News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 28 September 2015 – Roza Aknazarova (MP, Kyrgyzstan), the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, today welcomed the adoption of the United Nations’ post-2015 development agenda and urged the OSCE’s participating States to pursue faithful implementation...

NEW YORK CITY, 28 September 2015 A good practices document on women and countering violent extremism prepared by the OSCE was adopted on 27 September today by the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) as non-binding guidance to assist governments in mainstreaming gender into policies and measures to counter violent extremism (CVE).

YEREVAN, 28 September 2015 – On the occasion of the International Rights to Know Day, nine awards recognizing the freedom of information were presented to the most open government bodies in Armenia, while the most closed government body was given a less-prestigious accolade in a ceremony today supported by the OSCE Office in Yerevan...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 28 September 2015 – The OSCE Mission in Kosovo today launched an awareness-raising campaign urging journalists to report cases of intimidation, threats or blackmail to a new helpline set up by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo...

The sixth regular co-ordination meeting of Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies was held on 25 September 2015 at the premises of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, with participants focusing on elements of organized crime that merge with violent extremism...

SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan, 28 September, 2015 – Sustainable agricultural development and green growth principles were in focus at an OSCE-supported seminar, which took place today in Shymkent, southern Kazakhstan...

The OSCE Mission to Moldova organized the first in a series of three debate tournaments for 35 selected high school students from Bender, Cahul, Ceadîr-Lunga, Comrat, Taraclia, Tiraspol and Vulcănești. During the event, which took place on 26 September 2015 in Comrat, the young participants deliberated on the positive impact of increasing the number of women in politics...

The OSCE Mission to Skopje will organize three workshops for 56 police station commanders with the aim of increasing the professional capacity of police in democratic, professional and efficient performance. The workshops will take place between 28 September and 9 October 2015 in Ohrid and Ponivka...

New York, 26 September 2015- 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), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, held a meeting on 24 September with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, and a separate meeting on 25 September with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The situation remained largely calm in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions with several ceasefire violations recorded by the SMM. The SMM followed up on a fatal accident in “DPR”-controlled Torez.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The SMM recorded some ceasefire violations and continued spotting heavy weapons both in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The majority of international humanitarian organizations operating in “LPR”-controlled areas of Luhansk region were told to leave before the weekend. The SMM observed concentrations of tanks at a few training sites in areas not controlled by the government...

CHISINAU, 25 September 2015 – Eight officers of the Moldovan armed forces successfully completed today a training course supported by the OSCE Mission to Moldova on testing the safety and stability of ammunition.

KYIV, 25 September 2015 – The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) was today honoured for its work in facilitating access to the crash site of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine as it received an award for its service to Australia. The award was delivered to the head of the SMM, Chief Monitor Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan by Australia’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Doug Trappett.

ASTANA, 25 September 2015 – An OSCE-supported international conference on developing national legislation on access to information, public councils under government institutions, and countering corruption took place today in Astana, Kazakhstan...

VIENNA, 25 September 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said the recent developments in Kazakhstan related to freedom of the media and freedom of expression are worrying...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 25 September 2015 – “Protecting language rights and the rich linguistic and cultural diversity in Kosovo are crucial to fostering tolerance and non-discrimination,” the OSCE Mission and the Office of the Language Commissioner said ahead of the European Day of Languages...

On 24 September 2015 at 07:10hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 64 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guard and customs services. All the vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 17:23hrs on 24 September...

NEW YORK, 25 September 2015 – The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, express their serious concerns about Armenian and Azerbaijani forces using mortars and heavy weapons in and around civilian areas...

On 23 and 24 September 2015, the OSCE Mission to Moldova held a training event for a group of law students and paralegals on conducting presentations to encourage the public to make use of state guaranteed legal aid in Moldova. A total of 14 law students and six paralegals from Bălţi, Cahul, Chişinău and several regions of Moldova took part in the training, which was held in Vadul-lui-Vodă, a town by the Dniester/Nistru River...

VIENNA, 24 September 2015 – OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today met refugees and representatives of local aid organizations at the Vienna West railway station (Westbahnhof), where he was briefed by Austria’s Interior Ministry and the Vienna police about their operations...

COPENHAGEN, 24 September 2015 – The Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE’s short-term observers for the presidential election in Belarus, Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden), met with high-level officials and a range of other interlocutors in Minsk and Homel this week to discuss the preparations and environment for the upcoming vote...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The SMM noted a large concentration of tanks in a “DPR”-controlled area along the contact line. The SMM recorded some ceasefire violations, demining and training in Donbas, and an incident in Kharkiv...

TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan, 24 September 2015 – Port control procedures and security management operations at port checkpoints are the focus of an OSCE-supported training course that will conclude tomorrow in Turkmenbashi, a city on the Caspian coast...

The prevention of early forced marriages was the topic of a workshop organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro on 22 September 2015...

