News and press releases

A one-week modular training course on collective action, the role of regulatory impact assessments and anti-corruption proofing of draft legislation for more than 40 representatives of public sector, business community and civil society concluded on 8 December 2017 in Astana.

COPENHAGEN, 10 December 2017 – The most pressing human rights challenges facing the world could be alleviated by ensuring that international commitments are faithfully implemented, said the Chair and Rapporteur of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions today.

The OSCE-supported Third Defenсe Lawyers Forum dedicated to the important issues of reforming the legal profession took place in Almaty on 8 December 2017.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. 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 the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM saw damage to civilian properties from shelling near the Chervonyi Yar area of Luhansk city’s Zhovtnevyi district. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Berezove, Vesela Hora and Artema. The SMM visited two border areas outside of government control.

A team of experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was in Albania from 4 to 8 December 2017 for a consultation and planning visit as part of ODIHR’s Support to Elections in the Western Balkans project. The ODIHR team met with senior officials from the

VIENNA, 8 December 2017 – Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), called on participating States today to leverage current momentum in addressing gender-based violence in all its forms, including sexual assault and harassment, ahead of International Human Rights Day on 10 December...

VIENNA, 8 December 2017- The OSCE’s 57 participating States made a number of decisions at the close of the 24th Ministerial Council in Vienna today...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a heavy weapons holding area in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novoamvrosiivske. The SMM continued to observe long queues at the entry-exit checkpoint near Stanytsia Luhanska. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Zalizne, Berezove, Vesela Hora and Zolote. The Mission visited five border areas outside of government control. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored public gatherings...

VIENNA, 8 December 2017 – The OSCE Austrian Chairmanship appealed for greater attention to the plight of civilians in Eastern Ukraine at a side event held on the margins of the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna today.

VIENNA, 8 December 2017 – In a series of exchanges with foreign ministers, ambassadors, heads of OSCE institutions and other senior officials in Vienna this week, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) welcomed increased co-operation and dialogue on both the multilateral and bilateral levels. He noted the value of the OSCE and emphasized that it should be fully equipped to handle challenges facing the region...

The OSCE’s activities in combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) are an important contribution to the global fight against organized crime and terrorism, said speakers at a side event in in Vienna on 8 December 2017, on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council.

The office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) organized the first “Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia School on Multilingual and Multicultural Education for Integration and Sustainable Development”, in co-operation with the ORLEU National Centre for Professional

VIENNA, 7 December 2017 – OSCE Foreign Ministers and other high-level representatives discussed ways to enhance strategic stability in times of increasing political and military unpredictability at a focused discussion on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna. The exchange built on discussions in the framework of the Structured Dialogue on the current and future security challenges in the OSCE area, a multilateral process launched by the Austrian OSCE Chair earlier this year.

VIENNA, 7 December 2017 – It is in the interest of all participating States to use the OSCE as a security forum to counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism and to strengthen co-operation so that we can work together, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz at a side event held on the margins of the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna today...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a heavy weapons holding area in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.* The SMM saw shelling damage on a roof of a building in Novooleksandrivka and impact sites in residential areas of Dokuchaievsk. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Volnovakha. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Zalizne, Vesela Hora, Artema and Zolote. In Kyiv the SMM followed up on the situation around the protest camp outside the Parliament building...

Strengthening the capacity of government officials from Kazakhstan to counter terrorist financing was the aim of a three-day train-the-trainers course organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) Global Programme against Money Laundering, at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna from 5 to 7 December 2017.

Following his constructive visit to Uzbekistan in November 2017, the OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger signed a Joint Commitment with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gayrat Fazilov in Vienna on 7 December 2017 to jointly implement a road map on enhanced co-operation between the OSCE and the country...

VIENNA, 7 December 2017 – Mainstreaming the Youth, Peace and Security agenda into policy development in the OSCE area and beyond was the focus of a side event organized today on the margins of the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna by the Special Representatives of the Austrian Chairmanship-in-Office on Youth and Security...

VIENNA, 7 December 2017- On the occasion of the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting in Vienna, we the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries-- Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and French Permanent Representative Véronique Roger-Lacan-- remain united in our commitment to mediating a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, including the non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples. We reiterate our joint commitment to negotiating a peaceful resolution to this conflict as the only way to bring real reconciliation to the peoples of the region...

Effective methods, tools and skills for communicating about human rights issues in the digital age were the focus of a capacity-building event for human rights defenders from across the OSCE region, which took place in Budapest from 5 to 7 December 2017. The event was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in partnership with the Central European University.

VIENNA, 7 December 2017 – Addressing foreign ministers at the OSCE’s 24th Ministerial Council in Vienna today, Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) noted the value and potential of the OSCE, stressing that governments should ensure that the organization is fully equipped to handle challenges facing the region.

Representatives of law-enforcement bodies and prison officials involved in providing psychological support to inmates discussed the main principles of their work and learned from international experts about relevant practices in the OSCE region at an OSCE-organized seminar that concluded in Ashgabat on 7 December 2017.

VIENNA, 7 December 2017 – The OSCE and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed today in Vienna to deepen their co-operation and establish a strategic partnership to promote good governance, connectivity and economic development...

VIENNA, 7 December 2017- The OSCE, now more than ever, is indispensable for security in Europe, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz at the opening of the 24th Ministerial Council today in Vienna. He reminded the foreign ministers, state secretaries and high-level officials from the OSCE’s 57 participating States and 11 Partners for Co-operation that the security challenges facing the region can only be solved by consensus and overcoming the current crisis in confidence between states...

An OSCE-supported training seminar on gender mainstreaming the work of local governments concluded in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan, on 5 December 2017.

VIENNA, 6 December 2017 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz today received civil society’s recommendations to the OSCE executive structures and participating States, on the eve of the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council. The recommendations were adopted by more than 100 NGO representatives who met during the Parallel Civil Society Conference, which was organized by the Civic Solidarity Platform, a coalition of NGOs from across the OSCE region, in Vienna on 5 and 6 December...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including over 1,300 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Sosnivske and Mykolaivka.* The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district and observed damage caused by shelling in residential areas in Vrubivka, Novotoshkivske and Pervomaisk. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM observed an unexploded mortar round placed on a roadway near Nova Marivka. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a protest in support of an opposition politician....

VIENNA, 6 December 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed that, following a series of arrests earlier this week, three people have now been charged with murder in the case of the car explosion that killed the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta on 16 October 2017.

Effective and human rights-compliant policing in Roma and Sinti communities was the focus of a two-day training course for 20 senior Polish police officers organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Krakow, Poland, in co-operation with the Regional Police Headquarters, on 5 and 6 December 2017.

A three-day workshop for women on political participation, which was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, concluded in Tajikistan’s capital on 3 December 2017.

A women’s caucus was established in Tajikistan’s parliament on 30 November 2017 with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, and the international community, different political parties, members of parliament, and civil society representatives.

SKOPJE, 6 December 2017 – Senior representatives of ministries in charge of education, culture, and information society and administration came together today in Skopje to discuss ways to further advance the rights of smaller communities. The discussion, organized by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, in co-operation with the national Agency for the Community Rights Realization, aims at encouraging dialogue on equitable representation and on improving community rights in education, culture, public administration and media...

MINSK, 6 December 2017 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 5 November 2017:...

The SMM continued to record a similarly high number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region as in the previous 24 hours. It recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove, a settlement close to the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM corroborated reports of a civilian casualty in Verkhnotoretske. It observed damage to civilian properties from shelling in residential areas in Holmivskyi and impact sites at the Donetsk Filtration Station. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM visited a border area not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM continued to monitor the security situation outside a television station...

An OSCE-led roundtable discussion on combating corruption and financial crimes for experts from Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, the Russian Federation and representatives of law enforcement agencies from Belarus concluded today in Minsk.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with the Interior Ministry’s Police Forensics Centre, organized a regional workshop on Forensic Information Technologies for 15 digital forensics experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro on 5 and 6 December 2017 in Danilovgrad...

The importance of independent detention monitoring bodies in assessing whether state measures to prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT) in prisons are human rights compliant was the focus of a workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic

VIENNA, 5 December 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called on the authorities in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina to investigate numerous death threats against journalists and ensure their safety, following the recent conclusion of a war crimes court case at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)...

Vienna, 5 December 2017 – The 24th OSCE Ministerial Council, bringing together some 45 Foreign Ministers from across the OSCE region, will take place in Vienna, Austria on 7 and 8 December 2017, at the invitation of the 2017 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz.

VIENNA, 5 December 2017- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed concern about the proposal by the United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal existing provisions ensuring net neutrality, the principle that Internet providers must treat all online traffic equally and without undue interference. As a result of the plan, announced by FCC chairperson Ajit Pai on 21 November, internet service providers would be able to charge more for certain content and restrict access to some sites...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) released its final report on Norway’s 11 September parliamentary elections on 4 December 2017. The report notes that the election administration operated efficiently and enjoyed high public confidence. Last-minute regulations

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKIYM, 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 compared to the previous week.

The SMM recorded a five-fold increase in ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 1 and 2 December – including a sharp increase in the number of explosions – compared with the previous reporting period, and fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 2 and 3 December compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including more explosions, between the evenings of 1 and 2 December compared with the previous reporting period and more between the evenings of 2 and 3 December 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 Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Kreminets, at a compound near Kostiantynivka, and at a heavy weapons holding area.* The SMM observed damage to civilian properties from shelling in residential areas in Marinka and Avdiivka. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novooleksandrivka. The SMM visited six border areas not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a large gathering and a blockade of a television station...

VIENNA, 4 December 2017 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir expressed concern today regarding the deliberate blocking of the entrance to the editorial office of the NewsOne television channel in Kyiv.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine agreed on 4 December 2017 to strengthen co-operation and co-ordination in promoting the rule of law and human rights, critical for the stable and democratic future of the country...

The Kyrgyzstan-based Centre for Public Policy presented the results of its monitoring of the delivery of ten main public services on 1 December 2017 in Bishkek. The monitoring project, supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, was conducted over a six-month period and aims at strengthening the capacity of local civil society organizations to monitor the delivery of public services and inform the local authorities about problems.

Strengthening the ability of Greek prosecutors to address hate crimes was the focus of a train-the-trainer course organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the office of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Greece, from 1 to 3 December

The final package of recommendations developed under the OSCE flagship project to strengthen regulatory governance in Kyrgyzstan was approved by the Kyrgyz Government’s Regulatory Reform Council on 1 December 2017.

The Programme Office in Bishkek supported the Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan in organizing a debate on 28 November 2017 on the lessons learnt from the October 2017 presidential elections and on issues to further consolidate the country’s electoral system.

The State Committee on Religious Affairs of Kyrgyzstan and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek held the National Forum on Inter-confessional Dialogue on 29 and 30 November 2017 in Bishkek.