OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

OSCE SMM monitoring the movement of heavy weaponry in eastern Ukraine

In late 2013 protests began in Kyiv as a response to the decision of the then-President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, to abandon the planned Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement.[3] After months of protests, the government fell and unrest spread to other regions in Ukraine, in particular the Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions.

In response to the developing crisis, the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Didier Burkhalter, proposed establishing an diplomatic contact group and an international observer mission during an address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in order to support Ukraine in facilitating a diplomatic solution to the crisis.[4][5][6]

The mission is mandated to:

1. Gather information and report on the situation in the area of operation;
2. Establish and report facts in response to specific incidents and reports of incidents, including those concerning alleged violations of fundamental OSCE principles and commitments;
3. Monitor and support respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights of persons belonging to national minorities;
4. Establish contact with local, region and national authorities, ethnic and religious groups, and representatives of the local population;
5. Facilitate dialogue on the ground in order to reduce tensions and promote normalisation of the situation;
6. Report on restrictions of the mission's freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate;
7. Coordinate with and support the work of other OSCE bodies, including the High Commissioner on National Minorities, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, as well as cooperate with the United Nations, the Council of Europe and other international bodies.[7]

The SMM currently consists of around 700 Observers from 53 OSCE member states and additional local and international staff.[8] The headquarters is located in Kyiv and the mission is headed by the turkish diplomat Yaşar Halit Çevik who followed Ertuğrul Apakan in this post.[9] [10] The SMM uses modern equipment to monitor the adherence of the parties to the ceasefire including drones and stationary cameras.[11] [12]

The mission shares its observations publicly in different formats. This includes daily reports, spot reports on specific incidents and thematic reports about general trends in their area of operation e.g. on the effect of the conflict on the access to education.[13] [14] The mission also has its own YouTube channel where it shares videos of its observations. The most successful of those videos shows a Russian convoy clandestinely entering Ukraine and has amassed over 300.000 views. [15]

OSCE SMM monitoring the movement of heavy weaponry in eastern Ukraine (16544233870)

The crisis deteriorated further with the intervention of the Russian Federation and its annexation of Crimea in March 2014.[16] The unrest in the industrial, Russian-speaking Donbass region of eastern Ukraine would later escalate [17] into the War in Donbass between Ukrainian government forces and separatist pro-Russian forces, including regular Russian troops. [18]

In an attempt to calm the situation, the OSCE decided to send the first one hundred observers of the Special Monitoring Mission on 21 March 2014.[19] The conflict, however, continued to escalate regardless until on 5 September 2014 when the first Minsk Protocol was signed between parties to the conflict, including Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This established a ceasefire and included provisions that the Special Monitoring Mission would monitor the ceasefire.[20]

This ceasefire was never fully implemented e.g. the separatists in eastern Ukraine refused to give up control of the border to Russia.[21] Accordingly, the ceasefire only held for a limited time and in early 2015 the war escalated again[22] until the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Protocol was signed on 12. February 2015 by the Normandy Format and reaffirmed the monitoring role of the Special Monitoring Mission.[23] Following this, the mandated maximum strength of the mission was extended to 1000 on March 12. 2015 [24]

Since then the conflict has stabilized but ceasefire violations still regularly occur and are reported by the SMM.

In 2017 one monitor was killed and two more wounded when their vehicle struck a landmine.[25]

OSCE SMM monitoring the movement of heavy weaponry in eastern Ukraine (16730571642)

• Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine

• Official website of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine