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 Summer 2014 was a hard working season for the OSCE as we explored every opportunity to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine. Following the tragic Malaysian Airlines crash in mid-July, our monitors were the first international group at the site; negotiating access for international forensic investigators and reporting back daily on what they saw. Our Observation Mission teams at the border checkpoints of Donetsk and Gukovo were successfully deployed and have begun their work. At the same time, the intense diplomacy of the past few months has continued both in Vienna and in Minsk, the city where the Trilateral Contact Group – of which OSCE is a member – is negotiating both the ceasefire regime and other ways forward. This newsletter will give you the latest details, and you can follow our website for day to day reports and breaking news.
Lamberto Zannier
OSCE Secretary General
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Memorandum on stabilizing ceasefire another important step towards de-escalation
On 19 September 2014 the Trilateral Contact Group of senior representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, and representatives of certain districts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions signed a Memorandum outlining the parameters for the implementation of the cease-fire commitments laid down in the Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014. Didier Burkhalter, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister, called the Memorandum a significant step towards making the cease-fire sustainable and an important contribution in the efforts to peacefully settle the crisis in Eastern Ukraine. Learn more
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Daily updates from the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine
To get a better understanding of the situation on the ground in Ukraine, read the daily updates provided for the public and the media by the teams of special monitors. Read More
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Reports from the Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk
Read weekly first-hand information from the team of OSCE observers on the situation at the border checkpoints. Learn More
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Background: OSCE engagement with Ukraine
Learn more about OSCE responses to the crisis in Ukraine, ranging from high-level diplomacy and multilateral dialogue, addressing concerns over fundamental freedoms, human rights, through to monitoring, fact-finding and military visits. Learn More
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Europe's largest annual human rights conference
Europe’s largest annual human rights conference, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), is taking place in Warsaw from 22 September to 3 October 2014.
The Human Dimension Implementation Meeting brings together hundreds of government officials, international experts, civil society representatives and human rights activists to take stock of how states are implementing their commitments in the human dimension, in other words, the core values that promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Learn More
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The Human Dimension Implementation Meeting practical information and documents
Learn more about the meeting, find the agenda and lists of participants, as well as access conference documents as they are posted on the meeting page.
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The winner: Spravedlivost
Spravedlivost, a non-governmental organization based in Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan, is the 2014 winner of the Max van der Stoel Award. It received the award for its outstanding work in improving the position of national minorities in the OSCE area. Visit the Award page for the stories, interviews, multimedia and information on the upcoming ceremony that will take pace on 2 October in the Hague. Learn more
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Preventing, managing, reducing disaster
‘Villagers displaced by forest fires’; ‘Many missing after avalanche’; ‘Floods cause millions of euros in damage’. Natural disasters often make the news headlines because of their potential for massive and fatal destruction. They pose a threat to human life and livelihoods, societies and national economies.
Natural hazards can strike anywhere and at any time. They can turn into disasters if governments and people are not well prepared. Learn More
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Concluding Meeting of the 22nd OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum
The Concluding Meeting of the 22nd OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum on "Responding to environmental challenges with a view to promoting co-operation and security in the OSCE area” took place in Prague on 10-12 September 2014. Learn more
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VIDEO: A Fighting Chance: Disaster Risk Management
Natural disasters are a fact of life but are often underestimated. In order to reduce security risks linked to economic and environmental challenges, we need to take a comprehensive approach, where the differences of individual communities are addressed. Watch the video
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Transforming the media landscape
Open Journalism is more than a 21st century version of letters to the editor; it captures the ongoing development in which traditional media outlets not only make readers’ comments available but also more than ever rely on readers for information, allowing them to set the narrative. Learn more
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Second expert meeting on Open Journalism
The second expert meeting, that took place on 19 September, focused on the legal implications of Open Journalism, protection of media freedom online, and how the new voices of Open Journalism are recognized and safeguarded with regards to basic human rights. Learn more
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