News and press releases

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. The SMM recorded numerous shelling instances across Donbas. The deputy rector of Donetsk National University in Vinnytsya told the SMM that the university had been re-located from Donetsk...

Representatives of four Ukrainian civil society organisations had a chance to refine their social business ideas, intended to support their anti-trafficking activities, at a three-day intensive training workshop in Kyiv that ended on Thursday, 27 November 2014. The event organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine in co-operation with the country’s Ministry of Social Policy gathered civil society activists from Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsya and Zhytomyr regions...

The effective political participation of Roma and Sinti, including of women and youth from these communities, was the focus of an expert meeting organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 28 November 2014.

The protection of human rights defenders in Hungary and their work were the focus of a meeting organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Budapest on 27 and 28 November 2014. The event marked the 20th anniversary of the Budapest Document, “Towards a Genuine Partnership in a New Era”, in which OSCE participating States specifically emphasized the need to protect human rights defenders.

A workshop for police professionals from Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro on using operational analysis as a tool for successfully disrupting organized criminal groups, took place in Belgrade on 25 November...

The OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Interior Ministry hosted a regional conference in Skopje from 27 to 28 November 2014, raising awareness among relevant actors from Criminal Justice System on the need for holistic police reform...

BRUSSELS, 28 November 2014 – International standards and national practices in the area of freedom of religion and belief were discussed during an OSCE-supported working visit to Belgium that concluded in Brussels today...

CHISINAU, 28 November 2014 – The OSCE Mission to Moldova today in Chisinau hosted the concluding meeting of this year of the Human Rights Club for lawyers from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River. This was the last in a series of six meetings held in 2014 out of which three meetings were held in Chisinau and three in Tiraspol...

DUSHANBE, 28 November 2014 – Afghan and Tajik border officers today completed a two-week OSCE patrol medical course in Dushanbe...

YEREVAN, 28 November 2014 – Men are more vulnerable to trafficking than women; children are protected from trafficking in Armenia. These are the topics of the debates that started today in Yerevan, Armenia...

BISHKEK, 28 November 2014 – A public hearing, organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, on draft amendments to laws on access to public information took place today in the parliament of Kyrgyzstan. The proposals aim to simplify access to governmental information, and were initiated by three different Parliamentary Committees...

SARAJEVO, 28 November 2014 – A two-day educational workshop aimed at assisting security sector institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina to create and implement integrity plans ended in Sarajevo today. It was co-organised by the Centre for Security Studies BiH, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight Against Corruption, and the OSCE Mission to BiH...

More than fifty representatives from 30 non-governmental organizations and eight OSCE field operations exchanged experiences in applying trial-monitoring methodologies at the Annual Trial Monitoring Meeting, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) between 26 and 28 November 2014 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

A two-day seminar for some 50 prison officers on preventing violent extremism and radicalization in prisons took place at the Penitentiary Administration Training Centre in Bishkek on 25-26 November 2014...

ASHGABAT, 28 November 2014 – Launching and managing online resources of state institutions was the topic of an OSCE-organized course that concluded in Ashgabat today...

DUSHANBE, 28 November 2014 – A five-day Regional Workshop on Strengthening Co-operation between Customs and the Private Sector through Implementation of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programmes concluded at the OSCE Border Management Staff College today. The event was co-organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, and the World Customs Organization (WCO)...

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum.

The deteriorating situation for journalists’ safety and the growing phenomenon of propaganda pose serious threats to free media, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today when presenting her latest semi-annual report on media freedom developments in the OSCE region over the past six months...

COPENHAGEN, 27 November 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) issued the following statement today on the opening session of the new Ukrainian Parliament and the election of a Speaker...

In an effort to strengthen inter-ethnic and inter-religious tolerance and understanding, from 5 to 27 November 2014, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized three study visits to cultural and religious sites for high school students from Dragash/Dragaš and Prizren municipalities...

TASHKENT, 27 November 2014 – A series of national training courses on anti-corruption and integrity practices for representatives of selected public healthcare and education institutions started today in Tashkent. The two one-day courses are organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Uzbekistan...

Five Ambassadors to the OSCE were honoured today by the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier for their efforts to promote gender equality both within the Organization and in the OSCE region...

SKOPJE, 27 November 2014 – Advancing the theory and practice of preparing future education professionals to work in multicultural environments is the aim of an OSCE-supported international conference starting in Skopje today...

