News and press releases

The provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum as well as the activities of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) remained at the focus of SMM monitoring. In the 48 hours to mid-day on 31 December, the ceasefire held in the Luhansk area, according to the JCCC. In Kherson the SMM was told that no busses travelled to Crimea between 30 December and 1 January.

BELGRADE, 1 January 2015- De-escalation of the situation in Ukraine, based on a ceasefire respected by all sides will be Serbia's priority as it takes over the OSCE chairmanship in 2015, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said today.

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 followed up on media reports about interruption of public transportation from Ukrainian mainland to the Crimean peninsula.

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). Overall cross-border traffic flows increased significantly at both BCPs due to the upcoming new year. The OM continued to observe a significant number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions. Train movements at the Gukovo BCP have decreased in frequency.

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). Ukrainian Border Guard representatives in the Kherson region told the SMM that train connections to Crimea have been suspended.

With Switzerland’s Chairmanship of the OSCE drawing to a close, Swiss Foreign Minister and Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter called on all participating States to redouble efforts at overcoming the crisis of European security and help strengthen the OSCE as an anchor of cooperative security in Europe.

VIENNA, 30 December 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today called on the authorities in the Russian Federation to do their utmost to prevent the shutdown of the regional broadcaster TV-2’s terrestrial broadcasts on 1 January 2015 and subsequent loss of a broadcasting license.

Kyiv, 30 December 2014- The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine provided the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) with 50 protective vests, 60 ballistic safety helmets and 5 laptops with software, to plan and manage humanitarian demining operations. The handover ceremony took place in the Service’s headquarters in Kyiv on 30 December 2014.

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). There were bomb explosions in Kherson and Odessa. The Lviv mayor’s residence was attacked and hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

VIENNA, 29 December 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović urged the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina today to do their utmost to stop persecuting journalists and to respect their right to protect their sources, following a raid by the police on the offices of Klix.ba in Sarajevo and subsequent detention of key staff...

VIENNA, 29 December 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović denounced today a recent raid on Radio Azadliq and called on the authorities to stop the ongoing intimidation of free media in Azerbaijan

BAKU, 29 December 2014 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku announced today the results of a contest aiming to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence in Azerbaijan. Prizes were awarded to the best media reports on the issue written in 2014...

Enhancing skills in decision- and policy-making in environmental management was the focus of a four-day training organized for representatives of local municipalities and civil society in Armenia’s remote Syunik region on 24-27 December 2014. The event was held with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan’s Project Implementation Presence in Syunik...

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 monitored the simultaneous release of hostages/prisoners in Yasynuvata (18km North-East of Donetsk city).

Bern, December 26, 2014 – Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE-Chairperson-in-Office, Didier Burkhalter, expressed his expectation that the meeting between the Trilateral Contact Group (consisting of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairmanship) and representatives of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, scheduled for today in Minsk, would take place without further delay. He took note that this meeting, which had been planned as a follow-up to the Minsk meeting of December 24, has not come about as yet.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Minsk Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The SMM observed a destroyed railway bridge in Mariupol, apparently caused by an explosive device.

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). Overall cross-border traffic flows increased at both BCPs. The OM continued to observe a significant number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions. Train movements at the Gukovo BCP have increased in frequency and became a daily occurrence.

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)...

BISHKEK, 23 December 2014 – Today, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek handed over an additional service facility, an obstacle range and an assault training facility, to the National Guard of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan.

VIENNA, 23 December 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović met today with Serbian Minister of Culture and Information Ivan Tasovac to discuss the plans and priorities of the incoming OSCE Chairmanship and media freedom issues in Serbia and the OSCE region.

The Kyrgyz State Agency on Environment Protection and Forestry and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek signed on 23 December 2014 a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Aarhus Centre in Bishkek in 2015...

ASTANA, 23 December 2014- More than 70 officers of the investigative and operational units, departments of internal security of State Revenues Committee of the Finance Ministry from across the country take part in a four-day training seminar, which began today in Astana...

The Heads of Talas and Issyk-Kul provinces, district administrations and Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy officials gathered in Bishkek on 17 December 2014 for a final discussion on sustainable development program for the regions...

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 two convoys of humanitarian aid arriving from the Russian Federation (RF) to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions...

VIENNA, 22 December – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today that amendments tightening government control of the Internet in Belarus pose a major threat to free speech and free media. She also pointed to recent blockings of a number of news portals in the country...

The OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Kyrgyz Defence Ministry signed five agreements on practical implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on small arms and light weapons (SALW) and stockpiles of conventional ammunition (SCA) programme that was signed on 2 August 2013 and ratified in May 2014...

Some 300 police officers were trained between 14 August and 21 December 2014 in Skopje on effective conduct when asked to appear as witnesses in main court hearings. The training course is part of the OSCE Mission to Skopje’s advanced training programme on raising awareness about the amendments to the criminal procedure law...

TASHKENT, 22 December 2014 – An OSCE-organized national seminar aimed at facilitating discussions on how to improve corporate governance in the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) of Uzbekistan started today in Tashkent...

TASHKENT, 22 December 2014 – The 21 December 2014 parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan were competently administered but lacked genuine electoral competition and debate, election observers sent by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement issued today...

On 19 and 21 December 2014 two Russian convoys crossed into Ukraine through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). These were the 10th and 11th Russian convoys crossing through the Donetsk BCP since the arrival of the Observer Mission (OM) at the Russian BCPs.

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 JCCC recorded a number of alleged ceasefire violations. The SMM observed some military hardware moving in the direction of Donetsk city.

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 no shelling or use of fire-arms, although the JCCC did report on a number of such occurrences.

KYIV, 19 December 2014 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, country’s Interior Ministry and the National Union of Journalists presented today a new guidebook on the effective co-operation between police and media during mass events and crises...

The schools of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk – two towns in the East of Ukraine, affected by recent hostilities – received newly-produced awareness raising materials to help their students avoid risks of accidents, associated with unexploded ordnance, abandoned ammunition and other potentially deadly items. At a handover ceremony in Kharkiv on 18 December 2014, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator’s officers presented to the regional authorities 7,000 workbooks with covers displaying instructions on safety rules for kids in case they encounter such munitions...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the BiH Council of Ministers’ Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Security Policy and the Sarajevo-based Centre for Security Studies concluded a seminar on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security on Thursday, 18 December 2014 in Sarajevo. The seminar aimed to inform security sector officials and representatives of civil society and media about provisions of the Code of Conduct, which calls for democratic oversight of the security sector...

MINSK, 19 December 2014 – Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Gender Issues June Zeitlin today concluded a two-day country visit to Belarus, during which she focused primarily on domestic violence and also discussed women’s political participation as well as anti-discrimination protection...

ASTANA, 19 December 2014 – An OSCE-supported conference on mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of international co-operation in preventing and combating violent extremism and terrorism is being held today in Astana...

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 no shelling or use of fire-arms, although the JCCC did report on a number of cases. Furthermore the SMM noted no movement of weaponry towards the contact line, noting on the contrary movement away from it...

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

VIENNA, 18 December 2014 – At an expert meeting on the relationship between freedom of expression and tolerance and non-discrimination, OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatović emphasized that the two values should not only co-exist, but they can also strengthen each other...

Representatives of the Albanian Foreign Ministry, Central Election Commission and civil society completed on 18 December 2014 a three-day training course in Tirana on short-term election observation. The course was organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania and follows the successful delivery of a similar training course in July 2014...

While finding that Latvia’s 4 October 2014 parliamentary elections took place in an open and peaceful environment with respect for fundamental freedoms, the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) recommends a review of limitations on the rights of some individuals to run as candidates.

ASHGABAT, 18 December 2014 –Twenty-two officials from the airport and aviation security, document issuance and passport control agencies of Turkmenistan attended a two-day, OSCE-organized seminar on identity management and biometrics that concluded in Ashgabat today...

VIENNA, 18 December 2014 – The OSCE’s 57 participating States today took a consensus decision to extend the mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk by three months to 23 March 2015...

The OSCE Mission to Skopje, through its charitable programme Blossom Fund for Children, donated various teaching materials and technical equipment, books and games to the Dr. Zlatan Sremac Special Primary School in Skopje on 18 December 2014...

Fourteen prominent women representing parliaments, academia, civil society and media from Belgrade and Prishtinë/Priština gathered for the first time in Belgrade on 15 and 16 December 2014 as part of the so-called “Budva Process,” aimed at enabling these women to engage in a direct dialogue...

BISHKEK, 18 December 2014- The OSCE Centre in Bishkek today completed a three-day training course for 40 police investigators on how to effectively conduct EU Serious Organized Crime Threat Assessments (SOCTA), investigations based on intelligence-led policing, and combatting drug trafficking and violent extremism...

COPENHAGEN, 17 December 2014 – Special Representatives from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have completed a visit to Turkmenistan, where they emphasized the importance of engagement and dialogue with the OSCE in meetings with government and parliamentary leaders...

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). According to the Kherson regional border guard department, Russian military have withdrawn from the Arabat Spit.

Some states continue to unduly restrict people’s ability to exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly in expressing their views, says a report on the monitoring of assemblies released by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Vienna on 17 December 2014.