News and press releases

The OSCE’s Programme Office in Dushanbe opened a three-day training seminar on the rights of persons arrested and detained by law enforcement agencies on 29 August 2017 in Dushanbe...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 25 and 26 August compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 26 and 27 August, it recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, but fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty from Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city. The SMM saw damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Lukove and assessed impact sites there and in Shyrokyne. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; its access remains restricted there and elsewhere, including again at a non-government-controlled checkpoint in Verkhnoshyrokivske and to a Ukrainian Armed Forces heavy weapons holding area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to observe the presence of mine hazard signs along the Berdianske seashore near a group of people. The SMM visited one border area not under government control in Luhansk region...

VIENNA, 28 August 2017 – United States (US) President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on media are cause for deep concern, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir stated in a letter to Secretary of State H.E. Rex W. Tillerson...

The final report on the 8 June early general election in the United Kingdom, published on 28 August 2017 by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), contains several recommendations to improve campaign finance regulations and further strengthen the legal framework for

On 25 August 2017, the OSCE Mission to Moldova supported a retreat for 28 representatives of NGOs from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River in the village of Merenesti. The event provided a platform for practical discussions on running an NGO. Participants were selected based on their motivation to foster co-operation between NGOs from the either side of the river...

Forty-six teachers from vocational schools throughout Moldova completed a Train the Trainer programme and learned new techniques for achieving gender equality and improving their skills in the promotion of women’s rights in the field of education. The training course, organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, took place from 22 to 25 August 2017 in Chisinau...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours, following the recommitment to the ceasefire. In government-controlled Arkhanhelske, the Mission heard small-arms fire assessed as targeting its unmanned aerial vehicle.* The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in government-controlled Trokhizbenka and at a weapons permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.* The Mission observed self-propelled howitzers in government-controlled Oleksandropil in violation of withdrawal lines. The SMM observed, for the first time, the presence of 25 anti-tank mines about 600m north-west of the entry-exit checkpoint near Marinka. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to the power plant in Shchastia. The SMM visited one border area not under government control in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on reports of explosions in Kyiv. It also monitored a gathering in Odessa...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 22 and 23 August compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 23 and 24 August, it recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, but fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Berezove and Raihorodka. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM observed damage to civilian properties and infrastructure in Sakhanka, Pervomaisk, Malynove and Orikhove-Donetske. The Mission visited three border areas not under government control. It observed public celebrations in several locations and followed up on reports of an explosion in Kyiv...

VIENNA, 25 August 2017 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called for the immediate release of prominent Azerbaijani journalist and media expert Mehman Aliyev...

VIENNA, 25 August 2017- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the Danish authorities’ swift and thorough investigation of the killing of the Swedish freelance journalist Kim Wall, whose body was identified earlier this week...

ASTANA, 25 August 2017 – Building a common security system for the OSCE area based on trust and co-operation is incompatible with national security strategies based on nuclear deterrence, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen said today at the 62nd Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs in Astana, Kazakhstan...

A two-day OSCE-supported training seminar on data journalism for some 15 journalists across the country concluded on 25 August in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

An OSCE-supported regional workshop on trade facilitation and border protection concluded on 25 August 2017 in Astana. Some 60 officials of Kazakhstan’s Finance Ministry and trade representatives from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan reviewed the challenges and

On 24 August 2017 at 06:47 (Moscow time), the sixty-sixth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 28 vehicles were checked by the Russian Federation border guards and customs services prior to crossing into Ukraine. All of the 28 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 16:18 on 24 August...

MINSK, 24 August 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 23 August 2017...

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the National Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan organized a summer camp for 20 affected by the Dacha-Suu plane crash in the village of Kara Oi, in the northern Issyk Kyl region from 17 to 20 August 2017...

KYIV, 23 August 2017 – The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) welcomes the recommitment to ceasefire by the Trilateral Contact Group and other signatories of the Minsk agreements, said Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, the Chief Monitor of the SMM, in a statement today...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties, including a boy who was critically injured when an unexploded ordnance exploded in Teple and two boys who suffered burns following a gunpowder explosion in Novoaidar. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Novoazovsk and Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to infrastructure in Shchastia, Artema, Zolote and Pivdenne. The Mission monitored the situation along the administrative boundary line between Kherson and Crimea...

VIENNA, 23 August 2017- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today urged Secretary General of Interpol Jürgen Stock that the international police organization carefully review recent international arrest warrants requested by Turkey...

VIENNA, 23 August 2017 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz today welcomed an agreement reached by the Trilateral Contact Group and the representatives of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions to fully recommit to a permanent ceasefire on the occasion of the beginning of the school year, from midnight on 25 August 2017...

MINSK, 23 August 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...

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 increased at both BCPs...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Yasynuvata. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Novolaspa and Kreminets.* The SMM observed unexploded ordnance near Zolote. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to a power plant in Shchastia. The Mission visited three border areas not under government control...

Increasing operational awareness to detect forged documents and imposters is the aim of a three-day advanced training course for border police officers organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department with support from the OSCE Mission to Skopje, which started at the Police Training Centre in Idrizovo on 22 August 2017...

