News and press releases

A two-day training course on Gender Action Plans and gender responsive budgeting for women and men politicians concluded on 29 March 2017 at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan in Dushanbe...

SHORTANDY, Kazakhstan, 30 March 2017 – A two-day OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on economic empowerment of women living in rural areas of Kazakhstan began today in the village of Shortandy near Astana...

COPENHAGEN, 29 March 2017 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s economic and environment committee Chair Nilza Sena (MP, Portugal) today expressed concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order Tuesday to ease restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. She emphasized that this represents a significant step backward in efforts to combat global warming, and stressed that all signatories to the Paris Agreement on climate change must respect the hard-fought compromises reached on emission reductions...

THE HAGUE, 29 March 2017 – A student olympiad on multilingualism for pedagogy students at higher education institutions in Central Asia is being organized by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities under its Central Asia Education Programme together with the Karaganda State University in Kazakhstan from 4 to 6 May 2017...

Elections experts from ODIHR met with electoral stakeholders in Warsaw on 28 March to present the final report of ODIHR’s election assessment mission for the 25 October 2015 parliamentary elections in Poland.

The SMM recorded on 28 March fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, but more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with 27 March. The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Yasynuvata. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted...

YEREVAN, 29 March 2017- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, traveled to Baku (March 11), Yerevan (March 27) and Nagorno-Karabakh (March 28)...

VIENNA, 29 March 2017 – Republic of Moldova’s progress in the field of small arms and light weapons management should be used to move the process further by focusing on new priorities in this area and improving compliance with international standards and commitments, say speakers in the session of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) held on 29 March in Vienna...

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 sixty-first Russian convoy of 15 vehicles crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point...

At 11:07 on 28 March, an SMM patrol composed of six members and two armoured vehicles approached a compound where the SMM had previously observed armed “DPR” members, at the eastern edge of “DPR”-controlled Kozatske (36km north-east of Mariupol). (See SMM Daily Report 11 February 2017.)...

The SMM recorded on 27 March more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with 26 March. The Mission observed damage caused by recent shelling to houses and civilian infrastructure in Avdiivka, Popasna and Vesela Hora. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM visited one border area currently not controlled by the Government. The blockade of railway routes across the contact line in Buhas, Hirske and Bakhmut continued. In Kharkiv region the SMM continued monitoring the situation following a fire and a series of explosions at an ammunition storage depot...

ST. PETERSBURG, 28 March 2017 – The Parliamentary Conference on Combating International Terrorism, co-organized by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States, concluded today in St. Petersburg confirming the prominent role that international parliamentary diplomacy and co-operation can play in the fight against terrorism...

Intensifying dialogue and networking between Roma and Sinti civil society, policymakers and political parties is fundamental to successful policies for ensuring the effective participation of Roma and Sinti in their communities, said participants at a workshop hosted by ODIHR on 27 and 28 March 2017 in Brussels.

The important role of procedural safeguards in the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment in police custody and during criminal investigations, as well as a discussion on developing a universal set of standards for non-coercive interview and evidence-gathering methods, were the focus of a workshop held in Vienna on 28 March 2017.

Experts, officials, teachers, students, parents and representatives of the Muslim community gathered in Dublin on 27 March 2017 for the first round of consultations on developing teaching materials to counter intolerance against Muslims based on international human rights and non-discrimination

A dozen of high-level representatives of Albanian anti-corruption authorities concluded a four-day study visit to Austrian institutions on 24 March 2017. The activity was organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania as part of a project funded by the Central European Initiative (CEI) with the aim of supporting anti-corruption capacity building and the exchange of good practices...

A workshop on the prevention of early forced marriages, organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, took place on 27 March 2017 in Podgorica...

ST. PETERSBURG, 27 March 2017 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) today held a series of bilateral meetings in St. Petersburg ahead of the Parliamentary Conference on Combating International Terrorism, co-organized by the OSCE PA and Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which she is addressing on Tuesday...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region on 25 March compared with 24 March and more ceasefire violations on 26 March compared with 25 March. In Luhansk region the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations (all of which were explosions) on 25 March compared with 24 March, and fewer explosions on 26 March compared with 25 March. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Pokrovsk and Avdiivka and observed damage caused by recent shelling to houses in Zaichenko, Dokuchaievsk, Orikhove, Molodizhne and Katerynivka. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted...

VIENNA, 27 March 2017- The Annual Meeting of the OSCE Border Security and Management National Focal Point Network opened at the Hofburg Conference Centre in Vienna today. The two-day meeting is organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in co-operation with the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship...

OSCE and UNECE (the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) jointly organized a meeting of the Working Group on Flood Management and Climate Change Adaptation in the Dniester River Basin on 23 March 2017 in Chisinau, Moldova. The meeting attracted more than 60 participants from the ministries of the environment, water agencies, hydro-meteorological services, research institutions and non-governmental organizations from Moldova and Ukraine...

At 12:45 on 26 March, an SMM patrol of four mission members in two armoured vehicles stopped 500m north-east of government-controlled Orikhove-Donetske (44km north-west of Luhansk). At about 13:10, a couple minutes after launching a mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the SMM observed another UAV almost directly above the patrol’s position, approaching from the south-south-west at a height of approximately 100 metres. The UAV was slightly larger than the SMM UAV and darker in colour, with a larger wingspan and vertical wingtips. It sounded like it had an electric motor. The SMM immediately began the landing procedure for its own UAV. The other UAV flew over the SMM patrol’s position, circled three times – steadily gaining altitude – and then departed to the west...

A five-day regional training course for 14 cybercrime and digital forensics investigators from Azerbaijan and Georgia focusing on investigating malware started on 27 March 2017 in Tbilisi. The course is organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Strategic Police Matters Unit with the support of the Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry and its Academy...

COPENHAGEN, 27 March 2017 – Belarusian authorities must respect principles of freedom of assembly in their handling of demonstrations, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee Chair Ignacio Sanchez Amor and Kent Harstedt, the Chair of the Assembly’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus, said today in response to mass arrests of protesters that took place over the weekend. They further called for the release of those who are still in detention...

SOFIA, 27 March 2017 – Contestants in Bulgaria’s early parliamentary elections could reach out to voters freely, while the low-key campaign was generally characterized by public disillusionment with politics and election weariness, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. The legal framework is largely conducive to holding democratic elections, and amendments since the 2014 elections addressed some previous recommendations for improvements, but further efforts are needed, the statement says...

Strengthening protection and preparedness against terrorist attacks aimed at industrial control systems is the focus of a table-top simulation held in Skopje on 27 and 28 March 2017. Twenty-six experts from different state authorities and private sector representatives, such as operators, providers and owners, are participating in the national exercise organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department with the support of the OSCE Mission in Skopje...

WARSAW, 26 March 2017- Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, today condemned the reported undue restrictions on public assemblies and the unnecessary use of force by Belarusian authorities against peaceful protestors in Minsk and other cities in the country.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Naberezhne and observed damage to houses and other infrastructure in Horlivka. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* An armed man fired a shot in the air 20m away from an SMM patrol in Znamianka.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The blockade of railway routes across the contact line in Buhas, Hirske and Bakhmut continued. In Kharkiv region the SMM continued monitoring the situation following a fire and a series of explosions at an ammunition storage depot...

At 12:10 on 24 March, an SMM patrol of four mission members in two armoured vehicles stopped at an abandoned bus stop about 800m west of “LPR”-controlled Znamianka (36km north-west of Luhansk) to monitor the ceasefire. On disembarking the SMM heard eight single shots of small-arms fire approximately 1km south...

CHISINAU, 24 March 2017 – The Special Representative of the Austrian OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process, Wolf Dietrich Heim, today concluded a visit to the region where he met political representatives of the sides in Chisinau and Tiraspol...

The security situation deteriorated along the contact line. The SMM recorded a sharp increase in the number of ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Yasynuvata and Donetsk city and observed damage to civilian houses and other infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted...

COPENHAGEN, 24 March 2017 – Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden), the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus, today expressed concerns regarding an increasingly hazardous atmosphere pertaining to demonstrations that have taken place in recent weeks and other gatherings that are reportedly planned to be held tomorrow...

