OSCE parliamentarians to observe upcoming elections in Moldova
COPENHAGEN, 14 November 2014 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in Moldova and provide leadership for the OSCE’s short-term observer mission. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter has designated Emin Onen (MP, Turkey) as Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission for the...
OSCE promotes international exchange of best practices for preventing torture in detention facilities
LVIV, 13 November 2014 – The Fifth East European Conference on National Preventive Mechanisms, co-hosted by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, the country’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and the Kharkiv Institute for Social Researches, started in Lviv today. The two-day will discuss the challenges and practical...
President Kanerva decries ‘unacceptable restrictions’ on Ukraine border observers, urges reform before OSCE Permanent Council
COPENHAGEN, 13 November 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) criticized “unacceptable restrictions” on what OSCE observers on the Ukrainian-Russian border are able to report and called for broad Organizational reform in an address today before the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. “In order to achieve consensus...
Russia will direct its efforts at supporting instability in the Donbas
With Kyiv lacking the military might to break the rebels by force, Western allies now fear that a large chunk of Ukrainian territory will become a Russian protectorate with a parlous economic future, beyond the writ of the central government, the Reuters reports. “We have now realistically entered the phase of a ‘frozen conflict’,”...
Weekly update from the OSCE Observer Mission at Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk based on information as of 10:00 (Moscow time), 12 November 2014
SUMMARY KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russian Federation, 12 November 2014 – As mandated, the Observer Mission (OM) is operating 24/7 at both BCPs. Overall cross-border traffic flows increased at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). For the first time since late August, more people entered than left the Russian Federation (RF) at the two observed...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 11 November 2014
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM continued to monitor the situation in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, focusing on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. The SMM went to the international border crossing points, Izvaryne and Gukovo, between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The SMM met with a...
After the Wales Summit: An Assessment of NATO’s Strategic Agenda
Two weeks after the NATO Summit in Wales the Konrad Adenauer Foundation invited a select group of experts and officials to discuss the results of the Wales Summit and the challenges that lie ahead. The participants provided concrete recommendations for German policy-makers regarding Berlin’s role in influencing NATO’s prospective...
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva to address the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday
VIENNA, 12 November 2014 – The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) will address the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday, 13 November, 2014, at the Hofburg, Vienna. President Kanerva will discuss the challenges presented by the Ukraine crisis, the need for Organizational reform, and the importance of...
OSCE Centre co-organizes meeting on Aarhus Convention’s implementation
Astana, Kazakhstan, 12 November 2014 – Over 100 representatives of the Parliament, Supreme Court, government, civil society and major enterprises exploring natural resources, discussed at the Public Council today in Astana the issue of the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR). The meeting was co-organized by the OSCE Centre...
The cost of escalating sanctions on Russia over Ukraine and Crimea
The United States and the European Union responded to Sunday’s Crimea referendum – which overwhelmingly backed union with Russia – by imposing sanctions on Russia. So far, 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials, allegedly responsible for the sovereignty transgressions, have been slapped with asset freezes and travel bans. EU leaders will meet...
