News and press releases

A workshop focusing on strengthening citizens’ participation in community-based efforts to reduce disaster risk and the impact of natural hazards was held on 6 May 2016 in Yerevan, Armenia. The event was organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, in co-operation with the Fund for Disaster Risk Reduction National Platform...

In Donetsk region, the SMM noted an increased number of ceasefire violations on both 7 and 8 May, compared to 6 May. In Luhansk region, it noted a low level of violence with less than 10 explosions recorded. The Mission observed the presence of hardware in violation of the respective withdrawal lines and continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The SMM noted the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance. It continued to observe equally high numbers of civilians waiting to travel across the contact line, as before the weekend, and monitored the humanitarian situation of civilians affected by the conflict. The SMM visited one crossing point at the border in areas not controlled by the Government. The Mission monitored the situation of internally displaced persons in Kherson and observed a ceremony for “Reconciliation and Commemoration Day” in Lviv. The SMM’s freedom of movement was restricted on ten occasions, all but one in areas not controlled by the Government...*

WARSAW, 9 May 2016 – Reacting to the reported execution in Belarus of Syarhey Iwanow and a 6 May Supreme Court ruling upholding the death sentence against Sergei Khmelevsky, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today again called on Belarus to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions, as a step towards complete abolition of the death penalty...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 9 May 2016 – A ten-day school of journalism organized by the OSCE Mission for around 20 young people from northern Kosovo started today in Mitrovica/Mitrovicё North...

TIRANA, 9 May 2016- The OSCE Presence in Albania today launched a sports-based youth development programme in co-operation with Tirana Rugby Club, with the aim of promoting teamwork, sport ethics, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging among youth, helping them understand that there are always positive alternatives to anti-social behaviour and criminality...

COPENHAGEN, 9 May 2016 – Members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Migration will be in Calais, France, this week to see the conditions for refugees and migrants seeking shelter in encampments there. The visit will serve as a fact-finding mission to enable the parliamentarians to gain a first-hand impression of conditions and to develop policy recommendations to improve the collective response to the refugee and migrant crisis...

In Donetsk region, the SMM noted a lower number of ceasefire violations compared with the previous day, with over 120 explosions recorded. In Luhansk region it noted a low level of violence with five explosions recorded. The Mission observed the presence of weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines. It continued to observe civilians travelling across the contact line. The SMM’s freedom of movement was restricted on 12 occasions, including five denials of access, all but one in areas not controlled by the Government...