Over the last nine years, as part of the project on “Implementation of precautionary and preventive anti-drug events”, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe together with Tajikistan’s law enforcement agencies has carried out an awareness raising campaign on drug prevention in all the regions and districts of Tajikistan...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 18 and 19 August – including, however, fewer explosions – compared with the previous 24 hours. Between the evenings of 19 and 20 August, it recorded more ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours. In Dokuchaievsk, the Mission heard small-arms fire assessed as targeting its unmanned aerial vehicle.* In Luhansk region between the evenings of 18 and 19 August, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours. Between the evenings of 19 and 20 August, it recorded more ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on a report of civilian casualties in Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city. It observed damage to residential areas due to shelling in Dokuchaievsk, Yasynuvata and an area of Luhansk city. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Stanytsia Luhanska area. The Mission resumed permanent presence of monitoring officers in Stanytsia Luhanska. Its access remained restricted in the three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka and Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Kalmiuske. It facilitated access for a fire brigade to extinguish a fire in Avdiivka. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, however more explosions in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access there and elsewhere remained restricted, including in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM observed unexploded ordnance near Staromarivka and in the centre of Pikuzy. It again facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance clearance, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination, enabling the SMM to travel the M03 road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to infrastructure in Shchastia, Popasna and Stanytsia Luhanska. It visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region. The SMM monitored a protest in Odessa.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* The SMM observed up to several hundred civilians queuing to walk across the contact line at the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to infrastructure in Shchastia, Artema, Yashchykove and Zolote.

COPENHAGEN, 17 August 2017 – OSCE Parliamentary President Christine Muttonen (Austria), Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism Chair Makis Voridis (Greece) and human rights committee Chair Nacho Sanchez Amor (Spain) condemned today the attack in Barcelona, Spain, which is being treated by the authorities as terrorism. At least 13 people were killed and 50 seriously injured when a van plowed into pedestrians in the city’s historic Las Ramblas district.

VIENNA, 17 August 2017 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger expressed outrage at the terrorist attack in Barcelona, in which numerous persons died or were injured. They offered their condolences to the families of the slain victims and wished a quick recovery to the injured.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up further on reports of civilian casualties in Shyrokyi and Sakhanka. It observed damage to residences in Novoluhanske due to shelling. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske areas. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas – in Petrivske, an armed man required the Mission to end an unmanned aerial vehicle flight – and elsewhere, including in Siedove and Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM observed a mine hazard sign and unexploded ordnance near Nova Marivka. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to infrastructure in Shchastia and Artema. It monitored a peaceful gathering in Kyiv.

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA/VIENNA, 17 August 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir and the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Ambassador Jan Braathu today condemned the attack on Wednesday on a journalist in Prishtinë/Priština...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Stanytsia Luhanska and Sakhanka. The Mission facilitated and monitored ongoing repairs to essential infrastructure in Luhansk region.

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 increased at both BCPs...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access was restricted in all three disengagement areas.*

WARSAW, 15 August 2017- Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today condemned the violent attack by a suspected white supremacist in the United States on Saturday that caused one death and injured at least 19 people...

Between the evenings of 11 and 12 August the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 12 and 13 August the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. In the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, an armed man pointed his assault rifle at SMM patrol members and threatened to shoot them.* The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk; a “DPR” member told the Mission he could not provide detailed information about the incident without the permission of other “DPR” members.*

On 13 August at 09:45, an SMM patrol consisting of four members was on foot immediately south of the broken section of the pedestrian bridge south of government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), next to a forward “LPR” position inside the disengagement area...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access was restricted there and elsewhere, including in Novoazovsk.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Luhansk city. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repair and maintenance of infrastructure in Shchastia and Zolote. It again facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), enabling the SMM to travel the M03 road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. In Pikuzy, the SMM heard small-arms fire in the area where it was flying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), assessed as aimed at the UAV whose footage “DPR” members later threatened to “seize”. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske where the possible presence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continued to restrict the SMM’s access. Armed men continued to deny the SMM access into Novoazovsk and restricted its freedom of movement in Verkhnoshyrokivske and Staromykhailivka. The Mission visited one border area not under government control in Luhansk region...

VIENNA, 11 August 2017 – The participation of young women and men in peace and security efforts is crucial for achieving sustainable and inclusive results, said OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger and the OSCE Chairmanship’s Special Representatives on Youth and Security today, ahead of tomorrow’s International Youth Day...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed bullet impacts to one of its newly installed cameras at the Donetsk Filtration Station which rendered the camera inoperable. Near Vasylivka it heard shots and bursts of small-arms fire in the area where it was flying its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), assessed as being aimed at the UAV. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Novoazovsk, Oleksandrivske and Horlivka.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Sievierodonetsk and in Slovianoserbsk. It observed that mines had been placed back on the road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region.

DUSHANBE, 10 August 2017 – The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and its main counterparts from the Government of Tajikistan held the 11th Task Force Meeting today to agree on priorities of co-operation for 2018...

VIENNA, 10 August 2017- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed deep concern regarding the issuance of arrest warrants for 35 journalists and the resulting detention of nine journalists today in Istanbul, Turkey...

KYIV, 10 August 2017- Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), condemned the shooting at, and destruction of, a newly-installed SMM thermal camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station near Yasynuvata...

BANJA LUKA, 10 August 2017 – On the occasion of International Youth Day, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) organized a two-day workshop for youth on Women, Peace and Security, Youth, Peace and Security and the associated United Nations Security Council resolutions, which concluded today in Banja Luka...

On 8 August, at 20:20 the SMM lost signal of its newly-installed cameras – one thermal and one CCTV – on the roof of the Donetsk Filtration Station’s (DFS) office building (see picture). The DFS is located between government-controlled Avdiivka and “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata, about 15km north of Donetsk city. On 9 August, an SMM patrol inspected the cameras at the DFS and found out that the thermal camera had been damaged by small-arms fire...

Seventeen Afghan border service officers completed a four-week OSCE patrolling and leadership training course on 9 August 2017 at the Gissar Training Centre, Tajikistan...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* It followed up on reports from 2 August of an explosion near non-government controlled Voznesenivka. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored repairs to a water pipe in Zolote, the Petrivske pumping station and the Shchastia power plant. It facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), enabling the SMM to pass along the M03 road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The SMM observed a protest outside the Regional Prosecutor’s office in Lviv.

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...