News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty from Vasylivka. It again observed damage to buildings from gunfire in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement area near Petrivske. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka, Trokhizbenka and Novoazovsk near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Shchastia and near Artema, Almazna, Luhanske and Krasnyi Lyman. The SMM followed up on reports of an incident at an ammunition depot in Kalynivka, Vinnytsia region.

On 28 September 2017 at 06:34 (Moscow time), the sixty-seventh Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 20 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All of the 20 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 13:15 on 28 September.

Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 28 September 2017 – Over 150 prosecutors and legal professionals from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the region gathered at the tenth Annual Symposium of Prosecutors in BiH that ended today in Neum. Over the course of four days the participants took an active role in several panel discussions dedicated to war crimes processing, organized crime and corruption, human trafficking, and violence against children in cyberspace.

An OSCE-supported two-day regional conference on major trends and developments in the media in Central Asia, entitled #MediaCA, concluded on 28 September 2017 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

KYIV, 28 September 2017 – Ukrainian administrative judges agreed in Kyiv today to strengthen co-operation with their Austrian counterparts during an OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine-supported conference gathering more than 100 legal experts from the two countries...

PODGORICA, 28 September 2017 – The presentation of the comparative study “Political advertising and media campaign during the pre-election period” was the focus of an event organized today in Podgorica by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM)...

Dushanbe, 28 September 2017 – A four-day OSCE regional workshop on explosive hazards reduction and response, organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, concluded today in Dushanbe. The event, hosted by the Tajikistan National Mine Action Centre, gathered 32 military and civilian experts from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as well as representatives from international NGOs such as Small Arms Survey and Norwegian People’s Aid.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The Mission observed damage to buildings from gunfire in Dokuchaievsk. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded a ceasefire violation near the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka.* The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Khlibodarivka and Muratove, and in Oleksandropil. Aerial imagery revealed the presence of over 180 tanks and howitzers in non-government-controlled areas, as well as new trenches near Vodiane and the road M03 between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Shchastia, near Artema, and between Marinka and Oleksandrivka. It visited three border areas outside of government control. The SMM continued to monitor the situation of schools near the contact line.

VIENNA, 27 September 2017 – “Combating online threats against female journalists will remain at the top of my agenda as it is an integral part of the safety of journalists. There can be no freedom of the media without safety,” said the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, opening the first of a series of workshops on the online safety of female journalists, which concluded in Vienna today...

More than 150 representatives of civil society, international organizations and academia, as well as government and elected officials, gathered in Kyiv on 26 and 27 September to review the results of activities carried out with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to strengthen the human dimension of security in Ukraine.

Parliamentary oversight of security forces and ways of dealing with challenges in its implementation were the focus of the session of the Forum for Security Co-operation held under Serbia’s Chairmanship on 27 September 2017 in Vienna.

BISHKEK, 27 September 2017- Kazakh specialists shared their experience in the development of an electronic unified state registry of crimes and misdemeanours and other software applications used by the offices of the public prosecutor in Kazakhstan with representatives of the Kyrgyz General Prosecutor’s Office (GPO) and other stakeholders during a three-day visit of the Kazakh General Prosecutor’s staff to Bishkek, supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, from 20 to 23 September 2017.

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 slightly increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded tracer rounds inside the Petrivske and a flare inside the Zolote disengagement areas, respectively. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas.* The Mission saw 13 howitzers in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled Novooleksandrivka. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted mortars and armoured combat vehicles near Myrne, an area outside government control in Luhansk region. The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Krasnyi Lyman, Vesela Hora and Zolote. It visited one non-government-controlled border area.

On 21 September, the OSCE Gender Section, UN Women and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, brought together experts, participating States and civil society to discuss and identify successful approaches to the prevention of violence against women at an event held on 21 September 2017 in Warsaw.

VIENNA, 26 September 2017 – “I welcome last night's release of Kadri Gürsel after almost a year in prison. The charges against him must also be dropped as a matter of urgency,” OSCE media freedom representative Harlem Désir said today.

