On 14 April 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the extension of the posting of Jeļena Suvorova, a civilian expert, to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM).
On 24 March 2020, the Cabinet had already extended the posting of another four civilian experts – Vladimirs Bobrovskis, Reinis Janevics, Sandis Kalējs and Didzis Nīmants – on this OSCE mission. The time of service for Didzis Nīmants has been extended till this 3 June, for Vladimirs Bobrovskis – till 28 October, for Jeļena Suvorova – till 30 November, and for Reinis Janevics – till 9 December. The posting of Sandis Kalējs has been extended till 14 January 2021. Seven Latvian civilian experts are currently serving on this mission.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine was deployed on 21 March 2014 to monitor the implementation of the Minsk agreements and to promote peace and security in the conflict zone. Latvian civilian experts have been participating in the mission since its beginning. In view of the international role of the mission, it is important to ensure its work also during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Candidates for OSCE missions are selected by the organisation’s Secretariat in Vienna.
Background information
There are 24 civilian experts from Latvia currently serving on international missions. Nine of them are taking part in the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine, eight – at the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, and seven – at the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
To ensure the functioning of international missions during the COVID-19 pandemic, civilian experts are performing their duties at the office, in the field and remotely via telework arrangements.