COPENHAGEN, 2 April 2020 – Following reports that armed formations in eastern Ukraine have repeatedly blocked OSCE Special Monitoring Mission officials from crossing checkpoints, senior OSCE Parliamentary Assembly officials urged greater constructive engagement.

Kyriakos Hadijiyianni (MP, Cyprus), Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany), and Kari Henriksen (MP, Norway), the Chair, Vice-Chair and Rapporteur of the OSCE PA's General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, released the following statement:

“The dedicated experts working with the SMM play a critical role in easing the troubled lives of those in and around the conflict zone. It is unacceptable that they are being stopped from doing their important work which has strong humanitarian benefits. We call on those groups blocking this work to cease these steps and to allow OSCE monitors to continue with their work.”

The PA leaders reiterated the urgent need for a real ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, underlining the call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on 23 March for a global ceasefire amid the coronavirus crisis.

On 30 March the SMM reported that on 28, 29 and 30 March, members of the armed formations denied attempts of the SMM to travel towards non-government-controlled areas – seven times in Donetsk region, and three times in Luhansk region, along official crossing routes, at times citing COVID-19.