Central Europe

Vienna, 15 November – The development of women’s entrepreneurial skills and equal opportunity for participation in the labour market, the effective participation of women in decision-making processes in the economic and environmental spheres, and enhancing women’s leadership role in the OSCE region were among the themes discussed yesterday at the OSCE’s Economic and Environmental Dimension Implementation Meeting (EEDIM).

“Considering the current challenges for the security and stability of the OSCE region, caused by Russia’s devastating war of aggression against Ukraine and its people, discussions on past achievements and possible future OSCE engagement in the economic and environmental sphere seem more important than ever” said Ambassador Adam Halachinski, Chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council. “Today’s discussion is particularly relevant for women who are disproportionately affected by economic crisis and turmoil”.

“We are living very challenging times. With a war on the European continent and the aftermath of a deadly pandemic, women face not only security and health concerns, but unique economic and social challenges. In this context, the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality should be one of the priority areas of activity for all national governments and international organizations and institutions,” Liliana Palihovici, OSCE Chairman in Office Special Representative on Gender said.

“The pandemic and raising inflation rates have exacerbated existing fragilities, affecting those already suffering from long-standing economic marginalization,” Ambassador Igli Hasani, Coordinator of the Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities said. “Women represent the majority of the citizenry. Therefore, OCEEA is working toward women’s economic empowerment and engaging policymakers who must take proactive measures to prevent marginalization and increase the participation of women in the economic sphere.”

The EEDIM convenes once a year to review the implementation of Ministerial Council decisions, to assess the implementation of economic and environmental commitments and to gather ideas for future OSCE activities. It brings together governmental officials, civil society representatives, academia and the business community.

531134 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

On 15 November 2022, the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department held a workshop in Sarajevo dedicated to updating the curriculum for law enforcement on gender-based violence (GBV).

Workshop participants analysed and proposed improvements to the training curriculum on GBV for law enforcement, including further alignment with the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, building on a regional pilot state-of-the-art curriculum, and the main findings from the mapping of police and judicial training curricula on GBV conducted in 2021 as part of the OSCE WIN project.

Maida Ćehajić-Čampara, OSCE consultant, emphasized that all forms of GBV, as per the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, need to be reflected in the basic, specialized and continuous education for police officers. In addition, all police officers need to be trained on gender equality, to be able to understand what a survivor of GBV is experiencing and thus to be able to provide an appropriate response, while holding perpetrators accountable.

The workshop gathered 18 participants (eight women and ten men) from the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Police Academy of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, Basic Court Bijeljina, Federal Police, Federal Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training, Agency for Gender Equality, Brčko District Police, Agency for Education and Professional Training, Federal Gender Centre and NGO Vive Žene.

During the workshop, participants discussed the set of recommendations proposed by the OSCE to improve the curriculum on GBV and elaborated on the best way to institutionalize these changes. Participants also stressed the project's relevance and continued interest in its activities.

This is the fourth workshop on training curriculum organized within the project “Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe”, supported by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This workshop will be followed by a specialized training course for police officers, taking place in 2023, organized in co-operation with the Police Academy of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs. The training will ensure local ownership and a full customization to the national context.

WARSAW, 16 November 2022 – As it launches its hate crime dataset on today’s International Day for Tolerance, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) called on states to deepen their cooperation with civil society organizations working to counter hate and make a greater effort to support victims.

“Hate crimes are devastating for the communities they affect, but they can also destabilise entire societies,” said ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci. “Civil society plays a vital role in addressing hate and intolerance across the OSCE region. Civil society organizations therefore remain an invaluable partner for states in responding to all forms of hatred, and they need to be integrated into every hate crime response from the outset.”

Victims of hate often turn to civil society organizations to report a crime, seek support, and access vital services. Through cooperation with state authorities, civil society can provide specialist support for hate crime victims, feed into national policy to combat intolerance and hate, and help boost reporting among targeted communities. By entering into genuine collaboration with civil society, states can develop efficient and targeted activities to tackle hate crime and meet the differing needs of individual victims.

ODIHR’s hate crime database is the largest of its kind worldwide. It is updated each year with information from official, civil society and other sources, and includes data on hate crime legislation, recording, prosecution and sentencing, as well as best practices.