Financial gain is the main incentive for most serious and organized crime networks, and stripping them of their proceeds is the most effective way to dismantle them. Yet according to Europol, only 1.2 per cent of illicit proceeds are confiscated in the European Union, leaving 98.8 per cent at the disposal of criminals. Why is only such a small fragment of crime proceeds confiscated? What can be done to strengthen criminal justice measures to recover illegal assets and disrupt criminal groups? These are the key questions addressed by participants in the 2017 OSCE Annual Police Experts Meeting entitled “Crime Should Not Pay” which started today in the Hofburg in Vienna.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized the first meeting of the sub-working group on mainstreaming gender into police reform under the Ministry of the Interior on 25 September 2017. The meeting took place on the premises of the Interior Ministry and gathered all members of the sub-working group, which includes both civil society organizations from the regions of Tajikistan working on gender issues and representatives from the Interior Ministry and the Committee on Women and Family Affairs.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 22 and 23 September compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 23 and 24 September the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, on 22 September the SMM recorded one ceasefire violation and no other ceasefire violations during the rest of the reporting period. The SMM assessed damage to civilian properties in residential areas in Horlivka and Hranitne, and followed up on an incident at an ammunition depot in Novoianysol. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrivske, and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere. It facilitated the extinguishing of a fire in an area between Katerynivka and Molodizhne. The SMM visited three border areas outside government control.

VIENNA, 25 September 2017 – Young green entrepreneurs making a social impact in the Mediterranean region were officially invited to compete for the new OSCE GEMS Award launched today in Vienna by the Chairperson of the Mediterranean Contact Group, Permanent Representative of Italy to the OSCE Ambassador Alessandro Azzoni...

SARAJEVO, 25 September 2017- A group of 20 law and criminology students from seven universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) completed in Sarajevo today the second annual edition of the OSCE Mission’s Extracurricular Workshop on International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice.

BERLIN, 25 September 2017 – The 24 September parliamentary elections in Germany were a strong demonstration of the country’s commitment to democratic processes and provided an opportunity for voters to freely express their will, concluded international observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today following their first-ever election observation mission in the country. The efficiency and professionalism of the election administration, as well as a high level of public confidence in the overall integrity of the electoral process, contributed to the conduct of democratic elections.

An OSCE-supported seminar on the protection of freedom of expression and policies to counter hate speech on the internet took place on 25 September 2017 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

NEW YORK CITY, 23 September 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 separately and then jointly with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, on 22-23 September on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk....

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrivske, and recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove and Olenivka. The SMM saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of withdrawal lines near Poltavka. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted near Myrne, an area outside government control in Luhansk region, a large number of tanks and artillery pieces, as well as other hardware, which appeared to be well-maintained, refurbished and loaded with ammunition. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of the thermal power plant in Shchastia and water pipelines in Zolote. It continued to monitor the situation of schools and kindergartens near the contact line on both sides. The SMM continued to monitor a gathering in Kyiv....

VIENNA, 23 September 2017 – “Brutal killing of an American-Syrian journalist and her mother, both reporting about the situation in Syria, highlights the dangers that critical journalists face in their work,” said today OSCE Media Freedom Representative Harlem Désir...

VIENNA, 22 September 2017 –The release from house arrest of Mykola Semena, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been noted by OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, who however condemned the conviction and imposition of a ban on “public activities”.

Tashkent, 22 September 2017 – A two-day Sub-regional Conference on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in regional and international security began today in Tashkent.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period and more in Luhansk region. The Mission observed damage to residences in Chervonyi Yar in Luhansk region and Bohdanivka in Donetsk region due to shelling. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrivske, and recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere. Staff in schools near the contact line in non-government-controlled areas told the SMM they had been ordered not to speak with the SMM. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia, Zolote, Artema, Krasnyi Lyman, and Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM visited a border area not under government control. The Mission monitored two gatherings in Kyiv and followed up on reports of an explosion in Uman...

ULAANBAATAR, 22 September 2017 – A two-day national workshop, followed by a series of bilateral consultations on Cross-Border Co-operation against Corruption and Money Laundering, between officials from Mongolia and international experts from the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office and Interpol, concluded today in Ulaanbaatar.

