeting in Vienna, held under Slovenia’s Chairmanship...

The OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the OSCE field operations, facilitated the participation of representatives of non-profit organizations from Central Asia and Eastern Europe in a direct dialogue on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluation process and risk assessments for more effectively preventing money laundering and terrorist financing on 23 and 24 April 2018 in Vienna...

Forty-one specialists from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan completed a two-week training course on explosive ordnance disposal in Dushanbe on 24 April 2018. The course was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe as a part of its multi-year capacity-building effort...

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Dokuchaievsk and observed damage to a civilian house in Dokuchaievsk as a result of shelling. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a checkpoint near Kreminets. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM revisited permanent storage sites and observed weapons missing, including for the first time. The SMM observed mines, and new unexploded ordnance (UXO) and improvised explosive devices, including near Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to electricity lines near Maiorsk...

Vienna, 24 April 2018 – OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Madina Jarbussynova urged today OSCE participating States to capitalize on the best practices and many successful multi-disciplinary and multi-agency programmes at local and national levels highlighted at this year’s conference.

Gender mainstreaming in the parliament of Montenegro was the focus of a training course organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Parliamentary Committee for Gender Equality on 23 and 24 April 2018 in Podgorica...

CHISINAU, 24 April 2018 – An agreement on the mechanism for the participation of vehicles from Transdniestria in international road traffic was signed by the Chief Negotiators from Chisinau and Tiraspol today...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe donated two modern desktop computers, two notebooks, one printer and one professional digital video camera to the press centre of Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry on 20 April 2018 in Dushanbe.

Some 50 representatives of state institutions, civil society, and the international community gathered for a public debate, organized by the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Labour and Social Policy Ministry, on the new draft law on prevention and protection against discrimination on 23 April 2018 in Skopje...

Between the evenings of 20 and 21 April, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 21 and 22 April, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM observed fresh damage caused by gunfire or shelling in Pikuzy and Sakhanka, and impact sites in Popasna. Operations at the Donetsk Filtration Station resumed following facilitation by the SMM of access of Voda Donbassa employees to the station, however, the SMM heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees having been provided. The SMM also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs of a high-voltage powerline near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and it recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in areas outside government control near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. Civilians expressed frustration due to the long waiting time at entry-exit checkpoints near Marinka, Kreminets and Olenivka.

MOSCOW/PARIS/WASHINGTON DC, 23 April 2018 – In light of recent political developments in the region and the possibility of escalation along the Line of Contact, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) underscore the critical importance of the sides respecting the ceasefire at this delicate time and, in particular, keeping heavy equipment positioned in the rear of the frontlines.

Multidisciplinary and gender-sensitive approaches reflecting the needs and voices of survivors of human trafficking were at the centre of discussions at a side event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU/TNTD)

A three-day workshop organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo to support the Ministry of Local Government Administration (MLGA) in finalizing the draft Law on Allocation for Use and Exchange of Immovable Property of the Municipality concluded on 22 April 2018 in Tirana, Albania...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini- unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near non-government-controlled Novohryhorivka in Luhansk region. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties, including an employee of Voda Donbassa, in Donetsk city and Toretsk. Operations at the Donetsk Filtration Station remained suspended following the 17 April gunfire that wounded Voda Donbassa employees. The Mission facilitated the handover of possible human remains from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.*

Assessing digital intelligence and implementing findings obtained for planning operative measures in the fight against transnational organized crime facilitated by the Internet was the focus of the OSCE-hosted one-week training course, which took place from 16 to 20 April in Tirana...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of three people wounded by small-arms fire near Donetsk city. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by shelling in residential areas of Staromykhailivka. The SMM visited the Yunkom mine amidst concerns of possible radioactive contamination from planned flooding. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, at an airfield near Peremozhne, and in areas near Voznesenivka close to the border with the Russian Federation. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line.

Government and civil society representatives from Andorra, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Slovakia gathered for the third OSCE National Action Plan Academy workshop on 19 and 20 April 2018 in Vienna to discuss good practices in the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

COPENHAGEN, 20 April 2018- On the eighth consecutive day of protests in Yerevan and other cities in Armenia, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain), Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee, today called on all sides to engage in constructive dialogue...

SARAJEVO, 20 April 2018 – OSCE media freedom representative Harlem Désir, concluded today his first official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasizing the need to strengthen media pluralism, including respecting the independence and sustainability of public service broadcasting, and the need to protect safety of journalists in the country...

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and Tajikistan's Interior Ministry opened the first Public Council under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry devoted to promoting community policing in Tajikistan, on 19 April 2018 in the Shaartuz district of the province of Khatlon...

Gender mainstreaming in local governments and election campaigns was the focus of an OSCE-supported training seminar for 30 high-level local government executives and local district legislators from the Zhambyl Region, held on 20 April 2018 in Taraz, Kazakhstan...

An OSCE-supported five-day training seminar on risk profiling techniques to ensure public safety at transportation facilities concluded on 20 April 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of a boy who had been injured by an ordnance explosion in Kostiantynivka. The Mission facilitated the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to and from the Donetsk Filtration Station – after employees came under small-arms fire and were wounded by it the day before – resulting in the suspension of the DFS operations. The SMM saw damage caused by shelling in residential areas of Dokuchaievsk. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere.*

WARSAW, 19 April 2018 – Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today urged the authorities in Armenia to protect and ensure the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in the country, as protests there continue...

The second annual Media Fellowship, an initiative of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo to build the capacities of young journalists and establish a network of fellows from communities living in Kosovo, was launched on 17 April 2018...