News and press releases

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 102 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded ten ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations for the fourth consecutive day. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement

The OSCE Presence in Albania organized an online meeting, on 4 March 2021, to present the findings of an evaluation report on Local Safety Councils (LSCs) in six targeted municipalities...

KYIV, 03 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:

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded ten ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 150 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations, as in the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the

MADRID, 3 March 2021 – Spain is stepping up its commitment and efforts in combating human trafficking. This is a great example of how a country can mobilize when the issue of trafficking is elevated to a political priority, said the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey, at the high-level first international seminar on trafficking in human beings in Madrid...

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 150 ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded nine ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded two ceasefire violations in the region. The

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.

SOFIA, 2 March 2021 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened a limited election observation mission (LEOM) for the 4 April parliamentary elections, following an invitation from the country’s authorities.

On the morning of 1 March, an SMM patrol consisting of three vehicles and six people arrived at the checkpoint of the armed formations near Olenivka (non-government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk) to cross to government-controlled areas. At 11:02, while at the checkpoint, a member of the armed formations approached the patrol and said that the SMM would need to open the doors and trunks of its vehicles for a visual inspection before being allowed to proceed further towards government-controlled areas. The patrol refused the request and was subsequently asked to wait...

Ulukbek Maripov, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, met with Pierre von Arx, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, on 26 February 2021 in Bishkek.

Summary Between the evenings of 26 and 28 February, the SMM recorded 13 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 41 ceasefire violations in the region. Between the evenings of 26 and 28 February, the Mission recorded six ceasefire violations in Luhansk

An OSCE-supported international online conference “OSCE Astana Summit 2010: Historical Significance and Relevance” was held on 19 February 2021. The event was organized by the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Leader of the Nation (Elbasy), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 41 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded ten ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded 30 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 20 ceasefire violations in the

COPENHAGEN, 26 February 2021 – Meeting virtually today, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s committees on economic and environmental affairs and human rights and democracy discussed the impacts of COVID-19, as well as other pertinent issues. It was the first time that the two committees have met – albeit in an online format – since the coronavirus outbreak last year. The meetings featured speeches by committee leaders, presentations by high-level OSCE officials, and wide-ranging debates with the participation of dozens of parliamentarians from North America, Europe and Central Asia.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded ten ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 23 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded 20 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded two ceasefire violations in the

On 26 February 2021, the Council of Europe (CoE) convened the 8th meeting of the Protocol Drafting Plenary of the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T/CY), which represents the State Parties to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. The aim of the meeting was to prepare a 2nd Additional Protocol to the Convention.

ODIHR final report on 2020 Moldova presidential election The 2020 presidential election in Moldova was organized professionally despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative and divisive campaigning which degraded the quality of information available to voters. There were

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 23 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 170 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded two ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the

SARAJEVO, 25 February 2021- The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) welcomes today’s adoption of the 2021-2024 BiH Strategy for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and its action plan by the BiH Council of Ministers...

SARAJEVO, 25 February 2021 – Following the recent hacker attacks on media portals Žurnal and Buka, the OSCE Mission to BiH, the European Union Delegation and European Union Special Representative, the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the Embassy of the United States, and the Office of the High Representative call on authorities in BiH to investigate all attacks on media websites as they represent a clear danger to media freedom.

On 24 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Emilia Mazuru, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Romania to the International Organizations in Vienna and discussed the current state of media freedom in Romania and the wider OSCE region.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 170 ceasefire violations. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 88 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations, as in the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the

On 22 February, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Siniša Bencun to discuss media freedom developments and challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina...

On 22 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Roksanda Ninčić to discuss media freedom developments and challenges in Serbia...

On 23 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Mario Horvatić to discuss the current state of media freedom in Croatia.

Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 88 ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded ten ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 60 ceasefire violations in the region. The

VIENNA, 23 February 2021 – Opportunities for transboundary co-operation to address climate-related security risks in South-Eastern Europe were virtually presented today to an audience of over 100 participants at the Regional Consultation Process on Climate Change and Security in South-Eastern Europe. The event was the result of a series of three interactive regional consultation workshops and three surveys on climate change and security, organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the Berlin-based think tank adelphi...

