News and press releases

A roundtable discussion on overcoming the pervasive stereotypes and prejudices in the country was held by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan on 19 December 2016 in Dushanbe, bringing together some 30 national gender experts, women politicians, and representatives of civil society and youth...

A team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) visited Minsk from 20 to 22 December 2016 to present the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission for the 11 September 2016 parliamentary elections in

MINSK, 21 December – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Martin Sajdik made the following press statement after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 21 December 2016.

BERLIN, 21 December 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier today welcomed the declaration of the Trilateral Contact Group in which the sides recommitted to a comprehensive, sustainable and durable ceasefire starting from 24 December 2016 and reconfirmed their will to implement the Minsk agreements and to continue the Minsk process effectively in the year 2017.

A regional conference on the Aarhus Centres’ co-operation with public administration on national and local levels, organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Montenegro’s Sustainable Development and Tourism Ministry and the NGO Ozon/Aarhus Centre Nikšić was held on 21 December 2016 in Podgorica...

ROME, 21 December 2016 – Thirteen representatives of different Belarusian state institutions, local administrations and Aarhus Centres today completed a three-day study tour to Rome on implementing the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. The visit was co-organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA)...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period, while recording some 730 explosions in Donetsk region. The majority of ceasefire violations, including the use of multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery and mortar, were concentrated in the Svitlodarsk-Debaltseve-Horlivka area. The SMM followed up on reports of shelling in Sakhanka and Kalynove. The SMM continued monitoring the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and its access was again restricted.* The Mission observed proscribed weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM monitored a border crossing point currently not under government control in Luhansk region. In Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk the SMM observed peaceful gatherings...

CHISINAU, 21 December 2016 – A three-day advanced training course on challenges to combat banking fraud and financial disruption, and greater understand the role of crypto currencies, concluded today in Chisinau for representatives of financial intelligence agencies in charge of combating money laundering from Central Asia, Moldova, Ukraine and Western Balkans. The course was organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)...

KYIV, 21 December 2016 – The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) will hold its regular news briefing on Thursday, 22 December in Kyiv.

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...

A group of 17 Tajik women politicians, national gender experts and civil society activists visited Serbia to network and exchange experiences with their counterparts during a visit from 12 to 16 December 2016. The study visit was jointly organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the OSCE Mission to Serbia...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the period between the evenings of 18 and 19 December. The SMM observed damage from fighting on 18 December, and followed up on reports of shelling and civilian casualties. The SMM continued monitoring the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and its access was again restricted.* The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs to essential infrastructure in Horlivka, Zolote, Orikhove and Krasnyi Lyman. It continued to observe long queues at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line.

VIENNA, 20 December 2016 – Today, the OSCE participating States convened in a special session of the Permanent Council in Vienna and adopted by consensus a declaration on the deadly terrorist attack against the Russian Ambassador to Turkey that was perpetrated in Ankara on 19 December.

DOMODEDOVO, Russian Federation, 20 December 2016- Eight Afghan law enforcement trainers completed an OSCE-organized train-the-trainers course at a Russian training facility near Moscow today, focusing on combating illicit drug trafficking and drug-related crimes...

MINSK, 20 December 2016 – An OSCE project to enhance the risk analysis and management capacity of the State Border Guard Committee of the Republic of Belarus was launched in Minsk today...

COPENHAGEN, 20 December 2016 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s President and Secretary General, Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) and Roberto Montella, respectively, today issued the following statement on the assassination of Andrey Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, in Ankara on Monday...

COPENHAGEN, 20 December 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) condemned in the strongest terms the attack Monday at a Christmas market in Berlin, offering condolences to the families of the victims and wishing the survivors speedy recoveries. In a statement issued today, she stressed that indiscriminate acts of violence can never be justified or tolerated, and called for increased international co-operation to counter all forms of violent extremism.

BERLIN / VIENNA, 19 December 2016- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Secretary General Lamberto Zannier strongly condemned the fatal attack on the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Ankara today.

The OSCE Presence in Albania, in close co-operation with the National Chamber of Advocacy and the National School of Advocates, completed on 19 December 2016 the Second Edition of the Moot Court Competition, with an event held in one of the High Court’s trial rooms. Eight four-member teams, made of young lawyers who are students of the National School of Advocacy, participated in the event...

An OSCE-supported anti-corruption course was introduced at the National School of Judges of Ukraine on 9 December 2016 as a new tool to increase judicial integrity and accountability...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions on both 17 and 18 December compared with 16 December. The SMM observed heavy fighting in the areas around Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The SMM followed up on reports of shelling and observed impacts on both sides of the contact line in Popasna and Kalynove. The SMM continued monitoring the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and its access was again restricted; it recorded ceasefire violations in or around Petrivske.* The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines. The Mission monitored one border crossing point currently not under government control...

BISHKEK, 19 December 2016 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek jointly with the Kyrgyz State Customs Service (KSCS) today launched a two-week training course for some 110 KSCS officers on using technological tools for customs control. The course aims to raise their capacity on the effective operation of these tools at checkpoints and customs clearance points...

A graduation ceremony for 44 students of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek’s two Masters Programmes in Politics and Security and Economic Governance and Development was held in the Kyrgyz capital on 16 December 2016...

Strong and independent national human rights institutions (NHRIs) act as a cornerstone of national human rights protection systems and as a bridge between the government and civil society, and they play a vital role in times when human rights and fundamental freedoms are under threat, a statement issued on 19 December 2016 by five global and regional bodies engaged in the protection of human rights said.

COPENHAGEN, 18 December 2016 – Members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on Migration today marked International Migrants Day with a call for European and global leaders to adopt a coherent, co-ordinated response to migration based on the principles of human rights and international co-operation that are at the heart of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s comprehensive approach to security...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Marinka, and observed damage to a civilian house in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM was restricted in its movement in the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and recorded ceasefire violations in or around two of them.* The SMM monitored repairs to essential infrastructure in Artema and Zolote. The Mission monitored three border crossing points currently not under government control.

