News and press releases

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 594 ceasefire violations, including 453 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 225 ceasefire violation in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 427 ceasefire violations, including 58 explosions. In the previous reporting

In the late morning on 2 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 Donetsk) to conduct an exchange of trailers with a second SMM patrol arriving from government-controlled areas...

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 225 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded one ceasefire violation in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 31 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 40 ceasefire violations in the

An OSCE-supported three-day online awareness-raising workshop on effective implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in line with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on EIA, also known as Espoo Convention and its Protocol on SEA, concluded on 2 April 2021...

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded one ceasefire violation. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 13 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 40 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the

KYIV, 31 March 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:

On the afternoon of 31 March, 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 Donetsk)

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 13 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded three ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded no ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 22 ceasefire violations in the

KYIV, 31 March 2021 – The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Y. Halit Çevik, welcomed today the extension of the SMM’s mandate.

Stockholm, 31 March 2021 — The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Ann Linde, welcomed today’s OSCE Permanent Council decision to renew the mandate and approve the budget of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) for another year until 31 March 2022.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded three ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 110 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 22 ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the region. The SMM

During a ceremony in Mariupol on 30 March 2021, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine provided a sophisticated and up-to-date mobile laboratory for radiological and chemical surveillance and monitoring to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU).

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 increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

COPENHAGEN, 30 March 2021 – Some 45 parliamentarians and staff from 12 OSCE countries will observe the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria on 4 April. Deploying in the capital, Sofia, and other regions, the OSCE PA observers will work closely with colleagues from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...

Summary In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 26 and 28 March, the Mission recorded 153 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 74 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 26 and 28 March, the SMM recorded no ceasefire

On 24 March 2021, Emmanuel Decaux, President of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and Erkki Kourula, Vice-President, addressed the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law of the Council of Europe (CAHDI) at its 60th meeting.

A series of training courses for Kyrgyzstan's law enforcement officials on the role of law enforcement agencies in responding to potential violations of electoral legislation during the April 11, 2021, elections for local councils concluded across Kyrgyzstan on 24 March 2021...

An OSCE-supported online training webinar on the protection of whistleblowers concluded in Nur-Sultan on 26 March 2021. The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan organized the event in partnership with the Anti-corruption Agency of Kazakhstan...

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 74 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 493 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 149 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded one ceasefire violation in the

GENEVA, 26 March 2021-The 52nd round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) took place in the Palais des Nations on 25 and 26 March 2021. The meeting was held in person, with all requisite pandemic mitigation measures in place.

On 26 March, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with the newly appointed Ambassador Hatun Demirer, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the OSCE, to welcome the new Ambassador and discuss the current media situation in Turkey.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 493 ceasefire violations, most of them shots and bursts of small-arms fire. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 89 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded one ceasefire violation. In the previous reporting

VIENNA, 26 March 2021 – Good governance and the rule of law are fundamental to economic growth, political stability, and security in the OSCE region and Asian Pacific, according to participants at the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group discussion, the first under the Albanian Chair, organized in partnership with Japan...

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with the Minister for South Asia and Commonwealth of the British Government, H.E. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, on 25 March 2021, to discuss media freedom developments in the United Kingdom and the OSCE region.

As part of an joint initiative to strengthen capacities of civil society organizations (CSOs) in using digital platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro delivered IT equipment to 19 CSOs from 15 to 26 March...

VIENNA, 26 March 2021 – Thirty two young professionals and students from 29 OSCE participating States began the nine-month “Perspectives 20-30 Online Academy” on 26 March 2021. The Office of the OSCE Secretary General, in partnership with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe strongly supports this initiative.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 89 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded two ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded no ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded five ceasefire violations in the

COPENHAGEN/VIENNA/SARAJEVO, 25 March 20210- The current situation of 8,000 asylum seekers and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was the focus of a series of virtual meetings, concluded on 25 March 2021, ahead of the field visit of Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Margareta Cederfelt, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President/Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration...

The OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) concluded its 28th Staff Course on 24 March 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions on travel, this particular course was conducted only for local Tajik border security and management officials.

From 16 to 25 March 2021, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) provided IT equipment to the anti-corruption teams across BiH. The delivery is part of the Mission’s efforts to combat corruption...

The 2021 parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan were efficiently prepared amid the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic but lacked genuine competition. Despite partially addressing a few previous ODIHR recommendations by way of recent legal revisions, the general legal framework

VIENNA, 24 March 2021 – More than €10 million in contributions and resources have been pledged to strengthen action against the illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition (SCA) in South-Eastern Europe.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded two ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 65 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded five ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the

COPENHAGEN, 24 March 2021 – Addressing a meeting of the OSCE’s Forum for Security Co-operation today, Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Political Affairs and Security Richard Hudson (United States) highlighted the strong relationship between the two OSCE bodies and underlined their many areas of convergence, stressing that to meet pressing challenges, intra-organizational co-operation is essential.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe concluded a five-day training course on "Providing Psychological Support to Victims of Domestic Violence" on 19 March 2021 in Dushanbe. Some 19 representatives from Women’s Resource Centres and Tajikistan’s Committee on Women and Family Affairs from Sughd, Khatlon, Rasht and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast regions participated in the course.

More than 90 participants took part in an online workshop on gender mainstreaming in human resources departments of border and law enforcement agencies, which was organized on 23 March 2021 by the Border Security and Management Unit in the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department.

VIENNA, 24 March 2021 — The United States fostered meaningful dialogue and sought to set the stage for rebuilding military transparency and confidence over the course of its Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) Chairpersonship, 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 increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 65 ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 15 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations, as in the previous 24 hours. The SMM lost spatial control of its mini-unmanned aerial

SARAJEVO, 23 March 2021- The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) published today the report The Institution of Additional Judges as a Potential Threat to Judicial Independence in BiH.

On 22 March 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met online with Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency of the European Commission to discuss the media freedom situation across the European Union.

Summary In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 19 and 21 March, the SMM recorded 46 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 29 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 19 and 21 March, the Mission recorded one ceasefire

On 15 March, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Kevin Dowling, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the OSCE, to discuss the current media situation in Ireland and across the OSCE region...

On 18 March, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Marc Ungeheuer to discuss current challenges and threats to media freedom in the OSCE region.

The OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department launched a new e-learning course on OSCE cyber/ICT security Confidence-Building Measures on 22 March 2021.

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 22 March 2021 – Ambassador Michael Davenport, a British career diplomat, today assumed his duties as Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

STRASBOURG/WARSAW, 22 March 2021 – Kyrgyzstan’s draft constitution would result in a complete change of the country’s constitutional order if adopted and raises grave concerns over the lack of respect for the principles of the rule of law, separation of powers, and inherent lack of checks and balances, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe said in a joint legal opinion.

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 29 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 113 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded 34 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the

Summary In Donetsk region, the Mission recorded 113 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 44 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded no ceasefire violations for the third consecutive day. The SMM lost spatial control of its mini-unmanned

TIRANA, 19 March 2021 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an observation mission for the 25 April parliamentary elections in Albania, following an invitation from the country’s authorities.