News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Secretary General praise work by field operations in Ukraine
Publishing date: 31 October 2022
WARSAW/VIENNA, 31 October 2022 – Following the lack of consensus by the OSCE Permanent Council to extend the mandates of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and the Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, due to the position of the Russian Federation, the OSCE is closing these two field operations today.
OSCE Troika, Secretary General, OSCE PA President and Secretary General strenuously condemn Russia’s attacks in Ukraine’s civilian centres
Publishing date: 10 October 2022
WARSAW/SKOPJE/STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN/VIENNA, 10 October 2022- OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, Foreign Minister of Sweden Ann Linde, and Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, representing the OSCE Troika, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt (MP, Sweden), OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Roberto Montella strenuously condemned Russia’s recent attacks against Ukraine’s population in the following statement:
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Rau, Parliamentary Assembly President Cederfelt, OSCE Secretary General Schmid and OSCE PA Secretary General Montella condemn Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory
Publishing date: 30 September 2022
WARSAW/VIENNA/COPENHAGEN, 30 September 2022 – The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt (MP, Sweden), OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Roberto Montella, unanimously and categorically condemn the Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of territory in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine, as well as the continued occupation of Crimea.
Current security challenges, war against Ukraine, at heart of OSCE Secretary General participation in 77th United Nations General Assembly
Publishing date: 23 September 2022
NEW YORK CITY, 23 September 2022 – OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concluded her visit to New York City, where she attended the high-level meeting and the general debate of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
OSCE Troika and Secretary General meet during UN General Assembly
Publishing date: 23 September 2022
NEW YORK, 23 September 2022- OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Foreign Minister of Poland Zbigniew Rau, Foreign Minister of Sweden Ann Linde, and Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, representing the OSCE Troika and the Organization’s Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid met on the margins of the 77th session of UN General Assembly.
OSCE heads condemn plan to hold illegal “referenda” in occupied territories of Ukraine
Publishing date: 20 September 2022
COPENHAGEN/WARSAW/VIENNA, 20 September 2022 – The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt and Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, condemned the plans to hold “referenda” on Ukraine’s occupied territories.
OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Secretary General condemn sentencing of OSCE Mission members Petrov and Shabanov in Luhansk, demand their immediate release
Publishing date: 19 September 2022
WARSAW/VIENNA, 19 September 2022 – OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid unequivocally condemn the sentencing of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) mission members Maxim Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov to 13 years in prison as a result of so-called “legal proceedings” and call for the immediate release of all three OSCE mission members in detention.