News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (18 explosions compared with 95 on 31 August) and also in Luhansk region...

WARSAW, 2 September 2016 – Michael Georg Link, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today expressed concern over the mob violence against the Roma community in the village of Loshchynivka, Ukraine, in the Odesa region, and called on Ukrainian authorities to speak up against anti-Roma rhetoric and violence, immediately address interethnic tension and restore respect for the rule of law...

Joint initiatives to promote human rights protection in Armenia were the focus of a meeting hosted by the OSCE Office in Yerevan with Armenia’s Human Rights Defender’s (Ombudsperson) Office on 31 August 2016...

Terrorist attacks have shaken the OSCE region and beyond causing horror, fear, anger, grief and despair. The attacks have forcefully added to the OSCE participating States’ concerns about how to prevent and fight terrorism to keep our societies safe...

DUSHANBE, 2 September 2016 – A two-day working meeting of the network of 18 OSCE-supported Women’ Resource Centres (WRCs) concluded today in Dushanbe. Bringing together some 36 participants, the meeting focused on the management aspects of the WRCs: their co-ordination, exchange of information, good practices and future perspectives...

MINSK, 1 September 2016- A Trilateral Contact Group meeting by video-conference took place in Kyiv today 01 September 2016 with the purpose to confirm the ceasefire announced and observed from 00.00, 01 September. Video-conference was also attended by SMM Chief Monitor Ambassador Apakan as well as RF and Ukrainian representatives in JCCC – Generals Medvedskiy and Kremenetskiy accordingly...

The SMM recorded substantially fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (95 explosions compared with 520 on 30 August) but a much higher number of violations in Luhansk region (155 explosions compared with ten on 30 August). The SMM evacuated its forward patrol base in Shchastia during the night of 30 August due to mortar rounds assessed as landing close to its base; the SMM returned to the base during the day of 31 August. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties and observed numerous cases of damage to civilian property when conducting shelling assessments in Krasnohorivka, Horlivka, Lobacheve, Raivka, Irmino, and Novooleksandrivka. The SMM continued to observe heavy weapons missing from storage locations in government- and non-government-controlled areas. The SMM also monitored the results of shelling on and military personnel in proximity of schools. The SMM continued to monitor a calm situation along the administrative boundary line between the Ukrainian mainland and Crimea...

POTSDAM, Germany, 1 September 2016 – “It is my firm belief that we must work together to face the common threats of our times and to make use of the OSCE more effectively as a central platform for dialogue,” said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the end of the Informal Meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Potsdam today. “At a time when we are facing grave differences of opinion and a loss of trust in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian area, we as political leaders have a duty to listen to each other and to re-engage in genuine dialogue,” Steinmeier added...

POTSDAM, 1 September 2016 – Speaking today at an informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Potsdam, Germany, Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) urged intensified efforts at diplomacy and confidence-building, stressing that governments should make full use of the OSCE’s instruments to address common challenges...

BERLIN, 1 September 2016- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, welcomed the agreement on early parliamentary elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and issued the following statement today in Berlin:...

Local government authorities in the town of Miskolc, Hungary, should halt issuing eviction orders to Roma residents of social housing, and should promote adequate, sustainable, non-discriminatory solutions to housing segregation, says a field assessment visit report published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 1 September 2016.

KYIV, 1 September 2016 – All sides should heed the ceasefire appeal ahead of the start of the new school year, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ertugrul Apakan said today...

In Donetsk region, the SMM noted an increase in the number of explosions recorded (approximately 520) compared with the previous reporting period (nearly 400). In Luhansk region, the SMM heard ten explosions and approximately 500 bursts of small-arms fire, an increase compared with the previous day when not a single ceasefire violation was recorded. On the night of 30 August, the SMM was forced to leave its forward patrol base in Shchastia due to the close proximity of shelling. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties and analysed craters in Donetsk city, Dokuchaievsk, Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove), Pervomaisk, Troitske, and Krasnohorivka. The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled Vodiane. The Mission faced two restrictions to its freedom of movement, both in areas not controlled by the Government.* It observed a calm situation along the administrative boundary line with Crimea...

People in eastern Ukraine deserve peace and the sides should do their utmost to ease the people’s suffering, said Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Ertugrul Apakan while visiting Donetsk and Luhansk regions on 28-30 August 2016...

Between 20:55 and 21:00 on 30 August, whilst at the SMM forward patrol base in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), an SMM patrol comprising five SMM staff members and a paramedic heard four shots of under-barrel-grenade-launcher (GP-25) fire approximately 1km south of their position...

ERGNETI, 31 August 2016- The 69th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place today in Ergneti. The meeting was co-facilitated by Kęstutis Jankauskas, the Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Guenther Baechler, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus...

COPENHAGEN, 31 August 2016 – OSCE PA Vice-President Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden), who is serving as Special Co-ordinator to lead the OSCE’s short-term observer mission for the 11 September parliamentary elections in Belarus, continued his pre-electoral work this week by meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko, Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei...

International human rights standards, the key principles of assembly policing, the planning and decision making model, communication and accountability were the focus of a three-day training event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the European Union Advisory Mission to Uraine (EUAM) between 29 and 31 August 2016 in Kyiv.

BERLIN, 31 August 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier today issued the following statement ahead of the 1 September Informal Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Potsdam...

PODGORICA, 31 August 2016 – A two-day workshop aimed at strengthening cross-border co-operation in addressing irregular migration-related crimes in the Western Balkans opened today in Podgorica bringing together policy-makers and law enforcement officials from relevant bodies in the region as well as representatives of international and regional organizations...

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 slightly decreased at both BCPs...

BRUSSELS, 30 August 2016- Gernot Erler, Special Representative of the Federal Government of Germany for the OSCE Chairmanship, and Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General of the OSCE, today spoke about OSCE-EU co-operation during an address to the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs in Brussels...

In Donetsk region, the SMM noted a relative decrease in the number of explosions recorded (nearly 400) compared with 28 August (nearly 1,000). In Luhansk region, the SMM neither registered ceasefire violations during the night of 28 August nor the daytime of 29 August. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties and analysed craters in Petrovskyi district, Yasynuvata, Horlivka, and Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove). The SMM observed preparations for the start of the school year. The Mission visited two border areas not controlled by the Government. It faced four restrictions to its freedom of movement, all but one in areas not controlled by the Government.* The Mission observed a calm situation along the administrative boundary line with Crimea. The SMM monitored public gatherings in Kyiv...

TBILISI, 30 August 2016 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 8 October parliamentary elections in Georgia. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the Georgian authorities...

Enhancing the professional development of journalists, training young reporters, making greater use of multimedia, establishing commercial departments as part of editorial offices, and creating an alternative system of newspaper distribution were some of the recommendations presented by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan on 27 August 2016 in their survey on the impact of the financial crisis on the country’s independent media...

VIENNA, 29 August 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today called on Ukrainian authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the death of journalist Alexander Shchetinin...

The SMM recorded more explosions in Donetsk region on both 27 and 28 August compared with the previous reporting period.

An OSCE Programme Office in Astana-supported expert group meeting on enhancing public participation in environmental decision-making through applying mechanisms under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) took place on 29 August 2016 in Ust-Kamengorsk, East Kazakhstan...

The SMM recorded fewer explosions in Donetsk region on 26 August (at least 406) compared with the previous reporting period (over 543). The SMM also recorded significantly fewer explosions in Luhansk region (at least eight) compared with the previous day (nearly 200). It followed up on reports of civilian casualties and analysed craters on both sides of the contact line, in Donetsk city, Kostiantynivka, Stanytsia Luhanska, Marinka and Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove). The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and noted the presence of armoured combat vehicles and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the security zone. The SMM monitored the situation of civilians travelling across the contact line at Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, and two border areas not controlled by the Government. It faced two denials to its freedom of movement.* The Mission observed a calm situation along the administrative boundary line with Crimea and observed three public gatherings in Kyiv and the cancellation of a public hearing at the city council in Odessa...

COPENHAGEN, 27 August 2016 – The forced commitment to a psychiatric clinic of Ilmi Umerov represents a worrying new low in Russia’s stigmatization of the Crimean Tatar community and should be immediately reversed, said the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's human rights committee, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain) today...

MINSK, 26 August 2016- Ambassador Martin Sajdik, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group on the implementation of the peace plan in the East of Ukraine, made the following press statement after today's meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group and its four Working Groups in Minsk today...

Five Ukrainian regional newspapers were selected on 23 August 2016 to benefit from assistance in their transformation from the state-funded to independent media outlets as part of a project implemented by OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine at the request of the State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting...

VIENNA, 26 August 2016- A two-week workshop focusing on modern security challenges and border management concluded today at the Federal Academy of Finance of Austria...

KYIV, 26 August 2016 – Challenges such as the lack of employment and inadequate housing that face both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the host communities in which they live could be major potential triggers for strained relations between the two and lead to secondary displacement, says a new report issued today by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM)...

