News and press releases

Ensuring gender-sensitive education of staff working in Ukraine’s system of free legal aid will enhance quality of assistance provided to survivors of gender-based violence, including related to the ongoing war. These are some of the recommendations, elaborated with the assistance of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU), based on the assessment of documents, policies and practices used by members of the Free Legal Aid system.

Over 100 rescuers, police officers, medics and officials enhanced their co-operation skills at a two-day table-top chemical emergency response exercise, organized by the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine together with the country’s State Emergency Service in Rivne, on 26-27 September.

SKOPJE/VIENNA, 12 September 2023 – The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, and Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid reinforced their repeated calls for the immediate release of three Ukrainian OSCE officials that have been in detention in Donetsk and Luhansk for more than 500 days.

More than 90 young legal professionals, students of law and post-graduates, including 53 women and 40 men, had a chance to upgrade their professional knowledge during a series of four summer schools, organized in August by the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine (the SPU).

As the ongoing war against Ukraine causes damage to industrial facilities across the country, it heightens the risks of release of toxic chemicals, posing a serious danger for people and environment. To help diminish threats to health and lives of people, the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine (the SPU) produced and delivered to the country’s State Emergency Service (the SESU) the awareness-raising materials, designed to inform the public about safety rules for chemical emergencies.

The OSCE trained Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) instructors to support Ukraine’s capacity in the detection and disposal of explosives through a three-week training course. The training of EOD instructors from the National Police of Ukraine (NPU) was held at the training site near Bristol, the United Kingdom, from 24 July to 11 August.

The breach of the dam at Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on 6 June 2023, the resulting overflow of Kakhovka reservoir and the flooding of downstream territories have had a widespread and devastating impact, including potentially long-lasting environmental damage, according to research conducted by the Centre for Environmental Monitoring and supported by the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine.