News and press releases

BERN, Switzerland, 19 December 2015 – The President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsian and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a summit today in Bern under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France). The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in the summit.

The SMM observed an increase in ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared to previous days*. The SMM encountered restrictions to its freedom of movement, including to a border area not controlled by the Government. The SMM continued to facilitate the enabling of repairs between government and non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk region. In Kyiv the SMM observed a 2,000-participants-strong protest...

VIENNA, 18 December 2015 – We must address ongoing mass movements of people in a humane and comprehensive manner, ensuring the respect of human rights and international obligations, says OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier on International Migrants Day...

SARAJEVO, 18 December 2015 – A three-day regional disaster risk reduction training course organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and hosted by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, concluded today in Sarajevo...

BISHKEK, 18 December 2015 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today organized a roundtable discussion for some twenty representatives from the legislature, academia, expert community, think-tanks and international organizations to discuss the importance of civil society’s monitoring of parliament...

BELGRADE, 18 December 2015 – The OSCE Mission to Serbia, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and civil society organization Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) are to follow the election on 21 December of judges to Serbia’s High Judicial Council...

The accessibility of municipal public buildings for persons with disabilities was the focus of a two-day conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in partnership with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro on 16 and 17 December in Budva...

A five-day OSCE-supported study tour to Austria’s Federal Police Dog Training Centre in Bad Kreuzen by eight mid- and low-level officials from the K-9 police-dog training centre of Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry concluded on 18 December 2015...

WARSAW, 18 December 2015 – States have an obligation to guarantee the human rights of migrants, including in their responses to the current refugee crisis in Europe, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), stressed in a statement today, on International Migrants Day...

DUSHANBE, 18 December 2015 – A week-long workshop co-organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and focusing on the re-socialization of prisoners through income-generating activities concluded today at the OSCE Office’s premises in Dushanbe...

LONDON, 18 December 2015 – Representatives of Turkmenistan’s Education Ministry, Mejlis (Parliament) and the National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights discussed international standards and best practices related to educational reforms during an OSCE-organized five-day study visit to London that concludes today...

A publication that clarifies the most challenging issues in the OSCE’s anti-trafficking Action Plan and its Addendums was issued on 17 December 2015 by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova...

On 17 December 2015 at 07:00hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 46 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guard and customs services. All but one of 46 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 14:30hrs on 17 December. One escort vehicle was delayed and crossed the border into the Russian Federation at 16:05hrs...

The SMM recorded a low number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. It experienced freedom-of-movement restrictions in areas not controlled by the Government...

KONJIC, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 17 December 2015 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with BiH Parliamentary Assembly and BiH Central Election Commission (CEC), organized the ninth two-day meeting of the Inter-Agency Working Group on changes to election legislation in BiH which concluded today in Konjic...

The importance and the benefits of adopting and implementing a code of conduct for members of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, as an essential element in securing public trust and transparency was the focus of a parliamentary hearing co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 17 December 2015 in Kyiv.

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 17 December 2015 – While positive trends continue, more efforts are needed to advance communities’ rights, concludes an OSCE Mission in Kosovo report presented today...

Sixteen representatives of various local institutions working with children attended an OSCE-supported public lecture on the observance of children’s rights held on 16 December 2015 in the village of Gaidar in Gagauzia. The lecture followed a training event organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova to prepare law students and paralegals to organize public lectures on accessing legal aid...

VIENNA, 17 December 2015 – Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini and former OSCE Senior Operational Adviser John Crosby were today awarded the OSCE Medal by the Organization’s Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, for their “dedication and tireless efforts that embody the OSCE’s lasting contribution to international security and co-operation"...

BISHKEK, 17 December 2015 – The first Kyrgyz State Border Service Press Centre, supported by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, opened today in the country’s capital, with the aim of enhancing internal and external communication between the Service’s border units, and in establishing the Service’s coherent and transparent approach towards the media and public...

The OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Centre for Women Support, civil society organization (CSO) from Kikinda, held on 17 December 2015 in Šabac, north-western Serbia, a conference on the status of minority women in their communities, with specific reference to decision-making opportunities within the National Minority Councils (NMCs)...

DUSHANBE, 17 December 2015 – The OSCE Office in Tajikistan, with the support of the Swiss Co-operation Office, today concluded a three-day training course on the human rights of persons in police custody and the independent monitoring of police detention facilities...

TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan, 17 December 2015 – Enhancing land and maritime border management security capabilities of future border guards was the aim of a series of training lectures organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat for 130 cadets at the Navy Institute of Turkmenistan’s Defence Ministry, which conclude tomorrow in Turkmenbashi...

COPENHAGEN, 17 December 2015 – The Chairperson of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Committee, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today expressed concern about new legislation in Russia that allows the country’s Constitutional Court to decide on whether to implement rulings of international human rights courts, including the European Court of Human Rights...

The SMM recorded a low number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It experienced freedom-of-movement restrictions in areas not controlled by the Government. The SMM spoke to medical personnel in Horlivka City Hospital No. 2, where it heard that medication for dialysis patients will run out by 1 January 2016...

