OSCE

531677 Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

On 16 November, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) conducted an awareness-raising event on the benefits of the Intelligence-led Policing (ILP) model at national and regional levels for senior managers (one woman, 14 men) of Georgian law enforcement authorities. This event was organized in close co-operation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

The event covered an introduction of the general principles and concepts of ILP delivered by an international expert, followed by a practical example of the implementation and impact of ILP approaches in Serbia, presented by a Serbian practitioner and ILP expert. The event concluded with a presentation of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs on the current ILP-related developments in the country.

“The OSCE’s efforts in promoting intelligence-led policing have resulted in numerous activities organized jointly with participating States and partners over the last five years. The event in Georgia has once again shown not only the high level of interest in this policing approach but also the effective co-operation between the OSCE and participating States at the Ministerial and the law enforcement levels. We look forward to continuing to offer support to Georgia in the implementation of ILP with practical and hands-on activities,” says Sascha Strupp, Senior Programme and Analysis Officer and ILP Project Manager with the OSCE/TNTD.

The OSCE has been supporting the implementation of the ILP model in participating States in South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia. ILP remains the most widely recognized approach to policing that combines analysis, foresight, prioritization and planning in order to deliver a proactive and effective decision-making framework for policing. The OSCE has been actively promoting ILP through various activities since 2017.

This event is part of an ongoing effort to support Georgia in rolling out ILP across the country and follows up an in-depth needs assessment conducted jointly by the OSCE and Georgian authorities. The session was delivered as part of the extra-budgetary project “Building intelligence-led policing capacities on regional and national levels in the OSCE area”, funded by Germany.

Željka Šulc

Together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Transnational Threats Department's Border Security and Management Unit (TNTD/BSMU) organized a two-day regional training on gender mainstreaming in border and law enforcement agencies that concluded today in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The interactive training was delivered to 31 representatives from border and law enforcement agencies (17 men, 14 women) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. They were trained on integrating a gender perspective into their daily work, with a view to increasing the efficiency of border and law enforcement agencies. With the support of an international expert, participants engaged in exercises and joint analysis on Women, Peace and Security, the nexus between gendered biases and stereotypes, and identification of cross-border crime. 

Together with experts from UNODC, the participants also discussed possible ways of preventing and combatting sexual harassment at the workplace, and were equipped with tools and knowledge to recognize and seek redress against such behaviors, in order to ensure a harmonious working environment.

“Over the past years, UNODC has played an increasingly active role in promoting gender mainstreaming and women’s role in such agencies which are important and major counterparts for the Organization”, said Anne Linn Jensen, Programme Officer of the Container Control Programme, UNODC, opening the event. 

The OSCE’s Border Security and Management Unit recalled the importance of men as partners in work on achieving gender equality. Participants then identified ways in which men can be engaged in overcoming gender-related challenges in border agencies.

In order to shed light on the purpose of the event, Inesa Nicolaescu, Associate Border Security Officer, OSCE Border Security and Management Unit noted the following:

“Gender equality and gender-sensitive border management will not only benefit women crossing borders, but also men and children, Thus, it is our common task, both of men and women to achieve gender equality, which will ultimately lead to stability and inclusive security for all of us, ”

This sentiment was matched during the event by Sanja Fitzgerald, National Programme Officer with the Security Co-operation Department of the OSCE Mission to BiH. She highlighted in her address that “Gender mainstreaming is a way to improve effectiveness of operations without necessarily needing to hire new people or obtain new equipment. This is of particular importance for BiH, where border police continues to be understaffed.”

This regional training is part of broader OSCE efforts in implementing its Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality as well as of UNODC’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 16.

531461 OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities The Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies 10th Anniversary Conference: The Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies

Promoting policies to facilitate the integration of diverse societies and the inclusion of all social groups is one of the most effective ways to prevent conflicts, said OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov in his keynote address to the conference “'Together or Apart: Searching for the Middle Ground” on 10 November 2022 in Tallinn. 

