News and press releases

VIENNA, 17 October 2017 – Co-operation on environmental and energy issues contributes to preventing tensions, building confidence and promoting good neighbourly relations in the OSCE region and therefore it must be strengthened, underlined senior officials and experts at high-level discussion taking place on 16 and 17 October in Vienna...

VIENNA, 17 October 2017 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today condemned an assault on Sunday on three journalists in Osh, Kyrgyzstan on the premises of a polling station...

A two-day train-the-trainer course on mentorship as a tool for empowerment of women and girls concluded at the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe on 13 October 2017.

VIENNA, 16 October 2017 – Harlem Désir, OSCE media freedom representative, expressed immense shock over the death of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and urged the Maltese authorities to carry out swift, transparent investigations into the case...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 13 and 14 October compared with the previous reporting period and fewer between the evenings of 14 and 15 October compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 13 and 14 October compared with the previous reporting period and more between the evenings of 14 and 15 October compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Pikuzy.* The Mission again observed anti-tank mines near Popasna. The SMM visited three border areas not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM observed two large gatherings – one commemorating Defender of Ukraine Day, and the other for animal rights...

SKOPJE, 16 October 2017 – The holding of the 15 October municipal elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia contributed to strengthening confidence in the democratic process, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. The elections took place in a competitive environment, with candidates generally able to campaign without restriction, and the fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression were respected overall. Some credible allegations of vote-buying, pressure on voters and isolated cases of violence occurred during the pre-election period. The monitored media provided unbiased coverage of contestants and facilitated the opportunity for political debate. Although some procedural irregularities were observed, election day generally proceeded in an orderly fashion, the observers said.

The third edition of the OSCE Dialogue Academy for young women from Prishtinë/Priština and Belgrade concluded on 15 October 2017 in Stadtschlaining, Austria. The ten-day Academy was organized as part of the Follow Us Initiative, supported since 2012 by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, as part of their work to enhance women's participation in dialogue and conflict resolution and decision making processes.

GENEVA, Switzerland, 16 October 2017- The President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a summit today in Geneva, Switzerland. Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov also attended the meeting, which was organized under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America). The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in the summit.

The OSCE Mission to Moldova organized the first in a series of public debates for young people on 12 October 2017, aiming to develop their public speaking and reasoning skills. About 50 high school students and teachers gathered at Vasil Levski Lyceum in Chisinau to participate in the debate and observe new ways of learning through interaction...

A training workshop on conflict management for the Montenegrin parliamentary services concluded on 13 October 2017 in Podgorica. The two-day workshop was organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Human Resources department.

An eight-day OSCE regional course “Management of Specialist Demilitarization Activities” for some 40 military and civilian experts focusing on Advanced Explosive Ordnance Disposal Level 3 Plus began on 16 October 2017 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

BISHKEK, 16 October 2017 – The 15 October presidential election in Kyrgyzstan contributed to the strengthening of democratic institutions by providing for an orderly transfer of power from one elected president to another, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. The election was competitive, as voters had a broad choice and candidates could generally campaign freely, although cases of the misuse of public resources, pressure on voters and vote buying remain a concern, the observers said.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, including, however, a similar number of explosions, compared with the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the Mission recorded a significant increase in ceasefire violations compared with the previous reporting period, mostly west-north-west of Kadiivka. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor demining activities inside the Zolote disengagement area as part of preparatory work to clear the road and possibly open a new entry-exit checkpoint. The Mission’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Svobodne and Ozerianivka.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Dovhe and Kalmiuske. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure between Klynove and Novozvanivka, in Shchastia, near Artema, and between Zolote and Popasna. The SMM observed long queues at checkpoints near the contact line. In Kharkiv, the Mission monitored the security situation around a concert...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas. It recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. The SMM facilitated and monitored demining activities inside the Zolote disengagement area as part of a preparatory work to clear the road and open a new entry-exit checkpoint. The Mission’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in a heavy weapons holding area in an area not controlled by the Government in Donetsk region. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novoselivka and Novoamvrosiivske. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to the thermal power plant in Shchastia, as well as demining activities in the area of a gas distribution station near Marinka...

