News and press releases

With the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Directorate for Sports and Youth, the Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO) Local Branch Office in Montenegro organized the third youth camp on “Intercultural Competencies in Sports”, from 10 to 13 October 2021 in Kolašin.

Effective good governance in preventing and combatting corruption to promote economic efficiency and favourable business investment climate was the focus of an OSCE-organized online seminar held on 14 and 15 October 2021.

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized a train-the-trainer course in Vienna from 11 to 13 October 2021, as part of a multiannual training programme focused on strengthening North Macedonia’s capacities in countering terrorist financing.

An OSCE-organized week-long simulation exercise on combating human trafficking along migration routes, hosted by the Almaty Police Academy under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, started on 11 October 2021 in Almaty.

WARSAW/STOCKHOLM, 14 October 2021 – Thirty years ago, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was established. Its mandate is to assist the countries of the OSCE region in strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, and in respecting human rights. Over the next two days, over 500 participants will gather in person and online to discuss the ODIHR’s achievements and its role in finding lasting solutions to the challenges faced across the OSCE region.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 244 ceasefire violations, including 73 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 220 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded 134 ceasefire violations, including 16 explosions. In the previous reporting

GENEVA, 13 October 2021- The 54th round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) took place on 12 and 13 October 2021, with requisite COVID-19 pandemic measures in place. The GID process continues to serve as the primary venue in which the consequences of conflict are addressed as mandated by the six-point ceasefire agreement of 2008.

KYIV, 13 October 2021 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Mikko Kinnunen, made the following statement to the press after the regular meetings of the TCG and its Working Groups held through video conferencing:

On 7 and 8 October 2021, the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized a two-day online roundtable discussion on Turkmenistan’s 2018-2022 National Action Plan (NAP) and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 on Effective Measures against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The eighth South-East Europe Media Conference on “Journalism in times of crisis”, organized jointly by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) and the OSCE Presence in Albania, in collaboration with OSCE field operations from South-East Europe, concluded today.

Over forty representatives of the State Customs Service under the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Kyrgyzstan and cross-border trade researchers were trained in how to accurately measure the duration of time for clearing goods at border checkpoints. The two-day workshop, organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, concluded on 13 October 2021 in Bishkek.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 220 ceasefire violations, including 50 explosions. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 126 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 71 ceasefire violations, including 27 explosions. In the previous 24 hours, it

VIENNA, 12 October 2021 – Immediate actions offers a chance to curb economic and environmental security risks, and build more resilient and sustainable societies in the OSCE and the Mediterranean regions say participants at the OSCE 2021 Mediterranean Partners Conference, which opened today in Vienna...

SARAJEVO, 12 October 2021 –The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) launched the report “The Enjoyment of Freedom of Peaceful Assembly in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Monitoring Observations of the OSCE Mission to BiH” today, 12 October 2021, in Sarajevo.

Summary In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 8 and 10 October, the Mission recorded 150 ceasefire violations, including 35 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 47 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 8 and 10 October, the SMM

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 47 ceasefire violations, including nine explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 96 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded two ceasefire violations, both explosions. In the previous reporting period,

GENEVA, 8 October 2021 — The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Stephane Visconti of France, Andrew Schofer of the United States of America, and Igor Khovaev of the Russian Federation) released the following statement today:..  

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 96 ceasefire violations, including six explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 101 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 17 ceasefire violation, including eight explosions. In the previous reporting

The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, in co-operation with the Supreme Court and Legal Policy Research Centre in Kazakhstan, co-organized an online roundtable discussion on access to justice during the COVID-19 pandemic on 8 October 2021.

On 1 October 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Ruslan Kazakbaev, to discuss the current state of media freedom and freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.

VIENNA, 8 October 2021 — OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro today congratulated prominent journalists Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa for winning the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and expressed her content with the importance the Nobel Committee attaches to freedom of expression and media freedom.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro and Ministry of Interior’s Department for Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB), organized a series of training courses for heads of security centres and police officers from all police stations throughout Montenegro, from 5 to 8 October.

An advanced training programme on crime analysis, organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania, was held from 5 to 8 October 2021, in Durrës. Building upon last year’s training course on the concepts and techniques of crime analysis for Albania’s State Police, the course was tailored to the needs of the Crime Information Analysis Units of State Police and the Albanian Financial Intelligence Unit.

KYIV, 08 October 2021 — In his address to the OSCE Permanent Council yesterday, Ambassador Y. Halit Çevik, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, stated that since his last briefing a deterioration of the security situation, including increasing use of Minsk proscribed weapons, the intensification of fighting near certain sensitive areas, a growing number of civilian casualties, as well as persistent constraints on SMM’s freedom of movement had been reported by the Mission.