On 23 September 2015, the 58th 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...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The situation remained largely calm in Donbas with only one non-training ceasefire violation recorded by the SMM. “DPR” members at a checkpoint pointed weapons at and threatened to shoot SMM members...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 23 September 2015 – An OSCE-supported training seminar on water governance aimed at promoting regional co-operation through the exchange of knowledge and experience began today in Almaty, Kazakhstan....

ASHGABAT, 23 September 2015- Thirty young diplomats from the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan completed today an OSCE-organized a seminar on preventive diplomacy and negotiation in a neutral state held on 21-23 September...

COPENHAGEN, 23 September 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) decided last week that no OSCE PA delegation will deploy to observe the 1 November parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, in line with an earlier decision made by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations. The situation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained relatively calm with no ceasefire violations recorded by the SMM. The SMM observed tensions but no incidents during the blockade of the three crossing points to Crimea...

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions (ODIHR) released a set of civil society recommendations aimed at promoting the greater involvement of associations in public decision making on 22 September 2015, during the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro and OSCE Presence in Albania organized a joint seminar for Montenegrin and Albanian journalists on environmental challenges in the Shkodra/Skadar Lake area on 16-18 September 2015. The seminar started in Shkodra, Albania and continued in Virpazar, Montenegro including a visit to the nearby Aluminum Plant.

On the occasion of the OSCE-organized and UNHCR-supported High-level Forum on Durable Solutions for Displaced Persons from Kosovo, the participating institutions, led by Minister Dalibor Jevtić (Pristina), Director Marko Đurić (Belgrade), Minister Zorica Kovačević (Podgorica) and State Secretary Enver Husejin (Skopje), confirmed strong support for continuing inter-institutional co-operation and endorsed proposals for the scope and focus of future joint work to address the needs of those displaced.

BISHKEK, 22 September 2015 – The first meeting of the Anti-Corruption Council of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic was held today in Bishkek under the chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Prime Minister Temir Sariev...

COPENHAGEN, 22 September 2015 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming presidential election in Belarus and provide leadership for the OSCE's short-term observer mission...

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

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations. The situation in Donetsk region and in Luhansk region remained relatively calm and the SMM did not record ceasefire violations on 19 September, but observed six explosions and some small-arms fire on 20 September. The SMM observed tensions but no incidents during the blockade of cargo trucks at three crossing points to Crimea...

A two-week training course on freezing, restraining, and confiscating criminal assets organized for 13 Kosovo Police officers by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and funded by the German Foreign Office concluded in Prishtinë/Priština on 18 September 2015...

WARSAW, 21 September 2015 – OSCE participating States have to ensure the protection of the human rights and dignity of migrants in addressing the current crisis in Europe, speakers said at the opening in Warsaw today of a two-week OSCE conference focusing on democracy and human rights...

TASHKENT, 21 September 2015 – An OSCE-organized week-long training course for Uzbek law enforcement bodies on identifying and tracing illegitimate assets and the various instruments of asset forfeiture and recovery began today in Tashkent...

The code of ethics for members of Parliament (MP) was the main topic of discussion at the OSCE-organized seminar, which took place on 17 September 2015 in Podgorica, Montenegro...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations. The SMM observed an increase in ceasefire violations at and around Donetsk airport. In the Luhansk region, the SMM observed training activity and an increase in the movement of weapons and military equipment...

MAGDEBURG, Germany, 19 September 2015- The OSCE Troika, represented by the current, the previous and the incoming Chairperson-in-Office- Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, held a meeting today and later attended the ceremony at which the OSCE was honoured with the prestigious “Emperor-Otto Award” 2015 by the Mayor of the City of Magdeburg...

The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine held a three-day training course on dialogue facilitation for young people from 7 to 9 September in Kyiv...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The situation in Donetsk region and in Luhansk region remained relatively calm. The SMM observed a convoy of trucks bearing the inscription “Humanitarian aid from the Russian Federation”...

BISHKEK, 18 September 2015- A five-day regional workshop on a comprehensive approach to responding to and reducing explosive hazards in Central Asia and Afghanistan concluded in Kyrgyzstan today...

ALMATY, 18 September 2015 – An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar for police officers on best practices in managing public assemblies concluded today in Almaty. The event followed a similar seminar held on 14-15 September in Astana, Kazakhstan. Both seminars were co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the Interior Ministry with the extra-budgetary support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany...

COPENHAGEN, 18 September 2015 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan and provide leadership for the OSCE's short-term observer mission...

KYIV, 18 September, 2015 – The conduct of hostilities and violations of the Minsk ceasefire agreements has resulted in repeated damage to the water pipe system in eastern Ukraine, putting tens of thousands of civilians living on both sides of the contact line without access to piped water...

On 17 September 2015 at 06:56hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 44 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guard and customs services. All the vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 14:18hrs on 17 September...