Many states would benefit from strengthening their cooperation with civil society organizations working to address hate crime. Civil society groups continue to report thousands of hate crimes to ODIHR each year, despite increasingly limited resources and other challenges. Sadly, and as an acute reminder of the difficulties they face, civil society reported a number of hate incidents specifically targeting civil society activists and other human rights defenders in 2021.

States and civil society should increase their efforts and work together towards a time in which the definition of tolerance goes beyond acceptance to mean true respect and appreciation for pluralism and diversity in our societies, as the Personal Representatives of the OSCE Chair-in-Office on addressing tolerance issues said in their statement today.

ODIHR offers countries across the OSCE region a range of resources and tools to help them support hate crime victims, improve hate crime monitoring and recording practices, and strengthen co-operation with civil society. The full range of ODIHR resources on countering hate crime is available here.

WARSAW/VIENNA, 16 November 2022 - As the Personal Representatives of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office tasked with addressing tolerance issues, we are cognizant of the enormous challenges that we face on this International Day of Tolerance.

Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is still being waged, bringing death and destruction, and forcing millions to flee their homes in its wake. Extremist voices across the OSCE region foment hate-motivated attacks on vulnerable ethnic and religious groups and minorities, including anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes against Muslims, Christians and members of other religions, Roma and Sinti, migrants, and refugees, and people of African and Asian descent. Difficult economic conditions and looming fuel shortages will bring additional stress to the social cohesion of our society and threaten to undermine our abiding belief in democracy and human rights.

In the face of these challenges, we call on all OSCE participating States to take note of their obligation to protect and respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals and take all necessary steps to safeguard them. These include commitments to enact and strengthen legislation to combat anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia; to establish national bodies to promote tolerance and non-discrimination; to develop educational programs, and; to share best practice models.

The hate crime dataset from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) provides official data as well as information from civil society on hate crimes committed across the OSCE region. Governments can learn from each other to use all the tools at their disposal to prevent and counter hate crimes. They should also work cooperatively with civil society, especially with religious and belief leaders and communities, young persons, and women. We all have a role to play.

We look forward to the day when tolerance will come to mean not only acceptance, but true respect and appreciation for pluralism and diversity in our societies.

Rabbi Andrew Baker
Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism

Associate Professor Dr. Regina Polak
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other Religions

Ambassador Dr. Ismail Hakki Musa
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims

VIENNA, 14 November 2022 - OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro visited Malta from 9 to 11 November 2022 to discuss a broad array of media freedom issues with government authorities and civil society.

Ribeiro met with Prime Minister Robert Abela, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg, Minister for Justice Jonathan Attard, Chairman of the Committee of Experts on Media Judge Emeritus Michael Mallia and other members of the Committee of experts. Ribeiro also met with Head of Media Relations of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation Corinne Vella, with President of the Institute of Maltese Journalists Matthew Xuereb, and with other civil society members and journalists.   

In her meetings, Ribeiro discussed the status of implementing the recommendations of the Board of Public Inquiry into the circumstances of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination in 2017, including legislative measures for the protection of the media and journalists, and the work of the Committee of Experts on the Media that was established by the Maltese government.

“It is of the utmost importance to take a holistic and inclusive approach to create and strengthen mechanisms conducive to the legal and physical safety of media professionals. This includes the development of clear protocols in the area of safety of journalists with a three-pronged approach: to prevent, protect and prosecute,” Ribeiro said, reiterating the need to hold broad consultations with civil society and media to align the legislative amendments with international media freedom standards and best practices. The Maltese government agreed that resources would be made available for the organization of such a public consultation.

In discussing recent numerous appeals lodged by governmental agencies against a decision of the Maltese Information Commissioner who ruled in favour of requests by media, it was also agreed that a change within the administrative bureaucracy is needed regarding access to information. The culture should be changed to a prevailing orientation in which the disclosure of government information is the rule, Ribeiro and her interlocutors agreed.

When discussing the Maltese public broadcaster, the need to make it truly autonomous and independent from political interference was also recognized, including by establishing a transparent and competitive selection process of its governance board. A public broadcaster should offer space for open, democratic and pluralistic debate, taking in all voices of society, Ribeiro noted.

“I take positive note of the willingness expressed by Maltese authorities in providing unimpeded access to government-held information, promoting media pluralism, journalists’ safety and offering comprehensive legal tools countering amongst others the issue of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). A transparent roadmap with clearly defined timeframes for public consultations on a wide range of legislative issues will be an important enabler for Malta to adopt ambitious media reforms through an open and participatory process,” Ribeiro said.