Vienna, 13 October 2017 – Recent threats by senior politicians to Bulgarian TV journalist Viktor Nikolaev are a point of concern for the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, as he expressed today.

ASHGABAT, 13 October 2017- Policymakers, diplomats and experts from the research institutes and economic sectors representing the countries of Central, South and Southwest Asia today participated in an OSCE-supported academic forum held as part of the Seventh Regional Economic Co-operation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA VII)...

VIENNA, 13 October 2017 – The increasing demands and expectations on internet intermediaries “to do more” about illegal content and activity online, and the impact of this on human rights and fundamental freedoms such as the freedom of expression, were the focus of a joint OSCE-Council of Europe conference on internet freedom in Vienna today...

Best practices in countering money laundering through offshore zones were shared at an OSCE-supported seminar for representatives from Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Finance, its law enforcement and supervisory bodies, several commercial banks and other relevant agencies, which took place in Ashgabat from 11 to13 October 2017.

Podgorica, 13 October 2017- The finalization of a model local action plan for the inclusion of Roma and Egyptians communities was the main goal of a workshop organized in Podgorica on 11 and 12 October 2017. The workshop was organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro within the framework of the extra-budgetary project "Prevention of Early Forced Marriages among Vulnerable Groups", supported by the French Permanent Mission to the OSCE.

ALMATY, 13 October 2017- An OSCE-supported five-day train-the-trainer course on countering cybercrime for representatives of Kazakhstan’s law enforcement agencies concluded on 13 October 2017 in Almaty.

BISHKEK, 13 October 2017- A training course supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek on the advancement of management and leadership skills for employees of the State Service for the Execution of Punishment under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (SSEP) was held from 9 to 11 October 2017.

A five-day training workshop on the promotion of green economy principles, sustainable development and energy efficiency was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and concluded on 13 October 2017.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a man injured when the tractor he was driving struck something explosive near Metalist and of damage to civilian properties in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas. It recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and observed demining in the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Kozatske and Kuznetsovo-Mykhailivka.* The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Oleksandropil and Zelene Pole. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure between Klynove and Novozvanivka, in Shchastia, near Artema, and between Zolote and Popasna...

Twenty journalism students and young journalists from Balti, Chisinau, Comrat and Tiraspol successfully completed a three-day intensive workshop on investigative and data journalism in different regions, organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova on 8 October 2017...

BISHKEK, 12 October 2017 – To mark the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October, a “Successful Girl” leadership school was launched across three province of Kyrgyzstan by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek in partnership with the public foundation “Child’s Rights Defenders League”...

Representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Immigrant Council of Ireland held consultations with students, Muslim community associations and teachers as part of joint efforts to develop new guidelines for teachers on countering intolerance against

GENEVA, Switzerland, 11 October 2017- The forty-first round of the Geneva International Discussions has just concluded...

The importance of rights-based and comprehensive approaches to assisting victims of child trafficking was highlighted during an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 12 October 2017, on the margins of the Human Dimension Seminar on the

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 compared to the previous week...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of a boy injured by the explosion of a hand grenade in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations in the Petrivske disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. The Mission’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Hranitne. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Shchastia, near Artema, and between Zolote and Popasna. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. The Mission monitored a gathering in Volyn region, as well as the administrative boundary line between Kherson region and Crimea...

VIENNA, 11 October 2017- The OSCE Secretariat in Vienna has recently started using electricity which is 100% derived from renewable energy sources. Wien Energie, the main energy supplier to the Austrian capital, is awarding today the OSCE with a certificate to mark this achievement...

WARSAW, 11 October 2017 – Focused action and co-operation, including among governments and civil society, are vital to effectively ensuring the safety and human rights of children, and particularly children in situations of risk, participants said at the opening of the OSCE Human Dimension Seminar today in Warsaw...

Representatives of ministries dealing with transport logistics, finance institutions, the State Customs and State Border Services, the Union of Entrepreneurs and Industrialists, and other state bodies participated in an OSCE-organized seminar on facilitating the development of secure national transport and trade infrastructures that took place in Ashgabat on 10 and 11 October 2017...

