News and press releases

BERLIN/VIENNA, 6 October 2016- Following the UN Security Council decision to appoint António Guterres as the new UN Secretary-General, OSCE Chairperson-in Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier expressed their heartfelt congratulations and praised the choice. Steinmeier said he hoped for enormous support in the UN General Assembly, which would give Guterres a strong mandate for leadership of the United Nations...

VIENNA, 6 October 2016 – The OSCE Mediterranean Partnership is growing and youth should be a lead actor to take dialogue and co-operation forward, participants emphasized in the 2016 OSCE Mediterranean conference, which concluded today in Vienna...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region as in the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the number of ceasefire violations recorded, all during daytime, increased significantly for the second consecutive day. The SMM followed up on reports of shelling in Makiivka. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement process in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; the SMM was restricted in its freedom of movement in all three areas. The SMM monitored the situation of civilians living near the contact line and of civilians queuing at entry-exit checkpoints. The SMM visited two border areas in Kharkiv. The Mission monitored the situation of internally displaced persons in Odessa and Donetsk regions...

On 4 October 2016, the OSCE Mission to Moldova hosted a roundtable discussion on the use of the State Innovative Policy as an instrument of development in the regions, with particular focus on the experience of Moldova’s autonomous region of Gagauzia...

BELGRADE, 6 October 2016 – Ambassador Andrea Orizio, an Italian career diplomat, assumed his duties as Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia...

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana held the last in a series of five seminars on anti-trafficking practices and procedures on 6 October 2016 in Shymkent, South Kazakhstan Region...

“Stability in Afghanistan remains of utmost significance to, and inseparable from the security of the Eurasian continent,” stressed Paul Bekkers, Director of the OSCE Secretary General’s Office at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan on 5 October 2016....

Promoting international standards in the national water management education was the topic of the OSCE-supported working group meeting for some 20 leading experts from the national water authorities, international organizations, civil society and academia that took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 6 October 2016...

An OSCE-supported regional roundtable discussion on promoting police integrity brought together some 30 professionals from the police training institutions and the agencies involved in integrity planning and management on 3-4 October 2016 in Danilovgrad, Montenegro...

MINSK, 6 October 2016 – 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 four Working Groups in Minsk on Wednesday, 5 October 2016...

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...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with 3 October...

GENEVA, Switzerland, 5 October 2016- The thirty-seventh round of the Geneva International Discussions has just ended.

TBILISI, 5 October 2016- Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, today conducted a monitoring exercise on the Line of Contact in accordance with his mandate. This exercise took place six months after the outbreak of hostilities in early April...

VIENNA, 5 October 2016 – The contribution of youth to fostering dialogue and co-operation in the Euro-Mediterranean region is in focus at the two-day 2016 OSCE Mediterranean Conference, which opened today in Vienna...

VIENNA, 5 October 2016 – Promoting security through mutual confidence and co-operation with Mediterranean Partners, including joint work on political-military issues was high on the agenda of yesterday’s meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security and Co-operation (FSC)...

VIENNA, 5 October 2016 – Disengagement is a key step towards a full and sustainable ceasefire in Ukraine and the sides need to do more to make it a reality on the ground, said the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Martin Sajdik and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Ertugrul Apakan in their addresses yesterday to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna...

YEREVAN, 5 October 2016 – A presentation on corporate social responsibility for Armenia’s business companies and a public discussion on the issues among the business community were held on 5 October 2016 in Yerevan organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Business Support Centre...

SHAARTUZ, Tajikistan, 5 October 2016 – A co-ordination consultation meeting on the issue of statelessness organized jointly by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representation in Tajikistan was held in Shaartuz today...

TASHKENT, 5 October 2016 – An OSCE-supported three-day international conference for 150 participants from the government, business community, civil society, as well as international organizations on development of ecotourism in Uzbekistan started today in Tashkent...

An OSCE-supported seminar on the next steps in local self-governance reform took place on 5 October 2016 in Uralsk, West Kazakhstan Region...

The newly-appointed Panel of Experts of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Freedom of Religion or Belief met for the first time in Warsaw on 4 and 5 October 2016 to discuss the challenges and opportunities for advancing the right to freedom of religion or belief for all in the OSCE region.

VIENNA, 5 October 2016 – The OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna late yesterday extended the mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian border checkpoints of Gukovo and Donetsk by three months to 31 January 2017...

On 4 October 2016, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek donated one minivan and five mine detectors to the Special Forces of Kyrgyz Republic’s National Guard...

WASHINGTON D.C., 4 October 2016 – The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) today officially opened an election observation mission for the general elections to be held in the United States on 8 November 2016...

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Mongolia’s 29 June 2016 parliamentary elections recommends a review of the country’s legislation to ensure a coherent electoral legal framework, equality of the vote across electoral constituencies and inclusiveness in the electoral administration.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with 2 October...

TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan, 4 October 2016 – The Aarhus Convention, a UN document on access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, was the focus of an OSCE-supported seminar for 25 representatives of the local authorities, commercial organizations, civil society, media and the general public, held today in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan...

VIENNA, 4 October 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern that the severe sentences handed down to two prominent media personalities in Kazakhstan could hamper media pluralism in the country...

SEMEY, Kazakhstan, 4 October 2016- An OSCE-supported training seminar on gender principles applied to local governments took place today in Semey, Kazakhstan for some 40 high-level government executives and district legislators...

On 27 and 28 September 2016, the OSCE Mission to Moldova held a training-of-trainers course for 25 law enforcement representatives from across the country on preventing and combating domestic violence. The event, held in Chisinau, was organized in co-operation with Moldova’s General Police Inspectorate...

The SMM noted an increase in the number of ceasefire violations recorded in Donetsk region on 1 October followed by a decrease on 2 October...

CHISINAU, 3 October 2016 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 30 October presidential election in Moldova. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the Moldovan authorities...

KHARKIV, Ukraine, 3 October 2016- An OSCE-supported re-training programme for cyber police officers in Ukraine was launched today at the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs...

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 3 October 2016 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek supported the opening of a training centre in Osh with the aim of increasing the capacity of state and public inspectors of the State Inspectorate of Environmental and Technical Safety (SIETS) and the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry (SAEPF)...

An OSCE-supported training seminar on the UN Istanbul Protocol on Torture and related technical standards began on 3 October 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan...

ASTANA, 3 October 2016 – An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar on labour migration management for some 25 central and regional migration and employment authorities began today in Astana...

SKOPJE, 2 October 2016 – More than 600 students from 27 schools around the country came together for a day of songs, dance performances, theatre plays and sport games,, as part of the Building Bridges Fund event, organized today by the OSCE Mission to Skopje...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, including 255 explosions compared with 198 in the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, most assessed as live-fire exercise at a training area outside the security zone. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement process near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM noted progress in demining and removal of obstacles in Zolote. The SMM was restricted in its freedom of movement, including in the areas of Petrivske and Zolote, on both sides of the Shchastia bridge, as well as at a border area currently not under government control.* The SMM observed lack of water supply in several areas north of Luhansk. The Mission monitored the departure of internally displaced persons from Odessa towards areas not under government control in Donetsk region...

SKOPJE, 2 October 2016 – The refugee and migrant crisis and the potential of the OSCE and its parliamentarians to help mitigate the situation were the focus of debate today during the final session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Autumn Meeting...

SKOPJE, 30 September 2016 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 2016 Autumn Meeting, bringing together some 170 parliamentarians from across the OSCE’s 57 participating States, opened today in Skopje with addresses by OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen and host officials...

NEUM, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 30 September 2016 – More than 30 prosecutors from across BiH gathered for a war crimes panel within the Ninth Symposium of Prosecutors in BiH, which was supported by the OSCE Mission to BiH and concluded today in Neum...

The SMM noted an increase in the number of ceasefire violations recorded in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement process near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. It was restricted in its freedom of movement, including in the areas of Petrivske and Zolote. The SMM observed the presence of mines and saw demining being carried out. The SMM monitored the situation of civilians in areas near the contact line...

BISHKEK, 30 September 2016 – Some 16 social workers of penitentiary institutions across Kyrgyzstan will complete a two-week capacity-building training course tomorrow, which is organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Kyrgyz State Service for Execution of Punishment (SSEP)...

CHON-KEMIN, Kyrgyzstan, 30 September 2016- A five–day workshop on safety and security measures to be taken by journalists and editors when reporting on matters related to violent extremism and radicalization started today in Chon-Kemin, Kyrgyzstan...

ASHGABAT, 30 September 2016 – A training course on mechanisms to reduce and prevent the spread of disasters, organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, concluded today in Ashgabat...

ASHGABAT, 30 September 2016- Thirteen middle-rank border police officers from the northern border of Afghanistan today completed a five-day OSCE-supported executive general patrol course organized in the capital of Turkmenistan...

Communication and presentation skills were the topic for the second in a series of educational training courses held for representatives of Montenegro’s Parliament from 29 to 30 September 2016 in Podgorica...

The principles of anti-discrimination, standards in gender equality, the relevant legal framework, gender-sensitive language, and the portrayal of women in the media were among the topics of a two-day training course supported by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro held for Municipal Gender Focal Points from 12 municipalities, which concluded on 30 September 2016 in Podgorica...

WARSAW, 30 September 2016 – The free and open exchange of views and information is vital to helping governments protect and promote human rights, fundamental freedoms and tolerance and non-discrimination, as well as to improve and strengthen democratic practices and institutions, Gernot Erler, Germany’s Special Representative for the 2016 OSCE Chairmanship, Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General, and Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said today on the occasion of the closing of a two-week OSCE conference in Warsaw...