News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 6 February 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) met today with Verkhovna Rada Chairperson Volodymyr Groysman, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and other senior parliamentary and government officials in Kyiv for discussions that focused on the status of efforts to resolve the crisis in and around Ukraine.

CHISINAU, 9 February 2015 – The Special Representative of the Serbian OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process Ambassador Radojko Bogojević will visit Chisinau and Tiraspol starting today...

On 08 February 2015 at 04:50 (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 70 vehicles were inspected by the Russian border guard and customs services. All the vehicles crossed back into the Russian Federation (RF) at 16:33 on February 08.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The SMM observed the evacuation of civilians from heavily shelled Debaltseve.

MUNICH, Germany, 7 February 2015 – The OSCE’s crucial role as a bridge-builder and an agent of peace was recognized today, said Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Troika and the OSCE Secretary General as they accepted the Ewald von Kleist Award, on the margins of the Munich Security Conference. For the first time in the award’s history, it is being given to an organization rather than an individual.

MUNICH, Germany, 7 February 2015 – During the Ministerial Meeting of the OSCE Troika at the margins of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Troika, Serbia, Switzerland and Germany, had a thorough exchange of views on the situation in and around Ukraine. The OSCE Secretary General also attended the meeting...

MUNICH, Germany, 7 February 2015- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met 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) today to discuss developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. The OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and the Personal Representative of the CiO Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk also joined the meeting...

On 5 February, the SMM followed up on the shelling which reportedly struck the Kirovskyi district in Donetsk city on 4 February from 11:40 to 11:45hrs. The same shelling salvo reportedly hit the direct surrounding of the Kindergarten No. 381, a neighbouring street near the Kindergarten and Donetsk Hospital No. 27. The SMM inspected the three aforementioned different sites located in the Kirovskyi district on 5 February between 10:00 and 15:00hrs.

KYIV/DEBALTSEVE, 6 FEBRUARY 2015 – Monitors from the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) today completed a full day of monitoring of the evacuation of civilians from the heavily-shelled city of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. In the aftermath of shelling, the SMM observed the impacts of in Donetsk city and region. Military movements were also noted by the SMM around Donetsk. Plans to evacuate civilians from Debaltseve were developed at the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC).

WARSAW/VIENNA, 6 February 2015 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and Ambassador Miroslava Beham, the OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, today called on countries in the OSCE region to do everything in their power to protect women and girls in their countries from female genital mutilation.

MUNICH, 6 February 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) met with Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian 5 February in Munich. The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meeting.

BISHKEK, 6 February 2015 –The OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Embassy of the United Kingdom today handed over 60 desktop computers to the Kyrgyz Defence Ministry for establishing a data base on small arms and light weapons (SALW) and stockpiles of conventional ammunition (CA) across the country.

VIENNA, 6 February 2015 – Swift action is needed in order to deal with the growing number of attacks on female journalists online, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today as she presented a set of recommendations to address the problem.

KYIV, 5 February 2015 – Enhancing the participation of women in conflict resolution and peace-building efforts is key to achieving security and stability in Ukraine, said the OSCE’s Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Ambassador Miroslava Beham, as she concluded a four-day visit to Ukraine in which she met representatives of government, international organizations and civil society...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The SMM was informed by the regional police in Dnepropetrovsk of two explosions which had occurred in the city on 3 and 4 February...

VIENNA, 5 February 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today denounced a new law adopted in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which criminalizes social media postings that disrupt social order, despite her earlier warnings against it...

COPENHAGEN, 5 February 2015 – The escalating crisis in and around Ukraine and the OSCE’s continuing efforts to help resolve it will be the focus of parliamentary debate and keynote presentations at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Winter Meeting, held on 18-20 February at the Hofburg Congress Centre in Vienna...

KYIV, 4 February 2015- Indiscriminate shelling around Debaltseve and other areas in eastern Ukraine has intensified, forcing innocent civilians to flee their homes. Many of them are in mortal danger.

Vienna, 4 February 2015 – At the initiative of OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, delegations of OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation held an open-ended brainstorming session on ways to strengthen OSCE efforts to promote tolerance, non-discrimination and dialogue and to mobilise its tools and resources to address the growing challenge of violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism.

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both BCPs. Overall cross-border traffic flows slightly increased at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The OM continued to observe a number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. The security situation in the Donetsk region remained tense, including continuous shelling observed by the SMM. The SMM lost contact with one UAV 16km north of Mariupol...

A new publication on the issues of registration and recognition of religious or belief communities was launched by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights (ODIHR) at an event hosted by the European Parliament in Brussels on 4 February 2015.

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met in Prague with representatives of the Czech Ministry of the Interior on 4 February 2015 to discuss the follow-up on the recommendations from ODIHR’s final report on the 11-12 January 2013 presidential election.

CHISINAU, 4 February 2015 – Young musicians from Chisinau, Tiraspol, Bender, Ribnita and Pervomaysk performed today together at the Chisinau National Philharmonic Concert Hall in a concert organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova...

VIENNA, 4 February 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today raised concern over large fines imposed on newspapers in Bulgaria for publishing news stories on companies’ financial activities and the banking sector...

