News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, but more explosions in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas. The SMM camera in the Zolote disengagement area recorded one ceasefire violation on the night of 5 August, assessed as outside the disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted there and elsewhere. Armed “DPR” members impeded the SMM’s access to areas south and east of Novoazovsk near the border with the Russian Federation not under government control. The Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) was unable to facilitate the demining of the Shchastia bridge where the SMM was again denied access and its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) again spotted anti-tank mines south of the bridge.* The Mission confirmed reports of civilian casualties in Dachne and followed up on reports of shelling in Zaporozhets. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs of a water pipeline in Zolote. The Mission visited two 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 specialized police officers organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department with support from the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, which started in Prishtinë/Priština on 8 August 2017...

The last in a series of three OSCE-supported regional roundtable discussions on promoting green technologies with a focus on organic agriculture concluded on 8 August 2017 in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan...

Fifty young women from all over Tajikistan came together in Bahoriston of Sughd region from 31 July to 4 August 2017 for a summer camp for young women. The camp was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe...

Between the evenings of 4 and 5 August the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 5 and 6 August, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and in “DPR”-controlled Novoazovsk and Verkhnoshyrokivske.* It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to a water pipe in Zolote. The SMM monitored two border areas not under government control.

More than 300 representatives of Kyrgyz law-enforcement bodies participated in nine training sessions from 17 July to 6 August 2017 in Bishkek, Jalal Abad, Osh, Batken and Cholpon Ata on how to ensure that the October 2017 presidential election is free, fair and transparent. The training was delivered by the Central Electoral Commission and the Civil Platform Kyrgyz Public Fund, with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere*, including again at an entry-exit checkpoint in Verkhnoshyrokivske, where armed men impeded the SMM from crossing the contact line into areas east of Mariupol for the eighth consecutive day. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines in Kostiantynivka, Muratove and Sofiivka. It observed tanks outside the designated storage sites in Mykolaivka and Ternove. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable ongoing repair to infrastructure, including a water pipeline, a pumping station and a power plant in Luhansk region. The SMM monitored two border areas not under government control.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere*, including at Verkhnoshyrokivske, where armed “DPR” members impeded the SMM’s access to areas east of Mariupol for a seventh consecutive day. SMM personnel and civilian contractors installing an SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station were forced to take shelter when small-arms fire erupted nearby, despite written security guarantees provided by the sides. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to infrastructure, including a water pipeline, a pumping station and a power plant in Luhansk region. At a government-controlled checkpoint near Popasna, the SMM observed a mortar explosion 500m from its position; no injuries or damage were reported. The SMM monitored two border areas not under government control...

From 09:40 on 3 August, an SMM patrol consisting of ten members, including four workers contracted by the SMM, and three armoured vehicles was positioned at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS). The DFS is located between government-controlled Avdiivka and “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata- about 15km north of Donetsk city. The SMM patrol was monitoring works for the installation of an SMM camera on the roof of the DFS office building by the contracted workers. The Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) had facilitated security guarantees for a ceasefire within a 15km radius in order for the SMM to install the camera...

The last in a series of six OSCE-supported five-day training courses on risk profiling at border checkpoints to assist eighteen officers of the Border Service of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee in countering transnational threats concluded in Kostanai, Kazakhstan on 4 August 2017...

Some 100 law-enforcement officers, social workers and representatives of the local Akimat (regional administration) from the Atyrau, Aktobe, Mangystau and Western Kazakhstan regions as well as the city of Aktau took part in the last in a series of four OSCE-supported training seminars on anti-trafficking practices and procedures in Aktau, Kazakhstan, which concluded on 4 August 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 and noted a calm situation. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including at Verkhnoshyrokivske where armed “DPR” members impeded the SMM’s access to areas east of Mariupol for a sixth consecutive day. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs at the power plant in Shchastia and at the Petrivske water pumping station in Artema. The SMM monitored one border area not under government control...

VIENNA, 3 August 2017 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed his concern in a letter to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the decision by the Ministry of Defence to file a complaint against journalist Tomasz Piątek. The Defence Ministry claims that Piątek may have committed a criminal offence in publishing his new book, Macierewicz and His Secrets...