Finally, on 11 November, Ribeiro participated in a panel discussion with youth from the Mediterranean region during the international conference “Young People and Information: It’s Complicated” organised by the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade together with 3CL Foundation.

“Promoting a free and independent media environment, including media diversity, is a principal standard of addressing disinformation,” the Representative said. She also highlighted the importance of continuing international dialogue on the issues of technology and media freedom based on a human rights and a multi-sectoral approach with the active involvement of youth.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.

531104

On November 10 and 11, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducted a two-day workshop for representatives of relevant Ukrainian agencies to share best practices in implementation of international standards in regulating the virtual assets market.

The experts also discussed existing challenges of virtual assets (virtual currencies such as cryptocurrencies, gaming tokens, non-fungible tokens and governance tokens) management in law enforcement and judicial activities, and familiarised themselves with the overview of international legal framework and national legislation on cryptocurrencies and virtual assets.

The workshop provided participants with practical knowledge on cryptocurrencies, investigation of crypto-related crimes, as well as exploring the main tools and showing real-world examples of money laundering with virtual assets.

Recent developments in the area of virtual assets prove the relevance of the project and its activities, especially for the national authorities, lawmakers and other relevant agencies, particularly in Ukraine.

“The ability of national authorities to counter vulnerabilities of virtual assets present for money laundering is crucial, especially in these turbulent times. The OSCE, in partnership with UNODC will provide beneficiaries of the project with practical training on money laundering and terrorism financing risks of cryptocurrencies, investigation, seizure and confiscation, regulation, and customer due diligence. We will also be assisting Ukrainian law enforcement agencies in organizing awareness-raising activities and facilitating interagency and international co-operation in investigation of crimes conducted with the use of cryptocurrencies,” said Lorenzo Rilasciati, Senior Economic Officer of OCEEA.

The event is part of the extra-budgetary project on innovative policy solutions to mitigate money laundering through virtual assets, funded by the United States and Germany.

531086 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

The OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department held a workshop dedicated to updating the curriculum on gender-based violence for law enforcement in Banja Luka on 14 November, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska.

The workshop gathered 16 participants (ten women and six men) from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska, the Police Training Centre and the Working Group for the Drafting of the Law on the Protection from Domestic Violence, as well as from the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the workshop, participants discussed the set of recommendations proposed by the OSCE to improve the curriculum on gender-based violence and elaborated on the best way to institutionalize these changes. They also stressed the relevance of the project and their continued interest in its activities.  

"All police officers should be able to respond to and investigate the cases of gender-based violence in a gender-sensitive manner," said prof. dr Mile Šikman, head of the Directorate for Police Training. "We have done a lot to improve our training materials for police officers on the matter, but even more needs to be done, and we welcome the support of the OSCE, it is very valuable for us."

Participants analysed and proposed improvements to the training curriculum to align the current training materials with a state-of-the-art curriculum piloted at the regional level, with the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention and with the main findings from the mapping of police and judicial training curricula on gender-based violence conducted in 2021 as part of the OSCE WIN project.

This was the third workshop on training curriculum organized within the project “Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based violence in South Eastern Europe”. It will be followed by a specialized training course for police officers, planned to take place in early 2023. This training will be organized together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska, and will include local ownership and be fully adapted to the national context.

Marina Živaljević

New skills acquired in translating project ideas into proposals to respond to Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO) open call for proposals was the outcome of a three-day training course on project writing, organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the RYCO local branch office in Budva from 8 to 11 November.

This training course gathered 22 NGOs whose representatives developed project writing and management skills to transform ideas into concrete projects to promote regional exchange and reconciliation amongst youth.   

Closing the training course, Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Deputy Head of Mission, noted that civil society activists know the importance of young people engaging with one another in the region, to develop ideas and approaches to connect young people in schools and municipalities across Montenegro and further afield in the Western Balkans. “Through this training workshop, I am confident that it also afforded you time to make new friends and find like-minded people. Hopefully with the people you met this week may lead to other opportunities for co-operation and joint future projects,” said Leirtroe.

Edin Koljenović, Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in Montenegro, said that over 100 NGO representatives from Montenegro participated in this kind of training course. “The best indicator of the success is that, trained participants’ projects were positively evaluated and funded through the RYCO calls,” said Koljenović.

