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...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 10 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. In Kharkiv the SMM followed up on reports of an explosion at a pub in the city centre. In Kharkiv the SMM followed up on an incident at the “Stena Rock...
Most of the political forces in Ukraine are pro-Western
“It is time to unite.” The slogan ambushes Ukrainians from all sides these days as Petro Poroshenko, the president, deploys it to win votes ahead of parliamentary elections on October 26 that will determine whether he can secure a mandate for important but stalled reforms, the Financial Times newspaper writes. “Previously, the main watershed lay...
Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 11 November 2014
This report is for media and the general public. Summary The SMM observed an unmarked military convoy in the eastern outskirts of Donetsk city on 11 November 2014. Detail At 07:45hrs, on 11 November, three kilometres east of Donetsk city centre, the SMM observed a convoy of 43 unmarked green military trucks, with tarpaulin covers, moving in the...
More Russian Arms Said Headed for Donetsk, Lithuanians Accused of Spying for Belarus
Plus, CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia and the Kosovo bogeyman spoils the Albanian leader’s historic visit to Serbia. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Public service broadcasting’s vital role for advancing media freedom discussed at OSCE South Caucasus Media Conference in Tbilisi
TBILISI, 11 November 2014 – Public service broadcasting (PSB) is a vital element of democracy, and an important source of unbiased information and diverse political opinions, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, said in her closing remarks at 11th annual South Caucasus Media Conference in Tbilisi today. “Public...
Russia Divided
In 2014 the number of ethnic conflicts in Russia has declined. The drop resulted from the Ukrainian conflict which has shifted the generally xenophobic sentiments from an internal to an external adversary. The shift in the object of xenophobia does not however eliminate it altogether. …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Increased repression of free media in Azerbaijan must stop, OSCE Representative says
TBILISI, 10 November 2014 – Following the detention of Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Huseynov, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that the ongoing and increasing number of repressive actions against independent media and advocates of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan must stop. “Practically all independent media...
