News and press releases

Summary The SMM recorded one ceasefire violation in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded no ceasefire violations in either region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. During

A three-day online regional workshop on delimitation and demarcation practices for the South-East European OSCE participating States concluded on 15 October 2020. The event was organized by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and focused on maritime boundaries.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (POiD) will pursue its activities in 2021 in Tajikistan, in line with its existing mandate and relevant priorities of the host country, within all three dimensions of the OSCE’s comprehensive and co-operative approach to security. The joint agreement between the OSCE and the Government of Tajikistan was declared at the annual OSCE Partnership Platform meeting in Dushanbe on 15 October 2020. The meeting brought together high-ranking officials from Tajikistan’s government agencies and representatives of the OSCE.

VIENNA, 15 October 2020 – The Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) published today a legal review of the draft Federal Act on Measures to Protect Users on Communications Platforms (Kommunikationsplattformen-Gesetz – KoPI-G) by the Republic of Austria. The review was officially submitted to the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, and to the Federal Chancellery of the Republic of Austria on 15 October 2020.

A two-day series of online events on the nature, status and scope of the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief for all (FoRB) as enshrined in international standards and the OSCE human dimension commitments concluded on 14 October 2020. The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized the events targeted for Uzbekistan state officials. The series also included a briefing on the OSCE/ODIHR Freedom of Religion or Belief and on Security Policy Guidance...

SEOUL/VIENNA, 15 October 2020 – New technologies need to be backed up with necessary human rights safeguards, furthering the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security, say participants at the fourth inter-regional conference on the Impact of Emerging Technologies on International Security and Terrorism. Foreign Affairs Ministry of Korea, in co-operation with the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and the OSCE External Co-operation Section, organized the virtual conference on 14 October 2020...

KYIV, 15 October 2020 – 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:...

The first in a series of three OSCE-supported regional roundtable discussions on the country’s environmental challenges concluded on 15 October 2020 in Kostanay, Kazakhstan. The two-day event brought together some 25 representatives from the local authorities, the business community and environmental NGOs. The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, in partnership with the Association of Environmental Organizations, organized the event...

Efforts by OSCE participating States to address the risks posed by small arms and light weapons (SALW) and stockpiles of conventional ammunition (SCA), particularly in preventing and combating the illicit trade in SALW, were the focus of a meeting organized by the German Chair of the Forum for Security Co-operation on 13 and 14 October 2020...

Summary The SMM recorded no ceasefire violations in either Donetsk or Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 14 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and one in Luhansk region. The Mission had previously recorded no ceasefire violations in either region between the evenings

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), the OSCE and UN Women joined forces to host an online event on 12 October 2020. Experts reviewed commitments and charted the way forward on this landmark resolution, the first international agreement recognizing that conflict affects women differently than men and calling for the meaningful participation of women in peace processes. A wide range of WPS practitioners from civil society and women’s organizations, government officials and representatives of international organizations participated in the event.

An OSCE-supported seminar on the protection of freedom of expression and the judicial regulation of defamation took place on 10 October 2020 in Nur-Sultan. The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan co-organized the event with the Academy of Justice under the Supreme Court (Academy), NGO Legal Media Centre, Internews Kazakhstan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Some 55 Master students of the Academy attended the seminar...

Summary The SMM recorded 14 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and one in Luhansk region. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded six ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. Two teenage boys were injured by the detonation of an explosive device in Nyzhnia Krynka,

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...

GENEVA/MOSCOW, 13 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:

Summary Between the evenings of 9 and 11 October, the SMM recorded ten ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 26 ceasefire violations in the region. Between the evenings of 9 and 11 October, the SMM recorded no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region.

VIENNA, 12 October 2020 – Multilateral responses to the global security challenges in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the OSCE’s comprehensive engagement are the focus of the two-day 2020 OSCE Asian Conference, virtually hosted by the Republic of Korea, in close co-operation with Slovakia, the 2020 OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group Chair...

The role of open data and digital tools in enhancing good governance and anti-corruption mechanisms in the context of current economic challenges was the focus of a virtual webinar organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) on 9 October 2020...

More than 20 young professionals and university students took part in the online Model OSCE simulation workshop from 6 to 9 October. Participants included young people from Central Asian countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as students from Austria, Croatia, Russia and Italy.

Representatives of law enforcement bodies, the Mejlis (parliament), financial institutions and other relevant agencies of Turkmenistan discussed the role of digital technologies in investigating and reducing the risks of corruption at an OSCE-organized webinar that opened on 12 October 2020 in Ashgabat...

COPENHAGEN, 12 October 2020 – Some 100 election observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy later this month to the United States for the 3 November general elections. They will work with about 40 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights who are already in the country and deliver a joint assessment following election day. The mission will mark the eighth time the PA has observed the vote in the U.S. since 2004...

Summary The SMM recorded 26 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and eight in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded four ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska,

Moscow, 10 October 2020- The Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) welcome the joint announcement by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Armenian Foreign Minister Zorab Mnatsakanyan, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a humanitarian ceasefire and call on the sides to execute their commitments in full.

VIENNA/TIRANA, 10 October 2020 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania’s Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, welcomed news of a humanitarian ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict context. “We need stability, both on the ground and in the process led by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs,” Rama said. “The agreement reached in Moscow overnight by Armenia and Azerbaijan puts us on the path towards the resumption of substantive negotiations in the agreed format,” Rama added.

Twenty rescuers of Tajikistan’s Committee of Emergency Situation and Civil Defence completed a four-week training course on 10 October 2020 to improve their skills on conducting field-based emergency response operations in challenging conditions, which they commonly face while performing their duties. The course funded by the European Union was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe in co-operation with the Committee...

Summary The SMM recorded four ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 36 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and two in Luhansk region. A man died due to the detonation of an explosive object in Obozne, Luhansk region. The

VIENNA/TIRANA, 9 October 2020 – The Albanian Chairmanship has issued a call for unity in Kyrgyzstan, noting its concern with the worsening situation. “We call on all political leaders and on the citizens of Kyrgyzstan to refrain from violence and act in the interest of maintaining stability in the country.”

Effective rehabilitation and reintegration of those who participated in violent extremism activity is the focus of a new guidebook launched at a webinar organized by the Action against Terrorism Unit (ATU) of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department for more than 80 participants from civil society, governments, academia and international organizations based in South-Eastern Europe on 8 October 2020...

Based on a shortfall in the number of short-term observers provided by OSCE states due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel and health restrictions, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has decided to limit its missions in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to

VIENNA, 9 October 2020 – The 22nd Central Asia Media Conference, organized online by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), concluded today. Over the course of the three-day conference, around 150 journalists, representatives of NGOs, academia, international experts, and government agencies from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan as well as Mongolia, discussed a broad range of issues related to freedom of the media and freedom of information in the region, with a special focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic...

The Annual Prosecutorial Symposium, which, due to the pandemic, took place in an online format on 8 and 9 October 2020, gathered some 150 prosecutors, judges and other criminal justice professionals who took part in a number of panel discussions on criminal matters...

The role of parliament in oversight of the security sector in Uzbekistan was the focus of an OSCE event in Tashkent on 8 October 2020. Twenty members of the Oliy Majlis (parliament), coming from both the Legislative Chamber and the Senate, took part in the event. The workshop was organized, in a blended format, jointly by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, and supported by speakers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly...

WARSAW, 9 October 2020 – Ahead of tomorrow’s World Day against the Death Penalty, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) emphasized in its new report that individuals facing the death penalty must have access to fair trial guarantees, the right of pardon or commutation, and equal protection of the law without discrimination...

Summary The SMM recorded 36 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and two 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,

VIENNA, 8 October 2020 – The recent reduction in violence, following the Trilateral Contact Group’s adoption of additional measures to strengthen the ceasefire on 22 July, shows once again that with political will, concrete results can be achieved on the ground, said Yaşar Halit Çevik, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council today in Vienna...

Maryse Daviet, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, met with the newly appointed Speaker of the Parliament, Aleksa Bečić, on 7 October 2020 in Podgorica...

Summary The SMM recorded three ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and one in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded nine ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and five in Luhansk region. A woman and a boy were injured by the explosion of a device near

The parliamentary elections in Serbia were administered efficiently despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but dominance of the ruling party, including in the media, was a cause for concern. These are some of the main conclusions from the 21 June 2020 elections, as detailed in the final report published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

On 6 October 2020, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan supported the organization of an online seminar on the role of the Parliament in enhancing the legal framework on the prevention of torture within the National Preventive Mechanism. This activity is part of the broader framework of the National Strategy for Human Rights, adopted this year by Uzbekistan...

As of today, 7 October 2020, a chatbot called “CEC about elections”, is available for election commissioners on the ground, candidates and ordinary voters who would like immediate information on various aspects of the upcoming local elections in Ukraine. The chatbot is an artificial intelligence-based application, developed with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator for the country’s Central Election Commission.

TIRANA / BRUSSELS / GENEVA – 6 October 2020. The Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) inform with regret that it was not possible to hold the scheduled round of discussions on 6-7 October in Geneva as previously announced, since not all participants were able to attend...

Summary The SMM recorded nine ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and five in Luhansk region. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded eight ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and two in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and

VIENNA, 6 October 2020 – Community policing and a closer partnership between public authorities and youth are effective tools for creating a drug-free environment at the community level, said speakers at the OSCE-wide Conference on Combating the Threat of Illicit Drugs and the Diversion of Chemical Precursors held in Vienna and online today...

COPENHAGEN, 6 October 2020 – Appalled by the continuation of bloodshed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, as well as beyond the line of contact, OSCE PA President George Tsereteli today reiterated the call to cease hostilities in the interest of civilians and recommit to negotiations towards a peaceful solution of the conflict according to OSCE principles and commitments. During the past week, he has been in direct contact with the Speakers of Parliament of Armenia and Azerbaijan, to underline the position of the OSCE PA and to urge both sides to resume the negotiation process...

The Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) is calling for proposals for innovative ideas and initiatives to tackle the challenges brought by Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the freedom of expression. This call is being made as part of the RFoM’s project, Spotlight on the Impact of AI on Freedom of Expression (#SAIFE). Initiatives selected by the RFoM will receive funding for their implementation...

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...

On 6 October 2020, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) handed over ultraviolet (UV) antibacterial system equipment to the Scientific Research Institute of Virology of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan as part of pandemic-related aid...

MOSCOW / PARIS / WASHINGTON, D.C., October 5, 2020- The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Secretary of State of the United States of America Michael R. Pompeo, representing the Co-Chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, released the following statement today:...

Summary Between the evenings of 2 and 4 October, the SMM recorded 20 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 18 ceasefire violations in the region. Between the evenings of 2 and 4 October, the Mission recorded three ceasefire violations in Luhansk

VIENNA, 5 October 2020- How to address organized crime through strategic partnerships among law enforcement agencies, national institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector, was the focus of an OSCE conference held in Vienna and online today. Over 250 representatives of government institutions from the OSCE participating States, the OSCE’s Partners for Co-operation, and experts from academia, civil society, the UN and other international and regional organizations, took part...