News and press releases

DUSHANBE, 14 November 2014 – The graduation ceremony of a two-week Border Police Border Management Awareness Course for Afghan and Tajik border officers took place yesterday at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe...

WARSAW, 14 November – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today released its data for 2013 on its Hate Crime Reporting website. The release was timed ahead of the International Day for Tolerance on Sunday, 16 November...

Today the member states of the Eurasian Group on combating money-laundering and financing of terrorism (EAG) removed Kyrgyzstan from the Eurasian Group (EAG) monitoring list with the support of the OSCE project “Assistance to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in combating money-laundering and terrorist financing”...

DUSHANBE, 14 November 2014 –The Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards today completed a two-week OSCE Patrol Management and Analysis training course...

ASHGABAT, 14 November 2014 – International law standards and their implementation were discussed at an OSCE-organized training course for state officials that concluded in Ashgabat today...

AKTOBE, Kazakhstan, 14 November 2014 – An OSCE-supported training seminar to raise awareness of journalists and media lawyers from the country’s regions on the impact of the new Criminal Code and Code of Administrative Offences on their professional activities and their security began today in Aktobe...

COPENHAGEN, 14 November 2014 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in Moldova and provide leadership for the OSCE's short-term observer mission...

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, and in particular the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination. The SMM was briefly held at a number of check points...

BERLIN, 13 November 2014 – Political leaders, governmental officials and civil society representatives from across the OSCE region gathered in Berlin today for a conference to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the OSCE’s Berlin Declaration on Anti-Semitism and to discuss challenges posed by contemporary anti-Semitism...

COPENHAGEN, 13 November 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) criticized “unacceptable restrictions” on what OSCE observers on the Ukrainian-Russian border are able to report and called for broad Organizational reform in an address today before the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna...

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 13 November 2014 – The OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized today a forum on housing and property rights for the representatives of various communities living in Kosovo, relevant ministries, Office of the Prime Minister, judiciary, police and Kosovo Property Agency...

LVIV, 13 November 2014- The Fifth East European Conference on National Preventive Mechanisms, co-hosted by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, the country’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and the Kharkiv Institute for Social Researches, started in Lviv today...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 13 November 2014 – An OSCE-organized regional conference on mine action activity in support of international peacekeeping operations began yesterday in Almaty...

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, 13 November 2014- An OSCE-supported capacity-building seminar aimed to enhance professional knowledge and skills of law-enforcement officers on readmission issues, co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana, Interior Ministry and International Organization of Migration, began today in Astana...

BUDAPEST, 13 November 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that a recent attack on a journalist by law enforcement officers in Bucharest is unacceptable and must be subject to an exhaustive investigation...

BERN, 13 November 2014 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter, expressed his deep concern about yesterday's downing of a helicopter near the Line of Contact. He appeals to the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia to do their utmost to prevent such incidents and to honour the ceasefire regime.

ASHGABAT, 13 November 2014- More than twenty journalists from Turkmenistan participated in an OSCE-organized training course on journalism writing and editing skills that concluded in Ashgabat today...

VIENNA, 12 November 2014- The Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States, and Pierre Andrieu of France) express our very serious concern about the downing of a helicopter near the Line of Contact and the recent violence. We regret the loss of life and express our condolences to the families...

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russian Federation, 12 November 2014- As mandated, the Observer Mission (OM) is operating 24/7 at both BCPs. Overall cross-border traffic flows increased at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). For the first time since late August, more people entered than left the Russian Federation (RF) at the two observed BCPs. The OM observed the highest number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions, since the beginning of its mandate. The OM observed them crossing the border more often in groups than previously. They were formed also of a higher number of people, in one instance of 24 persons...

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 went to the international border crossing points, Izvaryne and Gukovo, between Ukraine and the Russian Federation...

CHISINAU, 12 November 2014 – A group of Moldovan judges and prosecutors completed today an OSCE train-the-trainer course to enhance the capacity of the Moldovan judiciary system to prevent and combat domestic violence...

BERLIN, 12 November 2014 – Political will on the part of governments and partnership with civil society are crucial in addressing challenges related to contemporary anti-Semitism in the OSCE region, participants at an OSCE conference said today in Berlin...

An OSCE-supported meeting of the working group of the Consultative and Advisory Body on the Human Dimension under Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry took place on 12 November 2014 in Astana...

Astana, Kazakhstan, 12 November 2014 – Over 100 representatives of the Parliament, Supreme Court, government, civil society and major enterprises exploring natural resources, discussed at the Public Council today in Astana the issue of the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR)...

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. In Kharkiv the SMM followed up on reports of an explosion at a pub in the city centre...

ASTANA, 11 November 2014 – An OSCE-supported training seminar for judges from regional courts on good practices in dealing with human trafficking cases began today in Astana...

The SMM observed an unmarked military convoy in the eastern outskirts of Donetsk city on 11 November 2014.

TBILISI, 11 November 2014 – Public service broadcasting (PSB) is a vital element of democracy, and an important source of unbiased information and diverse political opinions, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, said in her closing remarks at 11th annual South Caucasus Media Conference in Tbilisi today...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Tajikistan, including the Sughd region, from 3 to 7 November 2014. This is the first visit by a High Commissioner to Tajikistan since July 2011...