ASTANA, 4 February 2015 – The first in a series of six two-day training seminars for judges in 2015, on good legislative and judicial practices to combat trafficking in human beings began today in Astana...

At approximately 18:15hrs and 22:45hrs on 27 January, the SMM, based in Luhansk city centre (“Lugansk People’s Republic” –“LPR”-controlled), heard intensive incoming shelling and impact explosions about 5km west of its location. On 28 January, upon receipt of information about shelling from the Russian Federation Armed Forces staff, assigned to the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) in Luhansk city, the SMM departed to the south-western suburbs of the city at 10:30hrs.

In view of the continuing heavy fighting around Debaltsevo and the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the area, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dačić, calls upon all actors to refrain from violence and to immediately stop all military activities and expresses his profound regret for the loss of lives.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). In Kyiv the SMM monitored a violent protest by members of the “Aidar” battalion in front of the Ministry of Defence.

BISHKEK, 3 February 2015 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek today handed over a Volkswagen T5 minibus, to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Interior’s Department for Combating Organized Crime, to enhance their work and crime scene investigations...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. The Ukrainian Major-General, Head of the Ukrainian side within the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), told the SMM that the JCCC Headquarters (HQ) in Debaltseve was hit multiple times by Grad rockets on 1 February, resulting in a number of casualties. The Russian Federation Armed Forces staff assigned to the JCCC HQ in Debaltseve remains relocated in Soledar.

Some 40 defence lawyers participated in a seminar on rules and standards of evidence in accordance with new Criminal Procedure Code co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in co-operation with the Almaty Bar Association on 31 January 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

On 31 January 2015 at 08:00 (Moscow time), a Russian convoy consisting of 90 vehicles arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). Cargo trucks were inspected by the Russian border guards and customs services. All the vehicles crossed back into the Russian Federation at 21:20 on January 31. This was the thirteenth Russian convoy crossing through the Donetsk BCP since the arrival of the Observer Mission (OM) at the Russian BCPs...

MINSK, 31 January 2015- The participants in the Trilateral Contact Group came to Minsk for consultations with the representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The TCG had prepared a detailed plan for the concrete implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, which continue to be the indispensable basis for any peaceful settlement...

On 30 January at 12:23hrs, the “emergency services department” of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) informed the SMM that two shelling incidents had just taken place in Donetsk city at “DPR”-controlled Kuibyshevskyi district...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). Two shelling incidents occurred in Donetsk city resulting in at least five civilian fatalities and eight civilians injured. Evacuation of civilians from “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“DPR” and “LPR”)- controlled areas continued...

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev and High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors met in The Hague on 30 January 2015 to discuss the situation of the Crimean Tatar community in Crimea, Ukraine. Among others, they touched upon political participation, land ownership and linguistic rights...

KYIV, 31 January, 2015- The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, today condemned the shelling of densely populated civilian areas in eastern Ukraine...

BELGRADE, 31 January 2015 – In the course of the past 24 hours the situation has rapidly deteriorated in eastern Ukraine impacting innocent civilians. Lives have been lost and many have been injured...

MINSK, 30 January 2015- On 28 January President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko met with the representatives of the Trilateral Contact Group, the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, representative of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, and representative of the Russian Federation, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Ukraine, Mikhail Zurabov to exchange views on the most pressing questions relating to the de-escalation of the situation in some districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions...

The Special Representative of the CiO to the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, wishes to emphasize that her representatives have been waiting in Minsk since yesterday morning in order to prepare for a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group with representatives from certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. Their efforts to contact these representatives were not successful. Ambassador Tagliavini and her representatives continue to be ready for a meeting at any time, and they continue being actively working for this purpose...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The SMM observed military equipment and vehicles in Donetsk region...

SARAJEVO, 30 January 2015- Ambassador Jonathan Moore, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, congratulates members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on signing the joint statement of dedication to reforms on the path to the European Union...

BELGRADE, 30 January 2015 – A public survey commissioned by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Interior Ministry, on the perception of the police service over the past year indicates that issues such as drug addiction, corruption and organized crime, amongst others, are being perceived by the public as priorities for the police work at the national level...

DUSHANBE, 30 January 2015 – The OSCE Border Management Staff College hosted the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) Programme Global Shield (PGS) regional training course from 26 to 30 January 2015 in Dushanbe...

DUSHANBE, 30 January 2015– Twenty-five officers from border, customs and interior agencies of Tajikistan completed today a one-week training course on risk analysis, profiling and management for combating transnational threats...

BELGRADE, 29 January 2015- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, this evening held a telephone conversation with his Special Representative to the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, who briefed him on the latest developments in the implementation of the peace plan in eastern Ukraine...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). In areas under control of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) the SMM observed movement of unmarked military vehicles. In Luhansk the SMM observed damage caused by recent shelling...

COPENHAGEN, 29 January 2015 – The leadership of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions has completed a visit to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and today called on OSCE countries to proactively assist the United States in efforts to close it as soon as possible, including through the resettlement of detainees...