The OSCE Presence in Albania is inviting prospective candidates to apply for its Youth Trail initiative, a programme aiming to promote the OSCE values of democracy, co-operation, peace and security among young people in the Western Balkans...

MINSK, 3 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 2 August 2017:...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, but fewer explosions in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas. The SMM cameras recorded ceasefire violations between 2km and 10km east and east-north-east and west of the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas respectively, all assessed as outside the disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere. Armed “DPR” members impeded the SMM’s access to areas east of Mariupol for a fifth consecutive day in Verkhnoshyrokivske. For more than seven hours “DPR” members held the SMM and its monitoring equipment at checkpoints near non-government-controlled Olenivka and prevented it from leaving.* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs of infrastructure in Shchastia, Zolote and Artema. The Mission visited one border area not under government control...

DUSHANBE, 2 August 2017 – Members of Tajikistan’s national working group responsible for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 on preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, together with representatives of relevant ministries and other state agencies from Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, will take part in an OSCE-supported trilateral peer review meeting from 2 to 5 August 2017 in Dushanbe. This is the second such trilateral meeting since August 2016...

ASTANA, 2 August 2017- The OSCE-supported Second International Women’s Forum on Future Energy: Women, Business, and the Global Economy began today in Astana for some 200 participants including high-level government officials and representatives of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, civil society and the business community...

WARSAW, 2 August 2017- Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), praised efforts by countries in the OSCE region to promote greater awareness and recognition of the genocide against the Roma and Sinti people during the Second World War, including increased attention to educating youth about this horrible crime at the hands of the Nazi regime...

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. A Russian convoy of 21 vehicles crossed to Ukraine and returned to the Russian Federation...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of damage to civilian properties caused by shelling and gunfire in Yasne. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas. The SMM camera recorded one explosion inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including again in Verkhnoshyrokivske (twice).* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs of infrastructure in Shchastia and Artema. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control...

Opportunities, challenges and perspectives in combating and preventing human trafficking in Kyrgyzstan were the focus of a roundtable discussion organized by the Kyrgyz State Migration Service and supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek on 28 July 2017. The event was held ahead of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons on 30 July...

Between the evenings of 28 and 29 July the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 29 and 30 July, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside and near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access there and elsewhere remained restricted, including for the third consecutive day in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in the south-western area of Donetsk city, in Avdiivka and near Miusynsk. The SMM followed up and confirmed reports of civilian casualties in Marinka, Khrustalnyi and Staromykhailivka; in the latter it also observed damage to a house caused by gunfire. The SMM continued to observe the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance. The Mission visited three border areas not under government control...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro recognizes the important role of the Ombudsman institution, and remains committed to strengthening its co-operation, said the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Maryse Daviet, in a meeting with the Ombudsman, Šućko Baković, on 28 July 2017 in Podgorica...

An OSCE-supported five-day regional training seminar for some 30 law enforcement officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan on investigating financial crimes and recovering stolen assets began on 31 July 2017 in Astana...

A three-day training seminar and a public discussion of the legal acts and mechanisms regulating the police’s work in combating domestic violence concluded on 30 July 2017 in Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar Region...

Some 25 young people representing the youth wings of Tajikistan’s political parties and civil society groups completed a one-day training course on 27 July 2017, focusing on women’s participation in peace processes and negotiations. The course was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas. Its access there and elsewhere remained restricted, including by mines on road M03.*

VIENNA, 29 July 2017- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir reiterated his call to Turkish authorities today to drop charges and release all journalists in prison in the country, following yesterday's interim court decision in the Cumhuriyet trial.

VIENNA, 28 July 2017 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed deep concern about the continued detention of journalist Stanislav Aseev in eastern Ukraine...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas, where its access remained restricted. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Donetsk city. It observed that weapons continued to be absent from storage sites. The SMM followed up on reports that a man was injured in an explosion in government-controlled Zalizne. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs of infrastructure in Shchastia, Artema, Krasnyi Lyman and Zolote. The SMM monitored one border area not under government control. The Mission observed convoys of trucks marked with “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation” in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a protest in support of the former Head of Odessa Regional State Administration. It monitored a religious procession of 15,000 to 20,000 people through Kyiv...

