News and press releases

The OSCE Presence in Albania organized an online training course from 4 to 10 November 2020 for ten managers of the country’s public broadcasting service, RTSH, with the aim of enhancing skills in running newsrooms...

Summary The SMM recorded eight ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and 24 in Luhansk region. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded three ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and

COPENHAGEN, 10 November 2020 – Following the signature of a trilateral statement between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation to end fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) issued the following statement:

As part of the “Leaders against Intolerance and Violent Extremism – LIVE” programme, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, together with Forum MNE, conducted two online training workshops for seven young participants from several Montenegrin cities from 7 to 11 September and 2 to 6 November 2020...

Analysis of the complex security challenges, currently being faced, as well as sharing best practices and innovative approaches was the focus of the OSCE roundtable discussion. The event titled “Leveraging innovation and technology to address 21st century security challenges and crises across the OSCE and Asian Partners for Co-operation” was held on 09 and 10 November 2020 online and in Vienna...

The Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media published the third edition of its Safety of Journalists Guidebook on 10 November 2020...

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 follow-up to the recommendations of election observation missions in the Western Balkans topped the agenda of an online conference organized by the OSCE Office Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 10 November 2020. The conference focused on the extent and modalities of the

Summary Between the evenings of 6 and 8 November, the SMM recorded six ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 55 ceasefire violations in the region. Between the evenings of 6 and 8 November, the SMM recorded no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region.

COPENHAGEN, 9 November 2020 – Following reports of protests against the results of the 31 October parliamentary elections and clashes with the police in recent days in Tbilisi, Georgia, OSCE Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE election mission Elona Gjebrea Hoxha (MP, Albania) and Head of the OSCE PA Delegation Pia Kauma (MP, Finland) called on the protesters to refrain from violence and on the authorities to respect the fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression...

VIENNA/WARSAW, 9 November 2020 – As freedom of religion or belief comes increasingly under pressure, the need to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technologies and at the same time minimize the dangers they pose is becoming ever more important. This topic is the focus of the OSCE’s final human rights conference of the year, beginning today...

The OSCE-supported international conference "Contemporary military conflicts and ways to prevent them" was held on 4 and 5 November 2020 in a blended format at the Academy of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan...

Seventeen women councillors from all across Albania successfully finalized the two-day final module of the OSCE Presence’s Women Municipal Excellence Programme (WoMEP) held in person with strict adherence to the COVID-19 safety rules and protocols from 6 to 7 November 2020. The module aimed at linking capacity-building and local development with gender equality. The programme combined on-the-job advice and direct training. This was the third module of the programme with two previous ones taking place in December 2019 and October 2020.

Summary The SMM recorded 55 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 52 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote

SARAJEVO, 6 November 2020 – The Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) of the BiH Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees, the OSCE Mission to BiH, the Office of the European Union in BiH and the UN Women BiH marked the 20th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security by organizing an online conference today.

Summary The SMM recorded 52 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded three ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and one in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska,

Strengthening the capacity of government officials from Kazakhstan to counter terrorism financing was the aim of an online training course that took place from 3 to 6 November. The event was organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Programme against Money Laundering (UNODC/GPML), the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia and the Monitoring Team of the UN Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups undertakings and entities.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) held a three-week capacity-building training course to help re-integrate returning labour migrants, which concluded on 6 November 2020. The event was organized in co-operation with the Agency for External Labour Migration under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan (the Agency), and took place at Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT).

On 6 November 2020, journalists, representatives of the Bar Association and the Supreme Court of Turkmenistan, as well as representatives of the Institute of State, Law and Democracy successfully completed an OSCE-organized advanced online train-the-trainer course on the rights and duties of journalists.

Summary The SMM recorded three ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and one in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 27 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and seven in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska,

The OSCE Moscow Mechanism rapporteur Wolfgang Benedek presented his report to the OSCE Permanent Council on 5 November 2020 concerning alleged human rights violations related to the 9 August presidential elections in Belarus...

VIENNA, 5 November 2020- Leaders of anti-trafficking efforts from over 50 countries across Europe, North America and Central Asia met online on 3 and 4 November 2020 for the largest annual meeting of its kind focused on human trafficking at the international level. The event, jointly organized by the OSCE and the Council of Europe, focused on challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to anti-trafficking responses...

The current global health crisis, associated challenges for border agencies in Central Asia and Afghanistan as well as the need to enhance co-ordination in the region, were the focus of the four-day Conference of the Central Asia Border Management Initiative (CABMI) held from 2 to 5 November.

COPENHAGEN, 4 November 2020 – The leaders of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly firmly condemn the terror attack which took place in Vienna on Monday, killing at least four people and injuring 22. “We stand in solidarity with the families of the victims and wish a speedy and full recovery to those injured in these horrific events. Vienna is the home of the OSCE and of international diplomacy, and its citizens have always stood by multiculturalism and tolerance,” stressed OSCE PA President George Tsereteli...