ERGNETI, 16 December 2015- The 61st meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Kęstutis Jankauskas, the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Angelo Gnaedinger, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus...

VIENNA, 16 December 2015- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today called on the authorities in Kyrgyzstan not to impose disproportionate and excessive fines for civil defamation, following a recent ruling in a defamation case in the country involving a public figure...

The role of women politicians in peace-building efforts was the focus of a panel meeting in Kyiv on 16 December 2015, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the Equal Opportunities Inter-Faction Union of the Ukrainian Parliament.

CHISINAU, 16 December 2015 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova, organized two training courses in Chisinau and Tiraspol for social workers and educators in order to ensure the sustainability of efforts from the Organization’s four-year long programme to support children without parental care...

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCP). The overall cross-border traffic increased at both BCPs...

The OSCE Centre in Bishkek organized a one-week study visit to South Korea on 7-12 December 2015 for representatives of Kyrgyz government agencies to familiarize them with best practices in introducing biometric passports...

Some 30 students and professors from the Law Faculty of the Goce Delcev University in Stip visited the premises of the OSCE Mission to Skopje on 16 December 2015 to learn about the work of the Mission, particularly in the field of rule of law and good governance...

COPENHAGEN, 16 December 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) has appointed Norwegian parliamentarian Ola Elvestuen as the PA’s first Special Representative for Arctic Issues...

TIRANA, 15 December 2015 – An OSCE-supported policy paper providing recommendations on how to address overcrowding in prisons and in pre-trial facilities in Albania was presented today at an event held in the Justice Ministry...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations than on previous days in Donetsk and Luhansk regions*. The SMM revisited permanent weapons storage sites on both sides of the contact line in relation to the implementation of the Addendum of the Package of Measures. The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to water and electricity infrastructure. The SMM observed the distribution of humanitarian aid in Luhansk region...

Andrey Sorokin, the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, donated equipment to the Armavir Crisis Management Centre of the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations on 14 December 2015, with the aim of strengthening the Ministry’s capacities to safeguard people and the environment...

VIENNA, 15 December 2015 – On the occasion of Remembrance Day for Killed Journalists in the Russian Federation, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović reiterated her call on the authorities to investigate all killings of journalists and to end impunity...

An OSCE-supported five-day winter school on “Inter-cultural Youth Dialogue in the Digital Era” which gathered some 30 young men and women from Serbia and Albania, concluded on 14 December 2015 in Belgrade. The event provided participants the opportunity to exchange experiences on topics such as culture and tradition, youth co-operation, active citizenship and new media...

The SMM recorded ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk*. The SMM revisited Ukrainian Armed Forces sites in relation to the implementation of the Addendum of the Package of Measures. The SMM followed up on reports that an explosion had killed a prominent Cossack “Lugansk People’s Republic” member. The SMM observed civilians without public utilities on both sides of the contact line...

A roadmap towards a gender-sensitive parliament in Montenegro with the aim of better integrating gender equality in the legislature, was presented in Podgorica on 11 December 2015. The document was developed with support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...

Implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information was in focus of the public discussion organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information, on 11 December 2015, in Podgorica...

COPENHAGEN, 14 December 2015 – The Paris climate deal represents a historic breakthrough in efforts to minimize warming of the planet and countries must seize the new momentum to meet goals and set bolder ones, said Nilza Sena (MP, Portugal), the Vice-Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, today...

On 11 December 2015, the OSCE Mission to Moldova hosted in Chisinau this year’s concluding meeting of the Human Rights Club for lawyers from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River. More than 30 lawyers participated in the event and discussed the challenges they encounter when representing clients...

A two-day high-level roundtable discussion organized by the Office in Tajikistan on the draft national strategy to counter Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism (VERLT) concluded in Dushanbe on 11 December 2015...

The SMM recorded an increased number of ceasefire violations compared to the previous day, with the majority assessed as training related. It experienced four freedom-of-movement restrictions, mainly in areas not controlled by the Government*. The SMM followed up on security-related matters in Odessa, Kharkiv and Ivano-Frankivsk...

BELGRADE / VIENNA / WARSAW, 12 December 2015 — OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Michael Georg Link today welcomed the adoption by the UN Security Council earlier this week of a Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security...

The OSCE Mission to Skopje organized a public forum in Kichevo municipality on 11 December 2015 to promote the inclusion of civil society in decision-making process and to increase the co-operation between the municipality and the civil sector in policy implementation...

BISHKEK, 11 December 2015 – The closing ceremony of the OSCE’s Community Security Initiative (CSI) project took place in Bishkek today with the participation of Kyrgyz officials, donor countries and international organizations...

The SMM recorded significantly fewer ceasefire violations compared to previous days this week, most of which were assessed as related to live-fire exercises. It experienced a number of freedom-of-movement restrictions but it did reach border areas not controlled by the Government*. It conducted crater analysis and assessed that most craters were fresh and caused by 122mm multiple launch rocket systems impacts...

An OSCE-supported international conference on modern anti-corruption policies took place on 11 December 2015 in Astana, Kazakhstan, bringing together some 70 representatives from government agencies, civil society, embassies and international organizations...