An OSCE-supported five-day training seminar, aimed at improving the interaction between law-enforcement agencies and the media, took place from 18 to 22 September 2017 in Astana.

The importance of having impartial and independent judiciary and media, international mechanisms ensuring freedom of expression and media and access to information were the focus of the OSCE-supported workshop for 19 judges and 11 journalists that took place in Khoja Obigarm on 21 and 22 September 2017...

A web-based learning course designed to raise awareness, knowledge and understanding on how terrorists use the internet was launched by the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department on 22 September 2017. The course targets decision makers, government officials, academia, teachers and students in police academies and other similar educational institutions to enhance their skills in countering terrorism...

A five-day OSCE-supported training seminar on the detection of forged travel documents and identification techniques for 32 border guards concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 22 September 2017...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including near Pervomaiske.* The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia, Zolote, Artema, Krasnyi Lyman and Luhanske.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) held its annual Women’s Power Breakfast in Warsaw on 21 September 2017, focusing on how to promote and advance women’s political participation and gender equality through the work of democratic institutions. The event, organized

TASHKENT, 21 September 2017 – The OSCE Mobile Training Team for the identification of potential foreign terrorist fighters delivered an interactive training course for 27 border and security officers from Uzbekistan from 19 to 21 September in Tashkent.

An OSCE-supported workshop on the OSCE best practices in applying green construction standards and technologies to produce environmentally friendly buildings and sustainable cities started on 21 September 2017 in Astana.

Some 40 high-level judicial officials from ten European countries gathered at an international conference in Belgrade on 21 and 22 September 2017 to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the existing administrative judiciary systems in their respective states.

A three-day training course on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism concluded on 21 September 2017 in the premises of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe...

MINSK, 21 September 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 20 September 2017.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty and observed fresh damage to residential areas in Donetsk city. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations near the three disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia and Artema. The SMM observed long queues of civilians at the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint. The Mission visited a border area not under government control in Donetsk region. In Odessa the SMM followed up on an alleged violent incident and detention after a trial in relation to events in Odessa on 2 May 2014.The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty and observed fresh damage to residential areas in Donetsk city. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations near the three disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia and Artema. The SMM observed long queues of civilians at the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint. The Mission visited a border area not under government control in Donetsk region. In Odessa the SMM followed up on an alleged violent incident and detention after a trial in relation to events in Odessa on 2 May 2014.

PODGORICA, 20 September 2017 – The contract of co-operation, which is being developed between Radio-Television of Montenegro and the Government of Montenegro with respect to public services, was the focus of yesterday's roundtable discussion organized by OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with Radio-Television Montenegro (PBS RTCG)...

ASTANA, 20 September 2017 – An OSCE-supported three-day workshop on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism began today in Astana...

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 slightly increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week...

SARAJEVO, 20 September 2017 – Co-operation on addressing migration-related crimes is needed more than ever, highlight participants of the two-day Regional seminar on Moving Forward in Addressing Migration-related Crimes in South Eastern Europe, which concludes today in Sarajevo...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro and OSCE Mission to Bosnia supported and facilitated a bilateral meeting between the parliaments of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro on 19 September 2017 in Podgorica to strengthen bilateral co-operation between the services...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) signed a co-operation agreement on 19 September 2017, on the margins of the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw. “National human rights institutions (NHRIs), including

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 civilian casualty from Dmytrivka. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefires violation near the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including near Mykolaivka.* It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia, Zolote and Slovianoserbsk. The Mission continued to monitor the situation of schools near the contact line. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. The Mission followed up on reports that a member of a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Kharkiv had been attacked. It monitored the closing session of a trial in relation to events in Odessa on 2 May 2014 and continued to follow up on reports of a fire at a children’s camp in Odessa...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Penal Reform International (PRI) presented a draft preview of their upcoming guidance document on revised international standards for the treatment of prisoners, known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules”, at an event in Warsaw on 19