COPENHAGEN, 24 March 2017 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia and provide leadership for the OSCE’s short-term observer mission...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. It corroborated a report of a civilian casualty in Yasynuvata. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* The SMM noted long queues at entry-exit checkpoints in Stanytsia Luhanska, Olenivka, Berezove and Novotroitske. It monitored a border area currently not controlled by the Government. The Mission continued to monitor the blockade of railway routes across the contact line. The SMM monitored protests outside banks in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, and followed up reports of vandalism against a bank in Ternopil...

VIENNA, 23 March 2017 – Improving the level of engagement of women in discussions on security, including conflict resolution and addressing violent extremism, was in focus today at a day-long conference hosted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly at the Austrian Parliament in Vienna...

Good practices for managing situations where the removal or voluntary return of irregular migrants has been postponed, as well as ensuring the rights of such persons, were discussed at the conference co-hosted by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Riga on 22 and

VIENNA, 23 March 2017 – The importance of joint efforts at the global level to reduce the risks of conflict stemming from the use of information and communication technologies was debated at the joint session of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC), currently under Romania’s Chairmanship, and the Permanent Council held yesterday in Vienna...

VIENNA, 22 March 2017 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today condemned the abject attacks in London, offering their sincere condolences to the families and friends of those killed, and wishing those hurt and caught up in the incidents a rapid recovery...

COPENHAGEN, 22 March 2017 – Following an attack today near the British Houses of Parliament, which is reportedly being treated as “a terrorist incident” by the London police, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) issued the following statement...

More than 70 human rights defenders gathered in Brussels from 20 to 22 March 2017 to discuss how to strengthen regional networks of human rights defenders in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey, at an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in partnership with the European Parliament.

Strengthening the work of ombuds institutions for the armed forces in the OSCE region was the focus of a three-day event co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw from 20 to 22 March 2017. The event, which started with a conference and was

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 sixtieth Russian convoy crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period, and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM heard small-arms fire close to its position while conducting a mini-UAV flight near Aslanove. The Mission observed damage from shelling in Sarabash and Donetskyi, and corroborated reports of a civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk. The Mission monitored disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in government controlled areas. The SMM followed up on reports of vandalism against a bank branch in Kramatorsk and a shooting incident at a collective centre for internally displaced persons in Kyiv...

Experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Vilnius from 21 to 22 March 2017 to present the  final report of ODIHR’s election assessment mission for the 9 October 2016 parliamentary elections in Lithuania. The report’s findings and recommendations were

A two-day workshop on the prevention of violent extremism, organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Serbian Interior Ministry, took place on 20 and 21 March 2017 in Belgrade...

On 16 March 2017 at 07:20 hrs (Moscow time), the sixtieth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 15 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services prior to them crossing into Ukraine. All of the 15 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 13:45 hrs on 16 March...

CHISINAU, 22 March 2017 – The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Team on Moldova, Arta Dade (MP, Albania), today concluded a three-day visit to Chisinau and Tiraspol, encouraging the sides to follow through on their commitments and produce concrete results in the Transdniestrian settlement process...

The review of limitations on fundamental rights, the harmonization of electoral laws and the removal of restrictions on the rights of individuals to vote and run as candidates are some of the main recommendations contained in the  final report  by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours, mostly concentrated in areas to the east and north-east of Mariupol and including the use of multiple-launch rocket systems, and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared to the previous 24 hours. It observed damage from shelling to a house in Luhanske and corroborated reports of civilian casualties in Lozove and Avdiivka. The Mission monitored disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted. SMM cameras recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in government controlled areas, as well as weapons missing from permanent storage sites in areas not under government control. It again noted long queues of civilians at three entry-exit checkpoints. The SMM continued to monitor the blockade of railway routes crossing the contact line. The Mission continued monitoring protests outside banks in Kyiv and Dnipro...

SARAJEVO, 21 March 2017 – On the occasion of World Social Work Day, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) supported the associations of social workers from BiH in organizing the conference “Challenges of social work in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, which concluded today in Sarajevo...