News and press releases

In addition to its regular monitoring, the SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. The situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained volatile, whereas other parts of the country remained calm...

YEREVAN, 17 October 2014 – The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group from the Russian Federation and France (Ambassador Igor Popov and Ambassador Pierre Andrieu) traveled to the region this week to meet with government leaders and participate in an OSCE Monitoring Mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk. U.S. Co-Chair Ambassador James Warlick could not attend for personal reasons, but the U.S. side was represented on the trip...

MILAN, October 17, 2014- Didier Burkhalter, Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, commended the international diplomatic efforts undertaken at the margins of ASEM to further stabilize the situation regarding Ukraine. He thanked for the offers made by Italy, France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia to put at the OSCE’s disposal UAVs and related personnel to enhance its monitoring capacities in Ukraine...

GENEVA, Switzerland, 17 October 2014 – Heads of three international organizations have issued a call to citizens from all walks of life to join the fight against modern day slavery ahead of tomorrow’s European Anti-Trafficking Day...

The SMM met with Ukrainian and Russian heads of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination in Debaltseve to discuss implementation of the Minsk Memorandum. The situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained tense, whereas the western part of the country remained calm...

VIENNA, 17 October 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that members of the Kyrgyz Parliament should reconsider legal provisions criminalizing LGBT-related information...

KYIV, 17 October 2014 – A new online platform for public administration services in construction industry developed with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator was launched today in Kyiv. The platform [www.e-dabi.gov.ua] allows businesses and individuals to submit online applications, as required by the legislation...

The OSCE Office in Yerevan and Armenia’s Ministry of Defence, in partnership with the NATO Building Integrity Programme, organized an international workshop on the OSCE Code of Conduct from 16 to 17 October in Yerevan. The Code of Conduct, which marked its 20th anniversary this year, is a key document dealing with the politico-military commitments of OSCE participating States...

A regional training course designed to build the capacity of national authorities, fire brigades and unit leaders on fire management was organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities in Antalya, Turkey on 15-17 October 2014...

COPENHAGEN, 17 October 2014 – Kent Harstedt, the OSCE Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observer mission for Ukraine’s parliamentary elections, has completed a week-long preparatory visit to Kyiv, Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts...

MOSCOW, 17 October 2014 – In their first joint country visit to the Russian Federation, the OSCE Chairperson’s Personal Representatives on combatting discrimination and promoting tolerance met representatives of the government and civil society in Moscow from 15 to 16 October 2014 to discuss good practices and gaps in policy, activities and legislation, as well as areas where the OSCE can provide further support...

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions focusing on the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol/Memorandum. The SMM visited a number of border crossing points between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Rallies and marches were organized in a number of cities throughout the country on 14 October to mark the 72nd anniversary of the creation of the “Ukrainian Insurgent Army” (“UPA”).

YEREVAN, 16 October 2014 – An OSCE-supported report detailing Armenia’s switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting was presented today in Yerevan. The report notes that while the technical preparations are going to schedule, not enough effort has been invested in raising public awareness and that the criteria for distributing decoders to vulnerable families is not clear...

BISHKEK, 16 October 2014 – The role of women in law enforcement agencies and their contribution to peace and security is being explored at a one-day international conference organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry in Bishkek today. The conference brings together representatives of law enforcement agencies from Central Asia, Afghanistan, Armenia, Sweden, the United States and Canada...

DUSHANBE, 16 October 2014 –Tajik border troops and Afghan border police officers completed a joint five-week training course on patrolling and leadership organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan...

VIENNA/SKOPJE, 16 October 2014 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today submitted a two-year strategy including action points to the newly-established Council of Media Ethics (CMEM)...

Civilians were killed and injured in an artillery attack on a village north-east of Mariupol. Ukrainian soldiers attempting to relieve a surrounded Ukrainian military checkpoint north-west of Luhansk city were killed and injured when they were ambushed by irregular armed forces.

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation – The Observer Mission (OM) is operating at full capacity. Cross-border traffic flows remained relatively steady at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs) and the total number of border-crossings has increased again. More people left than entered the Russian Federation (RF) at the two observed BCPs although this number has remarkably declined. The OM observed fewer persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions, several of them apparently belonging to Cossack units. Truck convoys continued to transport coal from the Luhansk region to the RF...

An effective functioning of the legal system, law enforcement practice and legislative development in light of ongoing criminal justice reform in Kazakhstan were among the topics of a three-day training seminar co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana that took place from 13 to 15 October 2014...

A Ukrainian military checkpoint c. 40 km northwest of Luhansk city is surrounded by irregular armed personnel. There are 12 reported casualties, two of whom are confirmed by the SMM...

A GRAD rocket struck a small village close to Mariupol, causing civilian casualties...

Focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol/Memorandum, the SMM continued monitoring Donetsk and Luhansk areas where sporadic artillery shelling was still reported and observed. The SMM also gathered additional information about the concrete future implementation process in Ukraine of the newly adopted Law on Lustration.

VIENNA, 14 October 2014 – At a roundtable discussion yesterday organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, representatives for media outlets in Montenegro agreed to review the professional code of ethics as a first step to improve media self-regulation in the country...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Kyrgyzstan from 7 to 10 October 2014, where she discussed issues of mutual interest with the authorities and explored how her office can support efforts to address minority concerns...

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro in partnership with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and the Ozone NGO, on 10 October 2014 in Podgorica, supported the second panel discussion of the Ecological Activism School. The focus of this regional discussion was the role of civil society in creating and implementing public policy on climate change...

The SMM observed the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol/Memorandum. The Mission continued to receive reports, and directly observed, shelling occurrences in a number of areas. In Kyiv civil society representatives expressed concern for the fate of those held captive by illegally armed groups in Donbas...

SARAJEVO, 13 October 2014 – While the 12 October general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina were held in a competitive environment, the inter-ethnic divide was a key factor. The lack of a shared vision in the country’s future and of co-operation among the three constituent peoples continues to hinder the reforms necessary to fully ensure democratic elections, and a growing mistrust in the functioning of democratic institutions endangers stability, international observers said in a statement today. At the same time, candidates were able to campaign freely and fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly were respected...

Ambassador Andrey Sorokin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, donated equipment on behalf of the Office to Armenia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations on 13 October 2014 to support the Ministry’s efforts in raising its capacities to protect people and the environment...

A three-week advanced training course on the use of detection dogs began on 13 October 2014 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with the aim of helping law enforcement officers deepen their knowledge and enhance their skills in the effective use of dogs in security-related operations...

The OSCE Office in Yerevan, in co-operation with non-governmental organization the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, held a workshop on 11 to 12 October 2014 in Tsakhkadzor, in Armenia’s Kotayq region, on the principles of ethical reporting about the penal system...

Focusing on the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, the SMM continued monitoring the situation in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, still noting that violence is continuing in a number of places.

The situation in Ukraine and the role played by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is leading the international response to the crisis, was discussed at a recent roundtable at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. The debate centred on the question of what the crisis tells us about today’s security issues.

WARSAW, 10 October 2014 – On the occasion of the International Day against the Death Penalty, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), called on those OSCE countries that continue to apply the death penalty or maintain it in law to continue to consider the complete abolishment of capital punishment...

The SMM noted a decrease in violence in a number of areas in Donbas. The lustration issue was debated in Lviv and Odesa...

VIENNA, 10 October 2014- Mediation, now more than ever, is an important tool for resolving conflicts through peaceful means, and the OSCE remains at the forefront of conflict resolution as a mediator, providing support as well as sharing expertise and knowledge, said participants of a high-level conference on mediation in the OSCE area, which opened today in Vienna.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Montenegrin Administration for Preventing Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (FIU) organized a workshop in Budva on 9 and 10 October 2014 to finalize the first phase of the National Risk Assessment (NRA) development...

VIENNA, 10 October 2014 – Following yet another attack against a journalist in Bosnia and Herzegovina the OSCE media freedom representative, Dunja Mijatović, today called on the authorities to swiftly and thoroughly investigate all attacks against members of the media...

VIENNA, 10 October 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that the criminal trial against journalist Anuška Delić could present a threat to media freedom and also stifle investigative journalism in Slovenia...

BISHKEK, 10 October 2014 –The OSCE Centre in Bishkek, in co-operation with the World Customs Organization, today completed a two-week training course for Kyrgyz Customs officials in the area of intellectual property rights, in Bishkek...

DUSHANBE, 10 October 2014 – Twenty-two mid-rank and front-line officers, including three women from Tajik law enforcement agencies, completed a two-week OSCE training course today in Dushanbe on assessing threats along the border...

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, focusing on the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol/Memorandum. In Kyiv representatives of the Central Election Commission addressed some of the challenges that IDPs could face during the upcoming elections.

COPENHAGEN, 9 October 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) underscored the vital contribution of the PA to the OSCE’s reform efforts on the 40th anniversary of its founding document at a seminar today in Helsinki...

BISHKEK, 9 October 2014 – A ten-day training on the protection of critical energy infrastructure from possible terrorist attacks, conducted for the Special Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic National Guard, and supported by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, concluded today.

BELGRADE, 09 October 2014 – The OSCE Mission to Serbia welcomes Serbia’s progress in the European Union accession process as noted in the 2014 Progress Report of the European Commission...

The OSCE Mission to Skopje will organize a four-day seminar on the social aspects of the teaching profession from 9 to 12 October 2014 in Ohrid...

STRASBOURG, France, 9 October 2014 – The OSCE and the Council of Europe today launched a joint two-day workshop that brings together judges and prosecutors to discuss key challenges in supporting the legal rights of human trafficking victims.

All participants reconfirmed their commitment to the Geneva Discussions as an important platform to strengthen the security and stability on the ground and to address the humanitarian needs of the conflict-affected population. The discussions in both Working Groups took place in a constructive and positive atmosphere

Focusing on the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, the SMM continued to monitor the Luhansk and Donetsk regions where the situation remained tense and highly volatile...

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) is operating at full capacity. Cross-border traffic flows remained relatively steady at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs) although the total number of border-crossings has decreased. Similar to the previous week, more people left the Russian Federation (RF) for Ukraine at the two observed BCPs. However, the OM observed an increased number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions, some of them apparently belonging to Cossack units. Truck convoys transport coal from the Luhansk region to the RF since the local cross-border railway track is reportedly non-operational...

VIENNA, 8 October 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that the ongoing practice of hindering freelance journalists working for foreign media outlets in Belarus without accreditation must stop...