An OSCE-organized five-day training course on the detection of forged documents and imposters took place in Ashgabat from 24 to 28 July 2017. The course brought together representatives from Turkmenistan’s Interior and National Security Ministries, the State Border Service, and the State Migration Service...

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana supported a roundtable discussion on effective implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Kazakhstan which took place on 28 July, 2017 in Astana...

A seven-day training course aimed at strengthening the capacity of government officials from Kyrgyzstan to counter 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 in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan from 22 to 28 July 2017...

On 27 July 2017 at 07:05 (Moscow time), the sixty-fifth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 21 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All of the 21 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 14:39 on 27 July...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including again in Novoazovsk and Siedove, both areas close to the border with the Russian Federation, as well as in Horlivka and Olenivka.* The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Oleksandrivka. Aerial imagery revealed the presence of a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines and in close proximity to residential areas in northern Trudivskyi area of Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city. The SMM visited five border areas not under government control...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission observed fresh impact sites in Novotroitske. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the three areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Kalmiuske. It facilitated ongoing repairs to a water pumping station in Artema. The Mission monitored the situation of civilians at entry-exit checkpoints in Horlivka, where it saw long queues, and in Pyshchevyk. The SMM visited a border area not under government control in Luhansk region. In Kherson region the Mission noted a calm situation near Chaplynka and Kalanchak...

Ten border officers from the Afghan Border Police and ten Tajik Border Troops completed a three-week training of trainers course on 26 July 2017. The course was organized under the Patrol Programming and Leadership project of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe...

An OSCE-supported regular meeting of the Shu-Talas Water Basin Council, followed by a training seminar on climate change adaptation measures, took place on 26 July 2017 in Taraz, southern Kazakhstan...

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 more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Yasynuvata and in Marinka. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Novotoshkivske, Slovianoserbsk and Debaltseve.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bakhmut and Luhanske. Its unmanned aerial vehicle spotted the presence of 64 anti-tank mines along road M03 between Debaltseve and Svitlodarsk where the SMM had facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance clearance on 19 July. The Mission facilitated and monitored the completion of repairs to pylons near the Donetsk Filtration Station. In Odessa city the SMM followed up on a car explosion incident...

Between the evenings of 21 and 22 July the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 22 and 23 July the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Staromykhailivka and again in Novoazovsk, where military-type vehicles were seen travelling from the Novoazovsk area towards the border with the Russian Federation and vice versa. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It continued to observe fresh craters and recent excavations in the area of Kruta Balka and in Olenivka. The SMM visited four border areas not under government control in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The Mission monitored a strike at a coal mine in Pryvillia and a public gathering near Kharkiv...

WARSAW, 24 July 2017- Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, welcomed today’s announcement by Polish President Andrzej Duda that further, broader consultation was necessary on two draft laws on the judiciary passed by the parliament last week...

Two parallel 11-day courses on explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) level 3, supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, were concluded in Dushanbe on 21 July 2017. The courses for Russian-speaking and Tajik-Dari speaking students, respectively, were attended by 42 trainees from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan...

An OSCE-supported four-day training seminar titled “Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Inhuman Treatment in Accordance with the Istanbul Protocol” started on 24 July 2017 in Astana...

VIENNA, 24 July 2017 – The start of the trial against journalists and board members of the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet today highlights the urgent need to protect journalism and improve media freedom in Turkey, Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media stated...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. On two occasions the Mission interrupted unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flights due to ceasefire violations near them, assessed at least on one occasion as aimed at the UAV.* The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Kashtanove and in Donetsk city.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. In the Trudovskyi area of Petrovskyi district in Donetsk city, an armed man told the Mission not to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); the SMM then heard small-arms fire near the area where it was flying the UAV.* The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Donetsk city.

Moscow, 21 July 2017- The Conference on “Public-Private Partnership in the Fight Against Human Trafficking” organized by the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, in co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, concluded today at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

WARSAW, 21 July 2017 – Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir of Iceland assumed her new duties on Friday as Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...