On 22 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Igli Hasani to discuss media freedom developments in Albania and ways in which the Representative can provide assistance.

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.

The OSCE Presence in Albania organized an online workshop, on 22 February 2021, to discuss lustration policies and processes in Albania since the collapse of the dictatorship 30 years ago. The event called “Lustration in Albania: The past and the future” – part of the Presence’s work in the field of the transitional justice – brought together national and international institutions, experts and practitioners, as well as lecturers and students from the public University of Tirana and private universities...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) organized an online round table discussion on the harassment of women in the public sphere on 23 February 2021...

The programmatic activities for 2021 and a decision on the next host country for its Secretariat were the focus of the meeting of the Executive Board of the Permanent Conference of Organized Crime Prosecutors (PCOCP) held on 23 February 2021.

On 22 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Barbara Žvokelj to discuss the current state of media freedom in Slovenia and possible areas of future co-operation with the Slovenian authorities.

TIRANA, 22 February 2021 — It has come to the attention of the OSCE Presence in Albania that an organization calling itself OKSE is conducting opinion polls and surveys, allegedly on behalf of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Summary Between the evenings of 19 and 21 February, the SMM recorded 25 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 594 ceasefire violations in the region. Between the evenings of 19 and 21 February, the Mission recorded 204 ceasefire violations in Luhansk

Over 70 participants from across the OSCE area took part in an online interactive webinar on The Role of Youth in Inter-faith Dialogue in the Context of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism (VERLT) on 22 February 2021.

The OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Agency for Inter-ethnic Relations of the Republic of Moldova released a video on 19 February 2021 on ethnic diversity in Moldova to commemorate International Mother Language Day.

COPENHAGEN, 19 February 2021 – Taking stock of migratory developments in the OSCE region over the last several months, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on Migration met today and discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the precarious conditions in which refugees and asylum seekers find themselves. The meeting also focused on developing synergies between the OSCE’s executive structures and OSCE parliamentarians in the area of combating trafficking in human beings along migration routes.

Summary The SMM recorded 594 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded three ceasefire violations in the region. The Mission recorded eight ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded one ceasefire violation in

On 19 February 2021, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized a public presentation of the Constitution and the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the rights of persons with disabilities” published in Braille, as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A Training Guide (Professional Training Series), published in the state language. The National Human Rights Centre and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) co-organized the event.

Summary The SMM recorded three ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 13 ceasefire violations in the region. The Mission recorded one ceasefire violation in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 40 ceasefire violations in the

The role of open government data as a critical component for enabling and improving the business investment climate across the OSCE region was discussed at a webinar organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) on 19 February 2021.

On 19 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Natasha Meli Daudey to discuss the current state of media freedom in Malta and areas in which the Representative can provide assistance.

On 18 February, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz), in collaboration with the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics (UZSTAT) and the International Open Data Charter (ODC), held an online seminar dedicated to Uzbekistan’s adoption of the ODC principles. More than 50 participants, over 30 % of which were women, attended the event, including senior specialists and experts from various ministries and government agencies.

On 18 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Radomir Boháč to discuss co-operation between the Office of the RFoM and the authorities of Slovakia.

BELGRADE, 19 February 2021 – On the occasion of the European Day for Victims of Crime marked on 22 February, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the EU Delegation to Serbia handed over videoconferencing equipment to five courts across the country, with the aim to strengthen the national victim and witness support system. The donation is part of a project financed by the European Union for the value of 1.5 million euro.

On 17 and 18 February 2021, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan conducted a roundtable discussion aimed at the advancement of women's participation in politics and business, investing in women's professional development and leadership skills. The event, held in a blended format, was organized jointly with the National Commission on Gender Equality and the Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the Senate.

Summary The SMM recorded 13 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded ten ceasefire violations in the region. The Mission recorded 40 ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 29 ceasefire violations in the

On 17 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Bakyt Dzhusupovto discuss co-operation between the Office of the Representative and the authorities of Kyrgyzstan.

VIENNA, 18 February 2021 — The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, denounced today the prison sentences handed down to journalists Katerina Andreyeva (Bakhvalova) and Darya Chultsova in Belarus.