Students of UzhNU were told about the work of OSCE observers
On Friday, November 24th 2017, a team of observers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe paid a visit to Uzhhorod National University to tell students about the challenges an difficulties they face while working at the scene of military operations, and the peculiarities of the OSCE representation in Transcarpathia. The meeting with the OSCE observers was attended by students and teachers of the Faculty of History and International Relations, the Faculty of Law and the Department of Military Training, who had the opportunity to listen to the coordinator of the team of observers, watch the presentation about the work of the organization and put questions to the OSCE representatives.
David Piguet, the coordinator of the team of OSCE observers, was the first to speak. He noted that the special monitoring mission did not conduct investigations, it only reported on the observed facts and monitored all the events related to the issues of state security. "We foster cease-fire, but we don’t have the power and authority to stop the fighting. This has to be done by the parties to the military conflict. Are we effective? Sometimes we hear negative comments about us and questions like: "What are you doing here?". We are observers, but we help to stop shelling and human rights violations. The evidence of our efficiency is that we are not liked by both parties to the conflict "
The representatives of the OSCE special monitoring mission say that it is composed of over a thousand staff members, including more than 600 international observers who are supported in their work by local staff from Ukraine. All of them are unarmed civilian monitors and do not provide humanitarian aid, but help to deliver it, foster dialogue and ceasefire on the ground. Representatives of the mission say that the work of the OSCE does not stop in the cities where there are no military actions. They monitor trafficking in human beings, issues related to combatants and protection of their rights, etc.
