Donnerstag, 28.03.2024 16:58 Uhr

Press Statement of OSCE in Ukraine

Verantwortlicher Autor: Carlo Marino Rome, 29.04.2021, 13:31 Uhr
Nachricht/Bericht: +++ Politik +++ Bericht 8258x gelesen

Rome [ENA] The OSCE’s origins date back to the early 1970s and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which during the Cold War served as an important multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiations between East and West, leading to the fundamental principles contained in the Helsinki Final Act (1975). Until 1990, the CSCE functioned mainly as a series of meetings and conferences that built on

and extended the participating States’ commitments, while periodically reviewing their implementation. Even though the process was slow and not easy, it gave birth to human rights movements (Helsinki Watch and Helsinki Committees) and contributed to confidence- and security-building measures in the OSCE area, and has led to the signing of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism

and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) was deployed on 21 March 2014, following a request to the OSCE by Ukraine’s government and a consensus decision by all 57 OSCE participating States. The SMM is an unarmed, civilian mission, present on the ground 24/7 in all regions of Ukraine. Its main tasks are to observe and report in an impartial and objective way on the situation in Ukraine; and to facilitate dialogue among all parties to the crisis. The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group

(TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, made the following statement to the press today after the regular meetings of the TCG ‎and its Working Groups held through video conferencing: “The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) continues to record a high level of ceasefire violations. At the same time, the growing number of restrictions and impediments to the freedom of movement of the OSCE SMM is negatively affecting the implementation of the Mission's mandate. The SMM's UAVs are targeted daily by small arms fire as well as by jamming.

The requirement for compliance with the ceasefire was in the focus of the discussions of the Security Working Group and the TCG. Participants in the meeting reiterated their commitment to it. However – regrettably – no agreement was reached upon a TCG statement on responding to ceasefire violations and their elimination in the future. With the onset of the warm season and the approaching Easter holidays, I call on the sides to take urgent action as regards demining. According to the SMM, the majority of civilian casualties this year have been caused by mines and unexploded ordnance.

Procedural issues continued to dominate the discussions of the participants in the Political Working Group meeting, preventing progress on developing an action plan in full compliance with the Minsk agreements as tasked by the TCG. The Humanitarian Working Group focused on removing obstacles to the simultaneous opening of new crossing points near Zolote and Shchastia of the Luhansk region. Certain aspects related to the mutual release and exchange of conflict-related detainees were also duly considered.Discussions of the Economic Working Group focused exclusively on water supply issues on both sides of the contact line, particularly in the Donetsk region.”

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