News and press releases

BERLIN, 10 July 2018 – The three general committees of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly – the political and security committee, the economic and environmental committee and the human rights and humanitarian affairs committee – have wrapped up their work at the 27th Annual Session in Berlin.

A one-week summer school on communism and the communist legacy in Albania started on 9 July 2018 in Tirana. The event is being held for the second consecutive year and is organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania, in co-operation with the Faculty and the Institute for the Studies of Communist Crimes and Consequences in Albania.

VIENNA, 9 July 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his concern regarding the law decree issued in Turkey on 8 July, which closed down three newspapers and one TV station, in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 6 and 7 July, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 7 and 8 July the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it saw a recent trench inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted in Zaichenko, Starolaspa and Olenivka, as well as at a permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region and a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station. The Mission monitored the transfer of mortal remains from government-controlled to non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. It also monitored gatherings in Kherson and Odessa.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has released translations of five publications on different aspects of elections into six Western Balkan languages. Three handbooks, entitled Follow-up of Electoral Recommendations, Observation of Voter Registration and Media

BERLIN, 8 July 2018 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 2018 Annual Session opened today in Berlin with calls for greater political will to ensure the full implementation of international commitments found in the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE documents. As elected representatives of the people, members of parliament have a key role to play in building support among decision-makers in governments for ensuring compliance with these commitments, speakers said at the Annual Session’s opening plenary session.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near non-government-controlled Vesele in Donetsk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and was restricted near Izvaryne, Voznesenivka and Siedove, near the border with the Russian Federation, and near Horlivka. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on an incident at an office where a political party was scheduled to hold a meeting.