News and press releases

The OSCE Presence in Albania presented a Handbook on Prosecutorial Leadership to heads of local prosecution offices across Albania, at an online event, on 20 April 2021...

VIENNA, 20 April 2021 — We must unite across countries and organizations to comprehensively prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalization that leads to terrorism (VERLT), said participants today during the opening of the OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference online from 20 to 21 April.

From 20 to 21 April 2021, OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) is conducting a roundtable discussion, in blended format, aimed at advancing women's participation in politics and business, and investing in women's professional development and leadership skills. The event was jointly organized with the National Commission on Gender Equality and the Committee of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Women and Gender Equality.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina launched, on 19 April 2021, an e-learning course on Strengthening Teacher Competencies for Inclusive and Quality Education for teachers, teacher faculty students, as future teachers, and other interested education professionals. The course is accessible free of charge at https://nastavnickekompetencije.ba/.

The SMM’s daylight camera at the Oktiabr mine (non-government-controlled, 9km north-west of Donetsk city) is emplaced on a mast located on the roof of a 50m concrete tower. On 14 April, a senior member of the armed formations asked the Mission whether armed formations could install a camera on the

Summary In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 16 and 18 April, the SMM recorded 267 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 199 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 16 and 18 April, the Mission recorded 65 ceasefire

Twenty future facilitators from four countries in Central Asia, including 13 women and 7 men, were selected to participate in a regional train-the-trainers seminar. The Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department organized the seminar in co-operation with OSCE field operations in Central Asia

STOCKHOLM/VIENNA, 18 April 2021 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid have discussed the security situation in and around Ukraine and call for de-escalation.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 199 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 1,591 ceasefire violations in the region, 1,528 of which were assessed as a probable live-fire exercise in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region. In Luhansk region, the

On the morning of 17 April, an SMM patrol traveling from non-government-controlled Donetsk city, consisting of three vehicles with three trailers and six mission members, arrived at the checkpoint of the armed formations near Olenivka (non-government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk) to conduct an exchange of trailers with a second SMM patrol arriving from government-controlled areas. At 12:19, two members of the armed formations approached the first patrol and asked the SMM to open the doors and trunks of the SMM vehicles for a visual inspection. At the same time, the SMM saw two women nearby, one of whom said to be a journalist. They appeared to be filming the patrol with their mobile phone. The patrol refused the armed formations members’ request and remained stationary at the checkpoint...

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 1,591 ceasefire violations, 1,528 of which were assessed as a probable live-fire exercise in a non-government-controlled area near the Donetsk Filtration Station. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 118 ceasefire violations in the region. In

In a meeting on 16 April between the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, and Lasha Darsalia, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the situation of media freedom in Georgia and the importance of maintaining the progress achieved in this area by the country in recent years was discussed.

DUSHANBE, 16 April 2021 — OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, concluded her official visit to Tajikistan on 15 April.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 118 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 54 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded 13 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the

A ten-day medical training course on providing first aid and evacuation to injured persons during explosive ordinance disposal concluded on 9 April 2021 at the Regional Explosives Hazards Training Centre under Tajikistan’s Deference Ministry located in the suburbs of Dushanbe. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized the course in co-operation with Tajikistan’s Defence Ministry.

TASHKENT, 15 April 2021 — OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, concluded her official visit to Uzbekistan on 14 April.

KYIV, 14 April 2021 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, made the following statement to the press after the regular meetings of the TCG and its Working Groups held through video conferencing:

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 54 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 40 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded two ceasefire violations in the

Vincenzo Del Monaco, Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania and Chair of Albania’s Constitutional Court Vitore Tusha, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 14 April 2021, to strengthen co-operation for advancing the capacities of the Court to perform its work in line with international standards.

Over 80 representatives from Ukraine, the donor community and international partner organizations met on 14 April 2021 to discuss co-operation and programmatic efforts in developing and implementing strategic approaches and practical measures in combating illicit trafficking of weapons, ammunition and explosives (WAE).

Marijana Čučuk, Programme Assistant at the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and Jakša Backović, Chief of the Unit for Combating Cyber Crime at the country’s Police Directorate addressed the OSCE Security Committee meeting on “Preventing and Countering Terrorist Use of Internet” on 12 April 2021.

BISHKEK, 13 April 2021 — OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, concluded her official visit to Kyrgyzstan on 13 April.