RYCO is an independent institutional mechanism established by the six contracting parties of the Western Balkans to promote the spirit of reconciliation and co-operation among young people, through youth exchange programmes.

The Mission will continue to support young people to take on a leadership roles, be agents of change and contribute to their communities, playing a crucial part in regional youth reconciliation.

530830 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

From 8 to 11 November, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department organized a course on requesting electronic evidence across borders in Kosshy, in close co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, the UNODC and the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“As a criminal justice practitioner for more than 20 years, I have witnessed the growing importance of electronic evidence in all types of criminal investigations. Yet requesting such evidence from private service providers, in particular those based in foreign jurisdictions, is still a fast-evolving field and there are no unified internationally-binding norms or rules. Sharing experiences, good practices and lessons learned on how to obtain electronic evidence from abroad is therefore essential,” said Rainer Franosch, Deputy Director-General for Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure at the Ministry of Justice of the German Federal State of Hesse and one of the international experts delivering the training.

The three-day training was followed by a one-day roundtable in which participants and experts discussed possible changes to the operational procedures of Kazakhstan’s criminal justice institutions to improve their capacities in obtaining electronic evidence from abroad.

“Kazakhstan has limited experience with making direct requests to foreign service providers for electronic evidence. This event has provided us with knowledge and concrete tools that will help our law enforcement to use this avenue of obtaining evidence more frequently in the future,” said Almaz Amankulov, one of the training participants and lecturer at the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This was the third delivery of the course in Central Asia, following events held in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan earlier this year. Participants represented Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, including its Academies in Almaty and Karaganda, the National Security Committee, the Main Directorate of the Military Police of the Ministry of Defense, the Academy of Justice under the Supreme Court, Financial Monitoring Agency, and the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Developed jointly by the UNODC, Interpol, and the OSCE, with the financial support from the European Union, the course is based on the United Nations Practical Guide on Requesting Electronic Evidence across Borders. The modules of the course covered available instruments for requesting electronic evidence from service providers based in foreign jurisdictions, including requests for preservation, voluntary disclosure, emergency disclosure, and mutual legal assistance, as well as channels for police-to-police co-operation. The course also discussed the importance of respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms in all these procedures.

This training was delivered within the extra-budgetary project “Capacity Building on Combating Cybercrime in Central Asia”, which is funded by the United States of America, Germany, and the Republic of Korea.

LONDON/EDINBURGH, 11 November 2022 – Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, concluded his five-day visit to the United Kingdom today. While highlighting the UK’s rich history at the vanguard of global anti-trafficking effort, including its pioneering Modern Slavery Act, he expressed concern that a stalled anti-slavery agenda risked undermining past achievements.

Richey positively noted the UK’s expansive system of “first responders” that has led to a steep increase in number of victim referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). He also welcomed the innovative efforts to identify victims and raise awareness at borders, a promising victim assistance pilot program for children, and measures to tackle labour exploitation in supply chains and public procurement. Richey also commended Scotland’s regularly updated strategy, multi-agency coordination, and victim navigator program.

However, he stressed that a growing number of UK flagship initiatives and commitments – such as an updated strategy, important amendments to the Modern Slavery Act, appointment of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner, establishment of a single enforcement body, and adoption of the proposed Online Safety Bill – have stalled or gone unfulfilled. A burgeoning backlog of NRM cases that await a decision is also an area of acute concern, leaving thousands of victims in limbo and at greater risk of re-victimization.

“The failure to advance these critical measures threatens to undermine the UK’s position as a global anti-trafficking leader,” the Special Representative stressed. “The proposals and commitments are sound, but the critical missing ingredient is a lack of champions in government to move the agenda forward.”

The Special Representative also noted with concern that heavy emphasis on illegal immigration and potential abuse of the NRM system – as exemplified by the Nationality and Borders Bill - threatens to overshadow critical efforts to identify victims within migration flows and overlooks the high percentage of domestic victims of trafficking. “Efforts to address human trafficking should have a strong and unconditional safeguarding focus independent of the immigration system,” Richey stated.

During the visit, Richey met with parliamentarians, including from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation, and Lady Theresa May. He also met with the Home Office Anti-Slavery Unit; UK Migration and Modern Slavery Envoy Anti-Slavery Special Envoy Andrew Patrick; Crown Prosecution Service; National Crime Agency, and other key anti-trafficking stakeholders, including numerous civil society charities.

In Scotland, interlocutors included the Scottish Government, the Police Service, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Scottish Guardianship Service, and Scottish Refugee Council, and Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance.

The Special Representative conducts multiple country visits each year to help keep human trafficking high on the political agenda of OSCE participating States as well as to enhance capacities, share recommendations for further action, and collect best practices for fighting this heinous crime.

530803 OSCE Centre in Ashgabat

The benefits and challenges of the functioning of free economic zones (FEZ) were addressed at an OSCE-organized seminar that took place on 10 and 11 November 2022 in Ashgabat.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the two-day event to support the host country’s efforts aimed at enhancing an investment-friendly environment and foreign economic activity and implementing relevant international commitments.

A national expert presented the concept, principles and classification of free economic zones and highlighted preconditions for FEZ development in Turkmenistan. An international expert from the United Kingdom shared the best practices of the OSCE participating States in the development of the national concept of free economic zones and elaborated on customs controls in FEZ and the evaluation of FEZ effectiveness.

“The  free economic zones represents an efficient model of administrative and economic management aimed at fostering jobs creation, generating exports, and attracting foreign investment, said Ivana Markovic-Boskovic, Economic and Environmental Officer of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

“Today`s seminar is a part of the Centre`s continued and long-term support to Turkmenistan in promoting regional economic connectivity and strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks conducive to a positive investment climate and business development,” added Markovic Boskovic.

The seminar brought together representatives of Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Central Bank, as well as the State Customs Service, Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and other relevant institutions.

530794 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

From 7 to 10 November, 21 criminal justice practitioners from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine gathered in Dubrovnik for a training course on mutual legal assistance and international co-operation in asset recovery.

The training, delivered through both theoretical and practical sessions, strengthened the practitioners’ capacities in addressing cross-border organized crime and corruption. The course also covered challenges criminal justice actors face in tracing, seizing, confiscating and repatriating criminal assets that are located outside their jurisdictions.

“The training was very useful for improving our understanding of international co-operation in relation to criminal asset investigation, seizure, and confiscation. The case study at the center of the training was exemplary and gave the opportunity to reflect on various aspects of asset recovery. From the technical aspect, the training platform used has made the training more efficient,” said Miljko Radisavljevic, Deputy Prosecutor of the Public Republic Prosecutor’s Office in Serbia.

Prosecutor Darko Jakimovski, from the Skopje Prosecutor’s Office, stated that “the training offered a very good mapping of legal channels that we can use in our daily work for getting first information and documents related to investigations of cross-border crime. It also offered a great opportunity to learn about the entire global international infrastructure and provided clarity on how and when existing channels shall be used to obtain specific data and evidence. Moreover, through this training we have understood that the existing co-operation platforms and mechanisms - such as Asset Recovery Offices, the different Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Networks, EUROPOL - are not overlapping, but complimentary instead.”

“The OSCE will continue providing support in enhancing capacities of judges, prosecutors, and criminal justice practitioners, at the regional and national level. These exercises are important not only in building skills necessary to address complex cases and investigations but also connecting practitioners in the region, which will also help in the future in sharing of operational information,” said Iris Pilika, project lead with the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA).

The workshop was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the ability of participating States to trace, seize, and confiscate criminal assets by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and OCEEA and implemented in the framework of the extra-budgetary project “Strengthening the fight against transnational organized crime in South-Eastern Europe through improved regional co-operation in asset seizure, confiscation, management and re-use”, which is funded by the United States, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom.

Head of OSCE Mission to BiH Aggeler visits Mostar Željka Šulc

MOSTAR, 10 November 2022 - Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, visited Mostar today where he met with the Mission’s counterparts in the city administration, Mayor Mario Kordić and Mostar City Council Speaker Salem Marić. Together they discussed the latest political developments and ongoing initiatives in the city. Ambassador Aggeler commended Mostar’s successful reconciliation efforts contributing to the stability and prosperity of local communities, including the adoption of a joint Day of commemoration for all civilian victims of war and the removal of controversial street names in Mostar.

The visit focused on the unification of the Mostar Music schools.

“The Mission continues to advocate for the unification of the two Mostar music schools, with an aim to provide quality education to all children, without discrimination and segregation. This implies a single, unified school with a joint curriculum,” said Ambassador Aggeler.

Ambassador Aggeler also met with representatives of civil society organizations from Mostar and discussed peace-building initiatives, reconciliation and memorialisation issues, as well as issues of gender-based violence, trafficking and corruption. The Ambassador thanked the activists for their dedicated engagement and all they do for a peaceful and inclusive future for Mostar citizens.

During his visit, Ambassador Aggeler met with HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović as well as with the President of the Croat Republican Party Slaven Raguž to discuss the challenges of the post-election period and the prospects of swift government formation.

ERGNETI, 10 November 2022 - The 109th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Ergneti today, under the co-facilitation of Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and Ambassador Viorel Moşanu, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus.

The EUMM and OSCE representatives commended the commitment of the participants to the IPRM. The co-facilitators noted the continued benefits of the temporary openings of the Odzisi and Karzmani crossing points along the South Ossetian administrative boundary line (ABL) between the 20th and 30th day of each month since August 2022. Relatedly, they advocated for the lifting of freedom of movement restrictions during the upcoming holiday season, while reiterating their calls for the full re-opening of crossing points for regular cross-ABL traffic. Furthermore, the issue of expiration of crossing documents – so-called propusks – was discussed, with the co-facilitators calling on the participants to apply leniency in this matter.

Ambassadors Szczygieł and Moşanu urged for a humanitarian approach towards resolution of pending detention cases in view of the upcoming holidays. The co-facilitators insisted on the necessity of their good treatment in the meantime, in particular in terms of healthcare.

IPRM participants discussed issues that negatively impact the lives and livelihoods of the conflict-affected population, including continued ‘borderisation’ activities. They preliminarily agreed to hold a technical meeting on the topic of the ABL-adjacent population’s access to irrigation and drinking water by mid-March 2023.

The co-facilitators encouraged all participants to commit to a collaborative behaviour with regard to any security developments along the ABL. They highlighted the need for the effective use of the EUMM-managed Hotline as an indispensable instrument for defusing tensions and building confidence among the IPRM participants.

The participants agreed to convene the next IPRM on 17 January 2023 with a possibility to hold a meeting earlier, if participants found it necessary.

530728 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

On 10 November 2022, the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department held a national workshop dedicated to updating the national curriculum for law enforcement on gender-based violence (GBV) in Belgrade. This is the second workshop organized at the national level within the project “Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe”, and it was accomplished with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Serbian Ministry of Interior.

Workshop participants analysed and proposed improvements to the Serbian national training curriculum on how to prevent and fight GBV, notably to align the current national training materials with the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, with a state-of-the-art curriculum piloted at the regional level, and with the main findings from the mapping of police and judicial training curricula on GBV conducted in 2021 as part of the OSCE WIN project.

Professor Stojanka Mircheva, OSCE consultant, emphasized that the police officers need to understand what a survivor of gender-based violence is experiencing, in order to be able to provide an appropriate response. In addition to the application of the law, the police officers must have the appropriate skills and attitudes towards the survivors and their needs, therefore fully implementing the victim-centred approach, while holding perpetrators accountable. This has to be reflected in the basic, specialized and continuous education for all police officers, with a focus on all forms of gender-based violence and gender equality.

The workshop gathered 17 participants (nine women and eight men) from the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ministry of Interior, the Police Training Center, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor’s Office of the city of Novi Sad and of the city of Ruma, the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies, the Judicial Academy, the Republic Institute for Social Protection and the Autonomous Women’s Centre.

During the workshop, participants discussed the set of recommendations proposed by the OSCE to improve the national curriculum and elaborated on the best way to institutionalize these changes. Participants also stressed the relevance of the project and their continued interest in its activities.  

This workshop will be followed by a specialized training course for police officers, which is planned to take place in early 2023. The training will be organized with the Serbian Ministry of Interior, and will include local ownership and a full customization to the national legislation and national needs.

Public Affairs Unit, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Katya Andrusz

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report of ODIHR’s Election Observation Mission to the November 2021 parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan on 28 October 2022.

The experts discussed the report’s findings and recommendations with the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda, representatives of state institutions, parliamentary political parties, civil society and the international community. Discussions focused on inclusive and timely lawmaking process and electoral reform, effective measures against vote-buying, involvement of law enforcement bodies in the electoral campaign, guaranteeing the right to a free and secret ballot, ensuring greater transparency of campaign finance, and increased participation of women. 

“We are pleased to see that ODIHR recommendations were discussed in an inclusive format, engaging stakeholders from state institutions, parliament, civil society and the international community, to improve electoral legislation and practice,” said Audrey Glover, Head of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the November 2021 elections. “ODIHR stands ready to continue its support to implement the recommendations, including through a review of amendments to electoral legislation.”

The ODIHR team emphasized the importance of addressing recommendations made in its reports well ahead of the next elections. All OSCE participating States have committed themselves to promptly follow up on ODIHR election assessments and recommendations.

As part of the ODIHR experts’ visit to the country, a roundtable on good practices for follow-up to electoral recommendations took place on 27 October, involving  representatives from electoral management bodies of Albania, Armenia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as the Ministry of Digital Development of Kyrgyzstan and civil society groups. The discussion focused on introducing electronic voter registration, related election technologies and inclusive participation in elections.

WASHINGTON DC, 9 November 2022 – The 8 November mid-term congressional elections were competitive and professionally managed, with active voter participation, but also with threats against election workers and efforts to undermine voters’ trust in the electoral process by baselessly questioning its integrity, international observers said in a statement released today. Candidates could campaign freely, but many contests were highly polarized and marred by harsh rhetoric, and partisan redistricting resulted in many instances of uncompetitive constituencies, the statement says.

The economy, inflation and abortion rights were prominent issues across the country. Political campaigns by both major parties were intensely divisive, and the inflammatory rhetoric was accompanied by racist and transphobic tropes invoked by some candidates and prominent commentators. A number of Republican candidates in key races, including those who, if elected as secretaries of state, will have direct responsibility for overseeing future elections in their states, challenged or refused to accept the legitimacy of the 2020 results.

“The American people once again demonstrated their commitment to democratic elections in a hard-fought campaign and professionally run process,” said Margareta Cederfelt, the OSCE Special Co-ordinator and Leader of the short-term observers. “Unfortunately, we also noted that baseless allegations of fraud continued to have a serious result, in harassment of and threats against election officials. Certain systemic challenges, such as gerrymandering, enabling politicians to choose their voters, rather than the opposite, and the outsized influence of money on campaigning, must be addressed to ensure real equality of the vote.”

Disclosure mechanisms for campaign finance are generally comprehensive, but loopholes in the regulatory framework make the impact of money in politics less transparent, the observers said.

Following the 2020 population census, the 435 seats in the House of Representatives were reapportioned among the states, and electoral districts were redrawn. Redistricting is highly political, with state legislatures responsible in 33 states, and external commissions in the remaining 11. A total of 78 legal challenges were filed against congressional district maps, often alleging partisan or racial gerrymandering, and court decisions changed district maps in 8 states. In designing the maps, competent bodies use algorithms that at times took into account politically favourable variables, including past voting results and racial demographics at the precinct level. As currently implemented, redistricting does not fully ensure competitiveness, representativeness and the fair representation of minorities.

“As a robust and well-established democracy, it is crucial that the United States continues to demonstrate its commitment to improving its electoral system by increasing the franchise, enhancing election security, and countering misinformation,” said Pere Joan Pons, Head of the Delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. “The challenges to democracy that the U.S. faces are common to many OSCE countries, and we must all work together to ensure that the citizens have trust in their democratic processes.”

While citing the concerns over harassment, threats and instances of violence, the observers noted that Congress allocated funds for election security, including to counter threats against election administrators, and a joint taskforce of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was created to gather information on threats and to address these at the federal level.

While many outlets in the diverse – but polarized – media landscape made efforts to present accurate information, widespread disinformation by others affected voters' ability to inform themselves.

“A vibrant, pluralistic media environment, like that we have observed here, is in itself, a prerequisite for competitive elections,” said Tana de Zulueta, Head of the Limited Election Observation Mission from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “But when the content and character of the coverage and commentary consists of derogatory, often offensive language towards those involved in the process – political opponents, election officials and, in some cases, voters themselves – this creates an atmosphere that, as we have observed, can lead to threats and intimidation, and even violence, while doing no service to citizens seeking objective, factual information.”

Alternative voting methods include early in-person and absentee voting, providing multiple options for voters to cast their ballots. While absentee voting does not guarantee the secrecy of the vote, the convenience of these methods was seen by the majority of those the observers spoke with as increasing participation in the electoral process, and most were confident of their integrity. Disproven claims by politicians and commentators in the media that absentee ballots and the use of ballot drop boxes resulted in fraud in the 2020 elections negatively impacted trust in the current election process.