The High Commissioner highlighted Estonia’s longstanding experience in integration policies, which has evolved in parallel with the work of his institution. As the office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities prepares to mark 30 years since it started its work in 2023, the OSCE region is experiencing dramatic challenges. Abdrakhmanov pointed out that this makes such moments of joint reflection all the more important. He stressed that inclusive, balanced policies in various policy areas can help participating States avoid the risk of national minority issues being instrumentalized. The Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies provide a practical blueprint on how to achieve that.

While in Estonia, the High Commissioner met with key representatives of Estonia’s authorities, including Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, Education Minister Tõnis Lukas and Culture Minister Piret Hartman. He shared with them his observations from his visit to the city of Narva and the wider Ida-Viru region earlier in the week, where he met local authorities and minority representatives, and students and education professionals at the Narva College and the State Gymnasium in Kohtla-Järve. He appreciated the opportunity to discuss issues related to education, use of language, participation and citizenship, among other topics. He also acknowledged the impact of the war in Ukraine on Estonia, and the need to address related integration questions. “I commend the efforts made by the State to come close to the community in Narva at this crucial time, and I recommend such dialogue to continue in a sustained manner,” said Abdrakhmanov.

Reflecting on prospective changes to the education system, the High Commissioner praised the authorities for their plans for increased investment in promoting the State language. He encouraged opportunities for minorities to continue learning and practicing their mother tongues, as well as gradual, inclusive and incentive-based implementation modalities.

531455 OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov underlined his continued good co-operation with the Lithuanian authorities during his visit to the country on 7 and 8 November 2022.

He met with Education, Science and Sports Minister Jurgita Šiugždinienė, Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mantas Adomėnas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, Director of the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Vida Montvydaitė, and representatives of national minority communities.

Abdrakhmanov said he supported the authorities’ efforts to promote diversity in Lithuania’s society and to ensure equal opportunities for everyone, irrespective of their origin. He said that mature democratic processes and institutions, as well as rule of law, are key safeguards for these processes.

He mentioned that consultative mechanisms and open dialogue between national minority communities and the authorities have led to important legislative changes, such as the law on the spelling of non-Lithuanian names and toponyms. He encouraged the authorities to maintain channels of communication with national minorities on all matters of relevance to them.

The High Commissioner also noted that innovative participatory policymaking enables Lithuania to withstand current challenges, such as regional security threats and an influx of Ukrainian refugees. In particular, the High Commissioner welcomed that the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports is developing adaptive curricula and educational formats to ensure that Ukrainian refugee children and youth in Lithuania can participate in Lithuanian society while maintaining their connections to Ukrainian language, culture and education.

The High Commissioner also underscored a crucial role that the Department on National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania plays in fostering integration by facilitating dialogue and co-operation between various national minority communities in Lithuania and the authorities, donors and international organizations.

The High Commissioner also visited Pranciskaus Skorinos Gymnasium, which provides education in the Belarusian language. He appreciated that the school has developed into an inclusive space that not only helps preserve the Belarusian language but also supports multilingualism.

531371 Marina Živaljević

An opinion poll conducted in Montenegro found that 85 per cent of respondents perceive psychological violence against women and girls as being either very common or at least occurring in individual cases. A third of women respondents personally experienced at least one form of psychological violence and over 44.1 per cent of respondents believe this to be the most common form of violence in intimate (partner) and family relationships.

These are some of the key findings from a Survey on attitudes and perceptions of psychological violence against women and girls in family and intimate partner relationships presented on 16 November in Podgorica. The survey was commissioned by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro for the NGO Women’s Safe House and conducted by the DeFacto Agency from May to July on a representative sample of 1,008 citizens over the age of 18. Although this is not a traditional victimological research in terms of its scope, it provides important findings, not only about how psychological violence is perceived by Montenegrin citizens, but also about its prevalence.

“The research has revealed concerning findings. The data, cross-referenced with demographic variables, found that the probability of a woman experiencing psychological violence remains the same, regardless of her age, educational background or employment status, or whether she lives in an urban or rural area. In other words, any woman can be subjected to psychological violence,” said Olivera Komar from the DeFacto Agency.

Following the presentation, Dominique Waag, Head of the Mission stressed that psychological violence against women and girls is a social and public health problem, with serious consequences not only for the victims’ well-being, but also for their children, and more broadly for society as a whole. “Psychological violence often precedes physical. This report sheds more light on the issue and its grave consequences, and can contribute to its early identification in the society , and support reporting and processing complaints,” said Ambassador Waag.

Budislavka Saveljić, executive director of the NGO Women’s Safe House, underlined a concerning finding that as much as one-third of the surveyed citizens believe that women and girls make false claims of psychological violence just to draw attention to themselves. “What is further concerning is that almost one-fifth believe that a man has the right to tell a woman/girl to be quiet if he finds her annoying. Therefore, it is not surprising that more than half of the surveyed women and girls who experienced some form of psychological violence did not report it to anyone, and almost one-third turned only to family and friends,”’ said Saveljić.  

Building on the survey presented today, the Mission supported the Women’s Safe House’s social media campaign to be launched on 17 November, to increase public awareness on psychological violence, the daily experience of those living with it, and the tactics perpetrators use to threaten and exercise control.

In its support to human rights in Montenegro, the Mission remains committed to supporting institutions, NGOs and citizens to eliminate all forms of violence against women and ensure zero tolerance towards it.

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The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the NGO “Legal Problems Research Center”, and the Tashkent State University of Law held an international conference on 15 November in Tashkent.

The event brought together around 75 participants, including leading representatives of the Ministry of Justice and other authorities, the Tashkent State University of Law, international organizations and universities such as the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law  (UNIDROIT), the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the Roma Tre University (Italy),  and the KAZGUU University (Kazakhstan).

Participants discussed the drafting of the Private International Law Code of Uzbekistan, which was supported by the PCUz in co-operation with the Tashkent State University of Law and the Legal Problems Research Centre. The adoption of the Code will support Uzbekistan’s efforts in creating a modern, balanced and well-structured legislative instrument regulating cross-border relations, and serving to improve the investment climate and ensuring the acceleration of the economic development of Uzbekistan.

Another session themed “Role of international co-operation and academia in the development of private international law” was devoted to the significance of implementation of international law along with duties of states to maintain international security, where international experts put forward evidence-based recommendations and proposals that promote private international law development in Uzbekistan.

The event was organized in the framework of the project “Strenghtening Good Governance” and aimed at mainstreaming the legal framework in Uzbekistan in alignment with the Private International Law standards.

VIENNA, 16 November 2022 – OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid will visit Uzbekistan from 16 to 18 November for meetings with high-level officials and to speak at the “EU - Central Asia Connectivity Conference: Global Gateway for Sustainable Development”.

In Tashkent, the Secretary General will meet with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Norov, and Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis (the Parliament) Tanzila Narbaeva. This visit – her first as OSCE Secretary General – is an opportunity to deepen the OSCE-Uzbek co-operation, which marks its 30th anniversary this year.

Schmid will also address the International Forum "Ensuring Children's Rights to a Healthy Environment", organized by the Zamin International Public Foundation together with UNICEF to discuss how we can best protect children from the effects of climate change.

In Samarkand, the Secretary General Schmid will address the EU - Central Asia Connectivity Conference. The event will provide a platform for intra- and inter-regional dialogue on shared solutions that will help to mitigate the impact of the various challenges that the region is facing, from the impact of the new geopolitical context to the underlying and rapidly worsening problems of climate change.

531173 Marina Živaljević

A Regional Conference on the investigation and adjudication of organized crime and corruption, gathering 45 justice sector stakeholders from across the region, as part of the OSCE Regional Trial Monitoring Project, opened on 15 November in Budva, Montenegro.

Participants will discuss common systemic issues in the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of organized crime and corruption cases. They will focus on sharing best practices, lessons learned and developing solutions to address the identified challenges.

