OSCE launches new publication, ‘A Peaceful Presence: The First Five Years of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine’

A new OSCE publication on the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine’s (SMM) first five years of operation was launched on 2 July 2021.

The publication, ‘A Peaceful Presence: The First Five Years of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine’, features stories and first-hand accounts about the SMM’s journey as seen through the eyes of the Mission’s staff, its leadership and those who worked to establish, deploy and support the Mission. It also identifies lessons learned and best practices for the OSCE as well as the peace operations of other international organizations.

“The SMM’s evolution from its earliest days was both complex and complicated, putting the Mission and the Secretariat on a steep learning curve,” said Tuula Yrjölä, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, during her open remarks at an OSCE event to mark the publication’s launch. “The publication offers a comprehensive analysis of the Mission’s first five years, providing a wealth of valuable lessons to inform future operations, not only for the OSCE but also for the international community at large.”

Some of the topics covered by the publication include the evolution of the Mission and its rapid deployment, its expansion and new responsibilities in the wake of the Minsk agreements, as well as how it has carried out its daily monitoring and dialogue facilitation work on the ground. It also examines the Mission’s ground-breaking use of sophisticated monitoring technology, and how it was able to overcome significant challenges, such as the abduction of mission monitoring officers and the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over eastern Ukraine.

“The SMM has never been an ordinary mission. Not only did it monitor and report on the facts in an impartial manner, it was a peace operation that made a real difference on the ground in containing the escalation of violence and enabling the peace process to move forward,” said Ertuğrul Apakan, who served as SMM Chief Monitor during the Mission’s first five years. “This study is about how an OSCE civilian crisis response operation performs in a complex and high-risk security environment. It is also a recognition of the dedicated work of OSCE monitors, its men and women, to whom I all pay tribute.”