News and press releases

WARSAW, 11 March 2020 – An understanding of our common responsibility towards other human beings in distress is urgently needed as a rising number of migrants and refugees find themselves trapped at Turkey’s border with the European Union, said Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in a statement today.

Summary Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. It again saw deminers from government-controlled areas enter

VIENNA, 10 March 2020 – The roundtable and first expert meeting on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on freedom expression, organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, concluded today in Vienna...

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...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 6 and 7 March, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 7 and 8 March, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in

VIENNA, 9 March 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his strong concern today over the detention of several journalists in Turkey...

COPENHAGEN, 9 March 2020 – In response to the agreement reached on Sunday between the government and the opposition on a package of electoral reforms in Georgia, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-Presidents Margareta Cederfelt (MP, Sweden) and Kristian Vigenin (MP, Bulgaria) issued the following statement:...

The closing conference of the OSCE project “Effective Criminal Justice Strategies and Practices to Combat Gender-based Violence in Eastern Europe” was held in Vienna on 5 and 6 March 2020. The project was implemented over the past two years in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania...

KYIV, 8 March 2020 – International Women’s Day serves as an important reminder of women’s achievements to date and their invaluable contribution in promoting a sustainable solution to conflict.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A man sustained injuries due to shelling in Dokuchaievsk, Donetsk region. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote,

SAMARKAND, 6 March 2020- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, concluded today the second Central Asia Judicial Dialogue in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. During this two-day event, over 40 judges from the region discussed how to protect freedom of expression while combating violent extremism, terrorism and hate speech. The participants also discussed the decriminalization of defamation.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A man died reportedly from injuries caused by an explosive device in non-government-controlled Pionerske. The Mission observed a calm situation in the disengagement

Ahead of International Women’s Day, the OSCE will have dispatched two-thousand posters highlighting the need to stop violence against women to police stations all over Ukraine by 6 March 2020. The posters stress the important role that the police play in supporting and protecting women who have experienced violence. The posters were produced as part of the “End the Silence” awareness-raising campaign which was implemented by the OSCE Secretariat’s Gender Section and supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the country’s National Police.

The conference “More Than Quota: Towards Greater Representation of Women in Local Elections 2020” concluded today in Sarajevo. It was organized by Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in partnership with the Gender Equality Commission of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH on the occasion of International Women’s Day...

TIRANA/VIENNA/WARSAW, 6 March 2020- Ahead of the International Women’s Day OSCE leaders urged further action in promoting gender equality and called for intergenerational dialogue to ensure engagement of young people. This year Women’s Day is marked against the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action for the Advancement of Women, and these occasions provide an opportunity to take stock of progress made, they said.

ATHENS, 6 March 2020 – International humanitarian law must be respected in the response to the situation on the borders between Turkey and Greece, said OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on South East Europe Mark Pritchard (MP, United Kingdom) wrapping up a three-day official visit to Athens today...

On the second anniversary of Serbia’s Interior Ministry’s Anti-Corruption Department, held in Belgrade on 6 March 2020, ten Serbian police officers received diplomas after successfully completing internationally accredited courses in financial crime forensics...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw close to its patrol a probable explosive device on a road near non-government-controlled Zaichenko, Donetsk region. It corroborated reports of three cases

VIENNA, 5 March 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, and his two predecessors, Dunja Mijatović and Miklós Haraszti, today issued a joint statement in memory of the first OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, who passed away last Tuesday...

With support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, a delegation of Uzbek senior government officials participated at the Council on General Affairs and Policy (CGAP) of the Hague Conference on Private Property Law (HCCH) held in The Hague from 3 to 6 March, 2020.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrivske. It saw de-miners of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine

President of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration Professor Emmanuel Decaux addressed the OSCE Permanent Council on 27 February 2020, where he invited signatory and third-party States to join the 34 States that are currently party to the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE...

Representatives of key ministries and government bodies and journalists from online, print and broadcast media participated in a seminar organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat on 3 and 4 March 2020 on the efficient interaction between state institutions and the media...

Following the early parliamentary elections in Belarus on 17 November 2019, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published its final report. The report offers 32 recommendations to improve the conduct of elections and increase the transparency of and public

Summary Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission observed a calm situation in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. It saw de-miners of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine entering the Zolote

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...

SKOPJE, 3 March 2020 – Following an invitation from the country’s authorities, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission for the 12 April early parliamentary elections in North Macedonia...