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with a focus on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. The situation in Donetsk remained tense. Two of SMM members were held for 2.5 hours at a Ukrainian checkpoint...

TBILISI, 10 November 2014 – Following the detention of Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Huseynov, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that the ongoing and increasing number of repressive actions against independent media and advocates of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan must stop.

From 4 to 7 November 2014 the OSCE Mission in Kosovo trained 68 lawyers on cross-examination techniques at training sessions held in Prishtinë/Priština and Prizren...

The OSCE Centre in Bishkek is supporting the participation of the Advisory Board representative of the public broadcasting corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic and the director of the public broadcasting company “Yntymak” in the 11th South Caucasus Media Conference on “Public Service Broadcasting in the Digital Age”, which is being organized by the OSCE Office on Freedom of the Media, from 10 to 11 November in Tbilisi...

BISHKEK, 10 November 2014 – A five-day regional training course on combating cybercrime in Central Asia through computer forensics and investigating networks started today in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan...

East of Donetsk city, in territory controlled by the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic”, the SMM observed two convoys of 17 trucks each. They included artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems. The convoys were moving west. This was the second day in a row that the SMM observed convoys in the eastern outskirts and territories of Donetsk city.

Bern, November 8, 2014- With reference to the latest reporting of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission regarding shelling and its victims in Donetsk and the appearance of convoys of heavy weapons and tanks in territory controlled by illegally armed groups, Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office said he was very concerned about a resurgence of violence in the eastern regions of Ukraine and about activities leading to more fragility instead of further stabilization of the situation.

In the city of Donetsk and in Makeevka (25km north-east of Donetsk city), in “DPR”-controlled territory, the SMM observed convoys of heavy weapons and tanks. At the time of reporting, the SMM could hear heavy, outgoing shelling to the north and northwest of the city’s outskirts, which had started at 14:45hrs.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with a focus on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. In Kharkiv and Odessa the SMM observed rallies for the anniversary of the October Revolution.

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). The SMM visited the border crossing point between Ukraine and the Russian Federation in Novoazovsk (122km south of Donetsk).

VIENNA, 7 November 2014 – Cyber-security experts and representatives of the private sector, think-tanks and academia are meeting in Vienna today to discuss the implementation so far of a ground-breaking set of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed by OSCE participating States last year on reducing the risk of conflict stemming from the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), while exploring how the development of additional CBMs could be boosted.

On 5 November, at 18:02hrs, a Ukrainian military representative from the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) in Debaltseve informed the SMM about shelling and fatalities on Stepanenko Street, three kilometres north-west of the city centre of Donetsk. On 6 and 7 November the SMM visited the site of the reported incident, where it identified ten craters. Nearby shelling forced the SMM to leave the area.

Six students representing the Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) concluded on 7 November 2014 their three-day study visit to Vienna, Austria, to familiarize themselves with the work of OSCE and its institutions and the organization’s comprehensive approach to security. The trip was organized by the Centre in Astana with financial and logistical support from other OSCE field operations in Central Asia, the United States Mission to the OSCE and the Conflict Prevention Centre...

The 10th comprehensive course on the security policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina was completed on 6 November 2014, organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Security Ministry and the Council of Ministers Inter-ministerial Working Group for BiH Security Policy...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku supported a five-day visit of 12 representatives from Azerbaijani state agencies and civil society organizations to Austria to look at best practices on running shelters and providing services to victims of domestic violence. The visit, which took place from 3 to 7 November 2014, was a part of the project aimed at supporting the effective implementation of the law on the prevention of domestic violence in Azerbaijan...

The provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, and in particular the activities of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), remained the focus of the SMM’s monitoring activities. There was intense shelling in Donetsk city, whilst Mariupol and its surroundings remained calm...

VIENNA, 6 November 2014 – When addressing the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today, the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) stressed that the Geneva process is the only platform bringing together all stakeholders to discuss security-related issues and to work on the humanitarian needs of the conflict-affected population. The co-chairs urged participants in the GID to work constructively in order to achieve progress in addressing the consequences of the 2008 conflict in Georgia...

SARAJEVO, 6 November 2014 – Sharing information and solutions to reduce flood risk, and enhancing cross-border cooperation in mitigating risk and flood protection was the focus of a two-day regional conference that concluded in Sarajevo today. The conference was organized by the Security Ministry of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the OSCE Mission to BiH, the UNDP Office in BiH and the RACVIAC-Centre for Security Co-operation...

The implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information was the focus of a public discussion organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, with support of the Montenegrin Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information, on 6 November 2014 in Bijelo Polje...

ASTANA, 6 November 2014 – Government officials, parliamentarians, representatives of regional and local bodies of power, international organizations and civil society gathered at a roundtable discussion today in Astana to discuss the status of implementation of ongoing local self-governance reform in Kazakhstan...

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) is operating at full capacity. Cross-border traffic flows slowed down slightly at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs) and the total number of border-crossings was the lowest since August. As in previous weeks, more people left than entered the Russian Federation (RF) at the two observed BCPs. The OM continued to observe a considerable number of persons in military-style clothing, some of them apparently belonging to Cossack units, crossing the border in both directions. However, their numbers also decreased from the previous weeks. Three Russian convoys crossed into Ukraine at the Donetsk BCP...