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 casualty from Zaitseve. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations close to the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas and saw a white signal flare fired from near a checkpoint south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Vesela Hora and Horlivka.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Zaichenko and Bezimenne. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of the thermal power plant in Shchastia and power lines near Toretsk. It visited two border areas not under government control...

NICOSIA, 10 October 2017 – Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, during his visit to Cyprus launched an exchange programme for young journalists from the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in the next phase of his Office’s "The Cyprus Dialogue” project, which was initiated in March this year...

Measures to enhance the participation of women in public and political life were the main topic of a two-day training course organized for the Municipal Gender Focal Point Network on 9 and 10 October 2017 in Podgorica...

COPENHAGEN, 10 October 2017 – Recognizing the difficulties facing policymakers on issues related to migrants and refugees, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on Migration today offered a set of observations and recommendations based on its work over the past year and a half...

WARSAW, 10 October 2017 – The protection of children of those sentenced to death or executed should be strengthened in those OSCE countries that still practice capital punishment, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and Marta Santos Pais, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, said today on the occasion of the World Day against the Death Penalty...

Malta’s early parliamentary elections on 3 June 2017 were held in a professional and efficient manner, with electoral stakeholders expressing confidence in most stages of the process, but aspects of the legal framework could benefit from further review, concludes the final report issued by the OSCE

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 6 and 7 October compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 7 and 8 October the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations between the evenings of 6 and 7 October compared with the previous reporting period and more between 7 and 8 October compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission saw damage from gunfire to a residential building in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Zaichenko and Uzhivka. It visited two border areas not under government control. The SMM monitored a gathering in Lviv where a concert was cancelled...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier, on 9 October 2017, said he is actively engaged with the government of Ukraine on how best to accommodate the ethnic and linguistic diversity of society. The High Commissioner is paying particular attention to inter-ethnic

A seven-day training course aimed at strengthening the capacity of government officials from Kyrgyzstan to conduct investigations in the field of countering terrorist financing was organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s Global Programme against Money Laundering, with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, from 2 to 8 October 2017 in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions – including, however, more explosions in Donetsk region – compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; its access remained restricted in the three areas and elsewhere, including near Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure near Shchastia, Zolote, Artema and Druzhba. The Mission visited a border area not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM again observed a protest in relation to legislation concerning local governance and reintegration of areas outside of government control in Donetsk and Luhansk regions...

YEREVAN / BAKU, 7 October 2017- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan on 6 October and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 7 October to finalize preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Presidents, including possible topics for discussion. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk...

VIENNA, 7 October 2017 – On the eleventh anniversary of the killing of Novaya gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya,OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, urged the Russian authorities to make more efforts to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties near Betmanove. The Mission facilitated the handover of possible human remains and debris from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote and observed ceasefire violations near but outside both, except for one shot which could not be assessed as in- or outside these areas. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including Shchastia, and its camera near the Prince Ihor monument south of Stanytsia Luhanska was intentionally temporarily disabled. The SMM heard two explosions about 400m from the entry-exit checkpoint in Novotroitske. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Pavlopil, Zaichenko, and Verkhnoshyrokivske. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure in Shchastia, Zolote, Artema, Novozvanivka, and Mykolaivka. In Kyiv, the SMM observed a protest in relation to legislation concerning local governance and reintegration of areas outside of government control in Donetsk and Luhansk regions...

A team of experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was in Montenegro from 4 to 6 October 2017 for the first consultation and planning visit within the framework of the ODIHR project “Support to Elections in the Western Balkans”. The ODIHR team met

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, 6 October 2017- OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova, concluded on Friday a four-day official visit to discuss the country’s implementation of OSCE anti-trafficking commitments.

Education needs to be a tool to overcome, not to cement, divisions, said the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier in meetings with his interlocutors during a visit to Skopje and Tetovo between 2 and 5 October 2017...

On 5 October 2017 the OSCE Mission to Moldova held the fourth in a year-long series of informal club discussions for local civil society groups on the left bank of the Dniester/Nistru River.