The SMM recorded more explosions in Donetsk region on 25 August (at least 543) compared with 24 August (over 350). In Luhansk region the SMM recorded a similar number of explosions compared with the previous day. It conducted crater analysis in Molodizhne, Petrovskyi district and Hannivka. The Mission facilitated repairs to essential infrastructure in Obozne and Shchastia. The SMM monitored three border areas not controlled by the Government.* It faced two freedom-of-movement restrictions in areas not controlled by the Government. The Mission observed a calm situation along the administrative boundary line with Crimea. The SMM also followed up on reports of an explosion at an administrative building in Bila Tserkva...

DUSHANBE, 26 August 2016- A five-day OSCE-supported workshop for twenty border officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on best practices in border surveillance concluded today at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe...

Understanding how to counter hate crime, exchanging experiences and identifying avenues of co-operation were at the centre of a two-day workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw.

The SMM observed a significant decrease in the number of explosions recorded in Donetsk region on 23 August (approximately 170) compared with 22 August (531), although the number of recorded explosions doubled on 24 August (over 350) compared with the previous day. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded twice as many explosions on 23 August (over 140) and thrice as many explosions on 24 August (over 200) compared with 22 August (60). The Mission observed ceasefire violations involving proscribed weapons in close proximity of its positions in Yasynuvata and Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM conducted crater analysis and observed the results of shelling on both sides of the contact line, in Popasna, Hranitne, Solodke, Petrovskyi district, Novooleksandrivka, Stanytsia Luhanska, Avdiivka, Krasnohorivka, and Krymske. The SMM faced four freedom-of-movement restrictions, all but one in areas not controlled by the Government. The Mission continued to observe a calm situation along the administrative boundary line with Crimea. The SMM also monitored celebrations marking Independence Day which were held on 24 August...

On 25 August 2016 at 06:55hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 39 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services prior to them crossing into Ukraine. All of the 39 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 16:15hrs on 25 August...

The Observer Mission continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The number of border crossings by persons increased at both BCPs.

ISSYK-KUL, Kyrgyzstan, 24 August 2016 – A two-day workshop organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek for 16 young and recently-recruited mobile doctors from Batken, Osh, Jalalabad and Talas provinces on health care and human rights protection in detention facilities started today in Sary-Oi, Issyk-Kul region...

BERLIN, 24 August 2016 – Following recent incidents targeting patrol teams of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) in the country’s east, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, issued the following statement...

Some 30 female candidates who will be standing for election to the local councils in the Batken and Osh provinces in southern Kyrgyzstan in November 2016 as well as civil society and media representatives are participating in the OSCE-supported Women’s Leadership School, which started on 23 August in Batken. The training course is organized in co-operation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the NGO Women’s Support Centre...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and an increase in the number recorded in Luhansk region.

ISSYK-KUL, Kyrgyzstan, 23 August 2016 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the Mayor’s Office of Balykchy and the International Republican Institute signed today a memorandum of understanding to support a pilot project on improving municipal services delivery in the town of Balykchy, northern Kyrgyzstan, through a so-called “single window model”...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA / VIENNA, 23 August 2016 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Jean-Claude Schlumberger, and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today condemned last night’s attack on the premises of Radio Television Kosovo (RTK) in Prishtinë/Priština...

At 14:28 on 22 August, an SMM patrol comprising four SMM staff members and a paramedic in two vehicles was stopped by three armed men at a checkpoint in “DPR”-controlled Lukove (72km south of Donetsk). One of them demanded in a hostile manner to search the SMM vehicles...

The SMM observed an increase in the number of explosions recorded in Donetsk region both on 20 August (over 430) and 21 August (over 540) compared to 19 August. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more explosions (over 250) on 20 August and fewer explosions on 21 August (over 30) compared to 19 August. On two consecutive days, the Mission heard small-arms fire in close vicinity of its positions – in Novooleksandrivka and Novozvanivka respectively – while conducting mini-UAV flights. The SMM conducted crater analysis and observed the results of shelling on both sides of the contact line, in Marinka, Svitlodarsk, Hranitne, Pervomaiske, Veselohorivka, Komyshuvakha, Petrovskyi district, Yasynuvata, and Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM monitored long queues at entry-exit checkpoint in Zaitseve/Horlivka and at Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, and facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable demining work and repairs at the bridge. The Mission monitored five border areas not controlled by the Government and continued to observe a calm situation along the administrative boundary line with Crimea. The SMM faced five freedom-of-movement restrictions, all in areas not controlled by the Government...

On 18 August 2016 the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan Argo Avakov met with the Deputy Head of the Armenian Police Vardan Yeghiazaryan to discuss developments related to the 17 July seizure of the Erebuni police compound in Yerevan and the OSCE Office in Yerevan’s willingness to provide assistance to Armenian authorities and civil society to strengthen trust and co-operation between the police and the public...

An OSCE-supported training seminar on data journalism for some 15 journalists from across Kazakhstan started on 22 August 2016 in Astana...