WARSAW, 8 October 2021 – Working towards an OSCE region free from capital punishment should be a priority for all OSCE countries, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said today ahead of the World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 101 ceasefire violations, including five explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 253 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded one ceasefire violation. In the previous reporting period, it recorded eight

An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on implementing the Aarhus Convention principles in Kazakhstan concluded on 7 October 2021 in Turkestan, held in a blended format.

New tools for preventing transnational organized crime were the focus of the 2021 OSCE Annual Police Experts Meeting (APEM) under the theme of “Preventing Transnational Organized Crime” held online and in-person on 7 October 2021 in Vienna.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 253 ceasefire violations, including 17 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 178 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded eight ceasefire violations, including five explosions. In the previous

CHISINAU, 6 October 2021 — OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde concluded today her second official visit to the Republic of Moldova.

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 6 October 2021 –The municipal communities protection mechanisms have demonstrated gradual advancement in reaching their full potential, with incremental progress in meeting their substantive duties. Gaps in the legislative and policy framework continue to exist, however, the progress of these mechanisms has shown that they are capable of positively impacting communities across Kosovo, concludes the OSCE Mission in Kosovo’s report presented today. 

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov visited Ukraine from 26 September to 1 October 2021. The High Commissioner welcomed Ukraine’s progress on draft legislation regulating national minority affairs during his visit to the country. “I am pleased to note that

SARAJEVO, 6 October 2021 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) organized today an online conference for members of the state, entity and Brčko District (BD) judiciaries and legal practitioners to review key challenges to the domestic processing of war crimes cases.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 178 ceasefire violations, including four explosions. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 63 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region the Mission did not record any ceasefire violations. The last time the Mission recorded ceasefire

In partnership with the parliamentary Gender Equality Committee, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized a capacity-building workshop on gender mainstreaming on 29 and 30 September 2021, to implement gender assessments in drafting and adopting legislation and policies...

TIRANA, 5 October 2021 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, concluded her visit to Albania today. She commended the Government’s support for multilateralism, including chairing the OSCE in 2020, and its dedication to reform. She also underlined the importance of continued reforms...

A review meeting on the implementation of OSCE assistance projects in the field of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and stockpiles of conventional ammunition (SCA) was organized in-person and online by the Austrian Chair of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) on 5 and 6 October 2021.

Summary In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 1 and 3 October, the Mission recorded 157 ceasefire violations, including 15 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 209 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 1 and 3 October, the SMM

SARAJEVO, 4 October 2021- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, concluded her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) today. The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt, also participated in the visit. Linde expressed concern that the continued political impasse on state level is hindering functionality and progress in BiH. She stressed the need for compromise and co-operation, and called for advancing trust-building, which is key to strengthening security and prosperity.

VIENNA, 4 October 2021 – Amid continued designation of journalists and media outlets as ‘foreign agents’ in the Russian Federation, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro today reiterated her grave concern regarding this controversial practice and called on the authorities to abandon it.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro is supporting the Department for Media Studies and Journalism at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Montenegro with intensive workshops on project management cycles during the month of October.

Albanian border police officers enhanced their skills and knowledge in detecting document and identity fraud at border crossing points through a five-day, hands-on training course jointly organized by the OSCE’s Border Security and Management Unit, the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Austrian Ministry of Interior from 27 September to 1 October 2021.

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the ODIHR final report on Albania’s April 2021 parliamentary elections during a visit to Tirana from 29 September to 1 October 2021. The experts discussed the report’s findings and recommendations

A five-day training course on “Activities of psychologists in domestic violence issues”, organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe concluded on 1 October 2021 in Dushanbe. Twenty-one female psychologists from women’s resource centres (WRCs) and Tajikistan’s Committee on Women and Family Affairs from the Sughd, Khatlon, Rasht Valley regions, and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan took part.

An OSCE-supported series of online thematic webinars on human rights and freedoms were launched on 30 September 2021 and will last until 10 November 2021. The first event was attended by some 46 participants consisting of civil activists, human rights defenders and representatives of governmental agencies.

TBILISI, 3 October 2021 – Georgia’s local elections were competitive and technically well administered, but marred by widespread allegations of electoral violations, vote-buying, and an unlevel playing field, as well as intimidation and pressure, international observers said in a statement today.

STOCKHOLM, 3 October 2021 — The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde highlighted today the importance of the landmark Document of the Moscow Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE – the Moscow Document – which was adopted 30 years ago today by participating States.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 209 ceasefire violations, including 13 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 250 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 21 ceasefire violations, including 16 explosions. In the previous reporting

A visit in the framework of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, with a focus on women in armed forces, highlighting the example of Sweden, was organized by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and the Chairperson-in-Office from 30 September to 1 October 2021.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 250 ceasefire violations, including 93 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 15 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 47 ceasefire violations, including 40 explosions. In the previous reporting