ASTANA, 27 November 2014 – A training workshop on the legal aspects of managing labour migration as well as monitoring and recruitment procedures of the foreign labour force took place today in Astana...

As part of the OSCE-supported project promoting anti-corruption measures, a high level conference titled “Requirements and Practice in the Implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Provisions on Prevention and Asset Recovery” took place in Skopje on 27 November 2014...

BERN, 27 November 2014 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter has expressed his deep concern about yesterday's shooting incident in the area of Donetsk in Ukraine...

The finalization of a Regulatory Reform Roadmap for the Republic of Serbia was the focus of a workshop co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Issues of the National Assembly of Serbia on 26-27 November 2014.

Respect for human rights in counter-terrorism policing was the focus of a training organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 26 and 27 November 2014 in Warsaw, Poland.

The OSCE Centre in Astana supported a meeting of the Law Enforcement Co-ordination Council dedicated to the application of administrative sanctions that was held on 27 November 2014 in Astana, Kazakhstan...

A rocket-propelled grenade and multiple anti-aircraft rounds were fired at an SMM patrol on 26 November.

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM)’s mandate has been extended until 23 December. It continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). Overall cross-border traffic flows increased at both BCPs. Traffic flows turned again and slightly more people entered than left the Russian Federation (RF) at the two observed BCPs. The OM continued to observe a significant number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions.

VIENNA, 26 November 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that a court injunction forcing the shutdown of the weekly magazine ADAMbol in Kazakhstan poses a threat to free media in the country.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the activities of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). In Kharkiv another explosion occurred...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the activities of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination...

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo launched on 26 November 2014 in Prishtinë/Priština an anti-domestic violence campaign dubbed “Real man never hit women”...

TBILISI, 26 November 2014 – A two-day training course on combating cybercrime through computer forensics and investigating networks started today in Tbilisi, Georgia...

BERN, 26 November 2014 – From 17 to 25 November 2014, Ambassador Angelo Gnaedinger, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-office for the South Caucasus joined the EU and UN co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions for consultations held with the participants in Tbilisi, Tskhinvali, Sukhumi and Moscow. The key purpose of their visit was to prepare for the next round of the Geneva Discussion which will take place on 9-10 December...

A two-day OSCE-supported training workshop for judges on access to justice in environmental matters began on 26 November 2014 in Karaganda, Kazakhstan...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, on 24 November 2014, launched a series of training courses on combatting human trafficking for investigators and operative agents in Uzbekistan...

PARIS, 25 November 2014 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, said today that more must be done despite 25 years of progress following the adoption of the UN’s International Convention on the Rights of the Child...

ASTANA, 25 November 2014 – An OSCE-supported conference on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes took place today in Astana, Kazakhstan...

The OSCE Mission to Serbia invites civil society organizations, research and academic institutions to submit project proposals addressing a variety of aspects of security sector reform...

VILNIUS, 25 November 2014 – Promoting international legal co-operation between countries of central and eastern Europe in combatting terrorism is the focus of a two-day regional conference which opened today in Vilnius...

DUSHANBE, 25 November 2014 – The second meeting of the Central Asian Inter-State Commission on Sustainable Development is taking place from 24 to 28 November, with the support of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, at the Serena Hotel in Dushanbe...

The concluding roundtable meeting in the framework of an OSCE-supported three-year project Say No to Violence took place on 25 November 2014 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...

A five-day training course on combatting terrorism, organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek in co-operation with the Anti-terrorism Centre of the State Committee on National Security of Kyrgyzstan, ended on 21 November 2014 at the Bakaev Institute in Bishkek...

More than 65 policy-makers, academics, justice professionals and civil society representatives from Central Asia and the wider OSCE region came together on 24-25 November 2014 to discuss reform initiatives, current challenges and good practices for criminal justice systems at the Fifth Expert Forum on Criminal Justice for Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the activities of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). On 22 November events commemorating the famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 (“Holodomor”) were held across the country.

More than a hundred legal professionals gathered in Lviv to participate in the International Forum on the application of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, organized jointly by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the law faculty of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv...

The Serbian translation of the Handbook of Best Practices at Border Crossings – A Trade and Transport Facilitation Perspective, developed by the OSCE and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), was presented on 24 November 2014 at a high-level launch event in Belgrade...