COPENHAGEN, 3 March 2020 – Regarding developments on the Turkish-Greek border, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli today called for greater co-ordination between Turkey and European Union Member States to mitigate the situation and to pursue a sustainable solution...

A four-day training course on disrupting the financing of terrorist networks concluded on 28 February 2020 in Dushanbe. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, in co-operation with UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s Regional Office for Central Asia and the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department/Action against Terrorism Unit organized the course.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 28 and 29 February, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Between the evenings of 29 February and 1 March, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and

VIENNA, 2 March 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, published today a legal analysis of the Draft Law of Ukraine “On Media”. This draft law was recently registered in the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament)...

VIENNA, 1 March 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, condemned today’s detention of the Editor-in-Chief of Sputnik Turkey and three other Sputnik journalists working in Turkey.

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw damage to residential houses in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, Luhansk region. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska, saw mines and unexploded ordnance inside the disengagement area near Zolote, and

VIENNA, 28 February 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, called today on the Ukrainian authorities to urgently find an effective solution to lift the blocking of the bank accounts of the public broadcasting company of Ukraine, UA:PBC.

A one-day training course for judges and prosecutors from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on addressing the trafficking in human beings and related crimes was held on 28 February 2020 in Banjaluka. The training was organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH in co-operation with entity judicial and prosecutorial training centres (JPTC)...

Preparations for the expected regular Eurasian group’s (EAG) mutual evaluation of Turkmenistan’s compliance to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) standards on anti-money laundering and countering of financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts, including 11 indicators of effectiveness and 40 technical recommendations, were the focus of an OSCE seminar from 26 to 28 February 2020 in Ashgabat. The seminar was attended by representatives of law enforcement agencies, supervisory bodies, and other relevant government and non-government agencies...

An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on media legislation in Kazakhstan was held in Nur-Sultan on 28 February 2020. Some 30 government officials, representatives of international organizations, lawyers, journalists and media experts from across the country took part in the event...

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote, and recorded ceasefire

At the invitation of the Standing Committee on Defence and Security of the Armenian National Assembly, some 50 representatives from oversight and government bodies, security sector institutions and civil society organizations gathered in Yerevan on 27 February 2020 to inaugurate the new national multi-stakeholder platform on democratic security sector oversight...

VIENNA, 27 February 2020 – Enhancing co-operation between the OSCE’s Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) and the Permanent Council (PC) in preventing and countering terrorism was the focus of a joint meeting of the FSC and PC held on 26 February in Vienna under Turkey’s FSC Chairmanship and Albania’s OSCE Chairmanship. The discussions focused on how the FSC, as the OSCE’s leading decision-making body in the politico-military sphere, can contribute, in line with its mandate and existing instruments, to the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to combating terrorism...

Greater efforts and co-operation are needed to achieve a more independent justice system, educate citizens about human rights and strengthen women’s leadership in Belarus, said Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), addressing

The OSCE is one step further in eradicating exploitation from its electronics supply chains, having joined Electronics Watch, the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, announced on 27 February 2020. This independent watchdog will be monitoring the production locations of electronics hardware procured and engaging with the industry. The OSCE is setting in practice its policy of transparency in purchasing procedures...

MINSK, 27 February 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 meeting of the TCG and its working groups in Minsk on 26 February 2020…

Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote, and recorded ceasefire violations inside the

MOSCOW, 26 February 2020 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania’s Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama had a frank and constructive discussion today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, on a number of key issues that affect security in the OSCE region. The meeting took place during Rama’s first official visit to Moscow as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office...

The practical implementation of intelligence-led policing (ILP) as a modern and proactive approach to law enforcement was the focus of an OSCE training workshop that took place on 25 and 26 February 2020 in Reykjavik, Iceland...

Summary Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission saw damage to a residential building in non-government-controlled Holubivske, reportedly from shelling on 18 February, and saw fresh craters in non-government

COPENHAGEN, 25 February 2020 – In order to fight the disinformation and fake news that permeates the media environment and results in the erosion of confidence, polarization of politics and widespread confusion on important matters, OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (Georgia) has appointed Oscar Mina (San Marino) as Special Rapporteur on Disinformation and Propaganda...

COPENHAGEN, 25 February 2020 – Following up on the special debate on combating anti-Semitism, discrimination and intolerance at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Winter Meeting on 21 February, the leaders of the PA’s human rights committee today recalled the importance of discrimination and extremism being high on the international agenda. They condemned the attacks in Hanau, Germany, on 19 February, and noted that they serve as a tragic reminder of the need for all public figures to renounce intolerance...