The International Institute for Peace (IIP) kindly invites you to a public talk with Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan.
Coping with reality on the ground in Ukraine: Talk with OSCE Chief Monitor Amb. Ertuğrul Apakan
Date: Monday, 14 October 2019
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: International Institute for Peace (IIP); Möllwaldplatz 5/2,
1040 Wien
Registration: registration@iip.at
https://www.iipvienna.com/registration
Welcome: Hannes Swoboda, president of the IIP and former MEP
Speaker: Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, former Chief Monitor
of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine
Moderator: Angela Kane, Vice-President of the IIP
Content:
The conflict in eastern Ukraine started more than five years ago and has claimed over 13,000 lives since then. While ceasefire along the contact line that divides the non-government controlled areas in the East from the rest of Ukraine was agreed upon as early as in 2015, its violations have nevertheless occurred frequently until today and civilian casualties are still reported on a bi-weekly basis. Some areas along the contact line remain heavily mined. The humanitarian situation in the region remains dare, people lack access to basic services and essential infrastructure which becomes especially critical in winter. About one million Ukrainians living in the non-government controlled area cross the unsafe contact line every month to collect their pensions and visit family and friends living on the other side. While significant improvement of living conditions in the Donbass still lies in a distant future, speaking nothing of a complete resolution of the conflict, a number of positive developments have occurred over the summer. Thus, disengagement of troops happened at one of the major crossing points between the two sides Stanytsia Luhanska, allowing for further measures to be taken to demine the area and repair the infrastructure.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine deployed in the country shortly after the conflict erupted has been tasked with monitoring of the security and humanitarian situation across Ukraine, but primarily along the contact line in the East. Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan was the head of the OSCE SMM to Ukraine from its very inception in 2014 up until June 2019. In his talk at the IIP, he will share insights and experiences he gained while serving as the Chief Monitor in Ukraine, covering day-to-day aspects of work of the monitors and more broadly the dynamics of the conflict. He will also discuss the Minsk process and the work of the Trilateral Contact Group that were established to seek a resolution of the conflict on the political level.
The Discussion will be held in English.
The IIP invites to snacks and drinks after the event!
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