News and press releases

VIENNA, 29 February 2016 – The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, winner of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, addressed the OSCE Mediterranean Contact Group, in Vienna today. The Contact Group serves as the main venue for regular dialogue between the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation and the OSCE participating States. It is headed by the incoming 2017 Chair of the OSCE, Austria...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the City Council of Valencia, Spain, signed an agreement on 29 February 2016 to train local law enforcement officers in recognizing, understanding and investigating hate crimes...

Promoting youth political participation was the focus of a course co-organized in Chisinau by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Community of Democracies in Moldova from 27 to 29 February 2016.

ASTANA, 29 February 2016 – Factors underlying violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism and the ways to effectively address this threat in Central Asia and beyond were the focus of an international roundtable discussion organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in co-operation with the Centre for Military Strategic Research under the Ministry of Defence, in Astana today...

The SMM continued to observe a lower number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk compared to earlier in the week. The situation in Luhansk was relatively quiet, with many ceasefire violations related to live-fire exercises. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, and saw heavy weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in areas not controlled by the Government in Donetsk region. It facilitated and monitored demining and repair works on both sides of the contact line and observed an exchange of detained persons. The SMM encountered freedom-of-movement restrictions, all in areas not under government control.* The Mission monitored two public gatherings in Kyiv and observed the spots where two statues had been toppled in Kharkiv region.

VIENNA, 26 February 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about recent media freedom developments in Ukraine...

The SMM observed a reduced number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with previous days. In Luhansk, all ceasefire violations observed were assessed to be part of training. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. It facilitated and monitored repairs to essential infrastructure on both sides of the contact line in Luhansk region. The SMM encountered freedom of movement restrictions, all in areas not under government control*. The SMM observed a protest outside a TV station in Kyiv. The SMM facilitated dialogue between Church representatives in Ivano-Frankivsk region...