Summary The SMM recorded 27 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and seven in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded seven ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska,

WASHINGTON D.C., 4 November 2020 – Yesterday’s vote was hard-fought and competitive with a high degree of engagement by election workers and citizens in the face of great legal uncertainty and a highly polarised political environment fuelled by aggressive campaign rhetoric, international observers to the US general elections said in a statement today.

SARAJEVO, 4 November 2020- Ambassadors Kathleen Kavalec, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and Matt Field, British Ambassador to BiH, strongly condemn all attacks and undue pressure on the media in the country, including the most recent attack on a BNTV female journalist, threats against columnists Dragan Bursać and Srđan Puhalo and web portals such as klix.ba and inforadar.ba...

Twenty young people from the National Forum of Youth with Visual Impairments participated in an event organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania aimed at enhancing their organizational and strategic planning skills. The event was held from 31 October to 4 November 2020 in Tirana...

Summary The SMM recorded seven ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded no ceasefire violations in either region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Inside the

STOCKHOLM/VIENNA, 3 November 2020 – In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous other challenges, high-level political representatives of the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation addressed today the complex link between sustainable development and security at the 2020 OSCE Mediterranean Conference fully held online...

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...

With the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Montenegrin Ministry of Sports and Youth organized a two-day workshop on strengthening the capacities of municipal youth focal points on 2 and 3 November 2020 in Budva...

Summary Between the evenings of 30 October and 1 November, the SMM recorded nine ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded no ceasefire violations in the region. Between the evenings of 30 October and 1 November, the Mission recorded no ceasefire

WASHINGTON, 2 November 2020 – Observing today’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Roberto Montella emphasized the vital role that journalists play bringing information to the public and stressed that much more must be done to ensure justice for the perpetrators of violence against journalists.

VIENNA, 2 November 2020 – The Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) launched today a new Resource Guide, which contains action proposals on how to ensure the safety of female journalists online. It identifies a way forward and provides a list of useful resources and examples of existing measures and good practices...

CHISINAU, 2 November 2020 – Moldova’s 1 November presidential election was competitive and conducted within an adequate legal framework, but frequent and late changes to both legislation and administrative rules contributed to legal uncertainty, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded in a preliminary statement today...

The Albanian Human Rights Group (AHRG), in close co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, organized an annual online—on-site 2020 Human Rights and Minorities Academy, from 27 October to 1 November 2020...

Twenty-four alumni of the OSCE-funded Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) and other young people from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part in an online seminar on 29 and 30 October 2020 on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted security, the economy and education...

TBILISI, 1 November 2020 – Georgia’s parliamentary elections were competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected. Nevertheless, pervasive allegations of pressure on voters and blurring of the line between the ruling party and the state reduced public confidence in some aspects of the process, international observers said in a statement today. The elections were conducted under a substantially revised legal framework, following broad public consultations that brought some improvements for the holding of democratic elections, but further efforts to address shortcomings are needed, the statement says...

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded its tenth and final online lecture on media and information literacy in a digital age for students of Serbian-language elementary and secondary schools in Kosovo on 30 October 2020. The lectures covered ten schools in the Pejë/Peć, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Prizren and Prishtinë/Priština regions and included 155 participants...

Summary The SMM recorded no ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 30 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and nine in Luhansk region. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske.

GENEVA, 30 October 2020 – 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...

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Border Security and Management Unit and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) organized the fourth OSCE-wide Seminar on Passenger Data Exchange on 29 and 30 October 2020, bringing together more than 250 passenger data experts from OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation...

Summary The SMM recorded 30 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and nine in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded two ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on reports of two men injured by the detonation of an explosive

The OSCE and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) launched the “Debating Perspectives 2030 Roadshow” on 30 October 2020, a series of online and in-person events bringing together talented young women and men in shaping a vision for a safer future. The Roadshow, under which many events are planned across the OSCE region, held its first online discussion in Albania...

KYIV, 30 October 2020- The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and the OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Ukraine marked the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 by honouring the efforts of women and girls in support of peace and security. The landmark Resolution recognizes the wide variety of roles women and girls play in support of sustainable peace and calls for their full and meaningful inclusion in these efforts...

National minorities and other vulnerable groups are at risk of paying the highest costs of COVID-19’s economic consequences, said participants of an online discussion hosted by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) and the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) on 30 October 2020...

Challenges, lessons learned and good practices in the use of National Referral Mechanisms to counter human trafficking were discussed at a roundtable discussion on 29 October 2020. The blended event was co-organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, jointly with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the National Anti-trafficking Commission of Uzbekistan...

The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan organized a three-day online seminar to train Kazakh-speaking journalists on using data management tools in their work on 28-30 October 2020...

On 29 October, at about 12:15, at a checkpoint near Olenivka (non-government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk), members of the armed formations delayed the passage of an SMM patrol, comprising four vehicles and seven members, travelling from Donetsk city towards government-controlled areas,