The statement also highlights a number of other issues. Regarding campaign finance, the observers noted that, while the disclosure of incomes and expenditures by candidates, party and “independent” committees provides reasonable transparency, this is undermined by a lack of disclosure by tax-exempted organizations involved in the campaign. While noting that voter ID requirements, present in 35 states, are in line with good practice and safeguards for election integrity, the observers highlighted that IDs were not equally accessible to all eligible citizens in some states, thus infringing on the right to equal suffrage of members of some minorities and economically disadvantaged communities.

530665 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

From 8 to 10 November, 55 representatives of relevant ministries and state agencies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as well as representatives of international organizations took part in the peer-review meeting in Istanbul on the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1540) on preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and means of their delivery.

“The OSCE is proud to support this regional initiative which serves as a great platform and an excellent opportunity to review the status of national implementation of  UNSCR 1540 (2004), as well as discuss current challenges and explore areas of further co-operation and collaboration among States of the region while also potentially attracting assistance in the effective implementation of the Resolution,” shared Shawn DeCaluwe, Chief of the Forum for Security and Co-operation Support Unit, OSCE.

The peer-review meeting aims to promote the implementation of the UNSCR 1540 at national levels through the effective implementation of provisions of National Action Plans, and to strengthen legislations in export control, biological and chemical security, as well as enhance regional co-operation and response mechanisms against proliferations of WMD. In addition, the peer-review meeting provides a platform for discussion of the results achieved on the Recommendations of the Issyk-Kul Round of peer-review meeting held in 2018 in a 5+1 format: Central Asia and the Republic of Belarus.

The regional peer-review meeting is organized by the initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic and with the support of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, European Union, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek within the framework of enhancing regional efforts to prevent proliferation of WMD, and strengthening trust and peace in the region.

The regional peer-review meeting was also attended by representatives of the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, Biological Weapons Implementation Support Unit, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, the US Export Control and Related Border Security Programme, 1540 Committee's Group of Experts, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the OSCE and its field offices in Central Asia. 

530623 Communication and Media Relations Section

The parties to the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, under the chairmanship of  Serbia, held the XIII Review Conference on the Implementation of the Dayton Article IV Agreement on 8 November 2022.

The parties expressed particular satisfaction that the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control has been successfully implemented for more than a quarter of a century, in the spirit of respect, improvement of cooperation and deepening of mutual trust.

They emphasized their willingness to consider the need to modernize the Agreement and its eventual amendments.

They emphasized their gratitude to the Contact Group countries for their continuous monitoring and support for the implementation of the Agreement and underlined that their presence, as well as the support of the OSCE participating States, additionally contributed to the successful implementation of the Agreement.

They expressed their determination to continue solving issues that can contribute to the further improvement of the implementation of the Agreement, with the aim of improving cooperation and strengthening peace and stability in the region.

530617 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

On 8 November 2022, the OSCE Gender Issues Programme, in partnership with the Women Against Violence Europe network (WAVE), launched a new toolkit aimed at supporting women’s specialist services and civil society organizations involved in supporting women survivors of violence in conflict and post-conflict settings.

To mark the launch over 50 participants representing civil society activists, representatives of governments, and international organizations from the South Caucasus, South Eastern and Eastern Europe gathered at the conference in Tbilisi.

OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Lara Scarpitta, reiterated OSCE’s commitment to support the work of women’s civil society organizations by building capacities to address gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings. “Civil society, particularly women’s organizations that work with local communities, is at the forefront of the response to gender-based violence. With this toolkit, we aim to provide a practical tool for enhancing the work with women’s specialist services and civil society organizations in conflict and post-conflict settings.”

Stephanie Futter-Orel, WAVE Executive Manager stressed the importance of women’s specialist services as pillars of peace in times of crisis and beyond: “We are living in times of very complex political, social, economic and environmental challenges and many of these affect women disproportionately, in particular the global rise of violence against women and girls.’’

Women’s specialist services, such as the WAVE members, are essential in times of peace and crisis to tackle violence against women and girls effectively, as they provide holistic, victim-centred and trauma-informed support to women experiencing violence. Given their decades-long expertise, these services can make a unique contribution in tackling the complex difficulties women are facing today.

The toolkit was developed with the support of the OSCE’s multi-year WIN Project, which aims to build capacity and increase the participation of women in conflict prevention, mediation, and other processes relevant to comprehensive security.