Opening the Conference, Dominique Waag, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, said to participants that they know better than anyone the challenges in detecting, prosecuting and adjudicating the increasingly sophisticated organized crime with criminal schemes including money laundering and corruption.

“The judiciary’s response must keep pace with the changing dynamics, avoid being stuck in its own mechanics, making sure its response has sufficient deterrence to discourage criminal activity. Accepting trial monitoring is about increasing transparency and independence of the judicial process in the Western Balkans, building confidence in that process and responding to the commitment the OSCE Participating States made back in Copenhagen in 1990,” said Ambassador Waag.

Giulio Venneri, Team leader for Rule of Law and Democracy at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, thanked the OSCE for implementing this very demanding and complex project. He also thanked representatives of the judiciary and prosecutions from across the region for their readiness to engage and contribute to a meaningful stocktaking exercise, based on the initial findings of the interim report delivered by the OSCE monitoring teams.

“If we are in the room with practitioners who genuinely care for their citizens, it is a great opportunity to seize and jointly identify important ways to move forwards the overall efforts for the rule of law. We are here today because ultimately we trust your potentials. This is the most important thing to be flagged today,” said Venneri.

The regional project’s overall goal is to discuss concrete and actionable solutions and to issue recommendations in order to more effectively resolve corruption and organized crime cases in the region. The three-year project (2021-2023) is implemented in close partnership and with the financial support from the European Union.

The project has produced a podcast "The Path to Justice" translated in local languages which can be found here, which highlights the various aspects of the fight against serious organized crime and corruption in the Western Balkans, the role of the justice system in these efforts, and what this means for society throughout the region.

531143 Jeff Bieley Edita Buçaj

To teach schoolchildren about the importance of cultural and religious heritage, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized visits for over 130 elementary school pupils and their teachers to four sites in Prizren.

The aim of the visits was to increase the knowledge of schoolchildren from different communities about cultural and religious heritage, and improve their understanding and appreciation of diversity.

The schoolchildren toured the Sinan Pasha Mosque, the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George, the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, and the League of Prizren memorial complex. They were informed about the history of these sites and their value to society, as well as the importance of protecting and preserving cultural and religious sites belonging to different communities.

“Preserving the rich and diverse heritage across Kosovo requires support from all members of society, and involving young people in this is fundamental. We hope visits like these will help preservation efforts,” said Kavya Rajan, Director of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo’s Department of Human Rights and Communities.

Liridon Agushi, a history teacher from the Ismail Luma Primary School in Lipjan/Lipljan emphasized the importance of this study visit for acquainting the pupils with the diversity of cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo. “We thank the OSCE for organizing this visit, which is the first of its kind for our school, and aims to help students understand and promote multi-culturalism and respect for one another.”

The OSCE Mission is mandated with the protection and promotion of human and community rights, democratization and development of the public safety sector. It continuously supports efforts to protect and promote the rich and varied cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo.

531155 Mirvete Islam, OSCE Mission to Skopje Ilona Kazaryan

To promote investigative journalism and help media professionals hone their digital investigative skills so they can conduct more thorough research to bring the facts to light, the OSCE Mission to Skopje launched an e-learning course on 15 November 2022.

This e-learning course provides a toolbox for journalists investigating corruption or other high profile cases of public interest. The course includes a number of useful tools and techniques that will help investigative journalists to find more information on various online platforms. The course will help journalists to plan an investigation, conduct successful online searches across platforms and gather information, conduct successful interviews and piece together their findings. Also, the course includes many tips by experienced journalists about how to investigate more thoroughly.

While this e-learning course has been primarily designed for investigative journalists, especially those investigating corruption cases, it is applicable to a broader journalistic audience. We believe that everyone who wants to dig deeper into a topic can benefit from the tools, tips and techniques presented in the free e-learning course. We invite you to check out the course, which is available in English, Macedonian, and Albanian language.

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.

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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.