The Mediation Support Team of the Conflict Prevention Centre’s Operations Service and the German Chairmanship launched a study on the OSCE’s support to insider mediation on Friday 16 December in Vienna. Conducted by the German Berghof Foundation, the study examines past, present and possible activities with insider mediators for the OSCE, in particular looking at cases from Ukraine, Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan. It provides recommendations for the OSCE and its field operations on how to make use of insider capacities in conflict prevention and resolution.

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 to follow up on reports of civilian casualties near Maiorsk. The Mission continued to monitor the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske but its access was still restricted.* The Mission verified withdrawal of some weapons and observed others in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored developments at one border crossing point currently not under government control and observed the arrival of a new Russian Federation contingent to the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination at a border crossing point controlled by the Government. A protest in Kyiv took place peacefully...

OSCE participating States should protect and facilitate peaceful assemblies, therefore they are responsible to put in place mechanisms and procedures that ensure that this freedom is enjoyed in practice and is not subject to undue restrictions, says a report  released by the OSCE Office for

WARSAW, 16 December 2016- Protection of the rights of migrants and their integration remains a challenge that OSCE participating States must face with co-ordination and commitment to humane treatment, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said today, ahead of International Migrants Day on Sunday...

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Ulaanbaatar on 13 and 14 December 2016 to present recommendations from the final report  on the 29 June parliamentary elections in Mongolia. The report’s findings and

Some 350 newly-elected councillors from local self-government units received certificates marking their successful completion of an online course on the system of local self-governments and good governance, at a ceremony held on 14 December 2016 in Belgrade. The course, supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia, is designed for councillors who took up seats in local assemblies for the first time after the April elections...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior and Union of Municipalities awarded local municipalities on 12 December 2016 for their work in various areas, recognizing the quality of their work and innovation in providing services to citizens...

TASHKENT, 15 December 2016 – An OSCE-supported national contest of the best artistic works that highlight anti-corruption concluded today in Tashkent in a ceremony dedicated to last week’s International Anti-Corruption Day...

ASHGABAT, 15 December 2016 – Some 15 law-enforcement officials and energy experts from Turkmenistan discussed best practices in the area of critical energy infrastructure protection at an OSCE-organized seminar that concluded in Ashgabat today...

KYIV, 15 December 2016 – The results of Ukraine’s first-ever national money-laundering and financing of terrorism risk assessment, conducted with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, were presented today to the country’s expert community at an event in Kyiv...

SARAJEVO, 15 December 2016- A group of 16 advanced law students from the Universities of Sarajevo and Banja Luka completed today the sixth and final session of the OSCE’s first Extracurricular Workshop on International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice. The workshop prepared the future legal practitioners to enable them to enter the judiciary better equipped to tackle the issues that arise in war crimes cases...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties near Maiorsk. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The SMM was restricted in its movement in the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and observed ceasefire violations in or around two of them. The SMM facilitated repair works on essential infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, in Orikhove, Zolote and Krasnyi Lyman. Long queues at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line continued. The Mission monitored three border crossing points, two located in areas currently not under government control. A protest in Kyiv took place peacefully...

GENEVA, Switzerland, 14 December 2016- The thirty-eighth round of the Geneva International Discussions was held today...

VIENNA, 14 December 2016 – Now more than ever there is a strong need for inclusive and collaborative dialogue promoting a positive agenda on migration governance, conclude in Vienna today participants of a discussion hosted by the OSCE and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the development of the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, following the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants adopted by the UN General Assembly in September...

Fewer ceasefire violations were recorded in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. The SMM was restricted in its movement in the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske.* The SMM monitored repair works to essential infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, in Orikhove, Zolote and Krasnyi Lyman. The SMM monitored the Novoazovsk border crossing point, an area currently not under government control...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Union of Municipalities presented on 13 December, 2016 in Podgorica a Model of Decision-making, which would support local governing units in legalizing informal building structures, and therefore support the municipalities in implementing the forthcoming Law on regulating informal building structures...

KONJIC, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14 December 2016 – The implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was the focus of a two-day workshop which concluded today in Konjic, organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the country’s Security Ministry and Gender Equality Agency...

Representatives of civil society, governments and international organizations explored ways to improve security for Christian communities in the OSCE region and to address intolerance against Christians at a conference held in Vienna on 14 December 2016. The Conference on Combating Intolerance and

The legal regulation of corporate governance, state measures to improve corporate governance and its role in enhancing the investment environment were the topics of a workshop held on 13 December 2016 in Armenia’s capital by the Corporate Governance Center NGO with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan...

An OSCE-supported three-day working meeting for the Border Guard Service under the National Security Committee concluded on 14 December 2016 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 increased at both BCPs...

On 13 December 2016, Albanian public broadcaster senior managers’ concluded a three-day study visit to Slovenia’s public broadcaster, organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) as part of their efforts to assist the Albanian Radio and Television (RTSH) transformation into a real public broadcaster...

An anti-corruption forum promoting the rule of law and accountability and an annual award ceremony recognizing business entrepreneurs, civic activists and media representatives for their efforts in the fight against corruption was held on 9 December 2016 in Yerevan to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the period between the evenings of 10 and 11 December. The SMM followed up on reports of shelling in Sakhanka and Popasna. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, where no further progress was noted. The SMM was restricted in its access to those areas, as no demining activity had taken place. The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons on both sides of the contact line, and noted weapons missing from assigned areas. It followed up on reports of water shortages near Luhansk city. The SMM monitored one border area currently outside government control...