Moscow/Paris/Washington, 13 April 2021- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) released the following statement today:

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 40 ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 211 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded two ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 223 ceasefire violations in the region. The

COPENHAGEN, 13 April 2021 – Concerned by moves to legally dissolve the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey, leaders of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights and democracy committee said today that banning one of the country’s largest political parties would be a mistake and could further undermine democratic principles in Turkey. The recent arrest of HDP parliamentarian Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, following the stripping of his parliamentary immunity, is only the latest in long string of elected officials whose mandates have been removed, the OSCE PA members said.

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

Vincenzo Del Monaco, Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania and Albania’s General Prosecutor Olsian Çela signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 13 April 2021 with the aim of formalizing and further strengthening co-operation between the two institutions. The Memorandum will facilitate understanding and interaction on implementing future project activities...

NUR-SULTAN, 13 April 2021 — OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, concluded her official visit to Kazakhstan on 12 April. Nur-Sultan was the first stop on a four-day long trip of the Chairperson-in-Office to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Minister Linde will also visit Turkmenistan virtually through an online meeting with the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan.

Summary In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 9-11 April, the Mission recorded 367 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 20 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 9-11 April, the SMM recorded 224 ceasefire violations. In the

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 20 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 378 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded six ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 229 ceasefire violations in the

At 20:00 on 8 April, upon take-off from its base in Stepanivka (government-controlled, 54km north of Donetsk, 25km west-north-west of the contact line), an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) experienced GPS signal interference, assessed as caused by probable jamming...

VIENNA, 9 April 2021 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, expressed her shock by the killing of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz in Athens, Greece, today.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 378 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 110 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 229 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded three ceasefire violations in

A four-week training course on sustained field operation capacity for border officers of Tajikistan’s Border Troops was completed on 8 April in the Tursunzoda District. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe in co-operation with Tajikistan’s Border Troops organized the course, which was funded by the European Union.

On 31 March 2021, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine signed a statement on the approval of the Strategic Action Programme (SAP) to ensure 8 million inhabitants of the Dniester/Nistru river basin between the two countries will benefit from the countries’ joint efforts to improve and ensure environmentally sound use of water and other natural resources and ecosystems in the region.

On 11 April 2021, the citizens of Travnik and Foča in the Federation of BiH municipality will vote again to elect their mayors, after the deaths of formerly elected mayors Mirsad Peco and Esed Radeljaš.

In the early afternoon on 8 April, an SMM patrol traveling from non-government-controlled Donetsk city, consisting of three vehicles with three trailers and six mission members, arrived at the checkpoint of the armed formations near Oleksandrivka (non-government-controlled, 20km south-west of

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 110 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 55 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded three ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded two ceasefire violations in

WARSAW/VIENNA, 8 April 2021 – All societies still feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the challenges for Roma are particularly acute, say the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on International Roma Day

On the evening of 6 April, an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was unable to take off from its base in government-controlled Stepanivka (54km north of Donetsk) to conduct regular monitoring of areas on both sides of the contact line, due to dual GPS signal interference assessed as

KYIV, 07 April 2021 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, made the following statement to the press after the extraordinary TCG meeting held through video conferencing:

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 55 ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 65 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded two ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the region. The

COPENHAGEN, 7 April 2021 – Amid reports of rapidly growing military deployments by the Russian Federation in and around Ukraine, senior OSCE Parliamentary Assembly officials warned of the risk of escalation and reaffirmed its full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

As part of its activities contributing to the visibility and safety of journalists, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro provided seven media outlets with over 320 jackets and vests with a “PRESS” insignia, which were handed over on 6 and 7 April 2021.

On 6 April 2021, Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, met virtually with the Minister of Defence of Montenegro, Olivera Injac.

Summary In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 2-5 April, the Mission recorded 1,424 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 594 ceasefire violations in the region. Nine hundred ceasefire violations were shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire heard on the night

WARSAW, 6 April 2021 – The numerous credible reports of criminal charges, administrative detention, intimidation and harassment targeting Belarusian citizens and human rights defenders simply for going about their lives or carrying out their work that have reached the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in recent months, are of increasing concern amid the ongoing human rights violations in the country.

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons slightly increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

On 2 April 2021, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) held a seminar on the practical relevance and prospects for developing the open data systemin Uzbekistan. The PCUz organized the event in collaboration with the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics (UZSTAT) and the Technological Park of Software Products and Information Technologies (IT-Park Uzbekistan).

SOFIA, 5 April 2021 –Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections were competitive and efficiently run despite the difficult circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and fundamental freedoms were respected. However, the massive use of state resources gave the ruling party a significant advantage, and a lack of editorial diversity was of concern, international observers said in a statement today...