4.9 Centre in Ashgabat In 2017, the Centre enhanced its ongoing co-operation with the State Border Service of Turkmenistan. Thanks to the financial contributions of Germany, Japan, USA, the Centre organized three Basic and Advanced Patrolling Courses and four special trainings for operating in winter, mountainous and desert environments, as well as several courses for canine officers within an ExB project to strengthen Border Guard capacities of Turkmenistan. Activities Related to General Police Development and Reform Human Rights and Police Accountability On January 31, the Centre took part in a visit to a women’s correctional institution located in the Dashoguz region, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA). The visit was intended to help representatives of the international community in Turkmenistan become familiar with the conditions in which female offenders serve their sentences, as well as the work and training opportunities created for them. On 6 and 7 December, the Centre organized a seminar for representatives of law enforcement bodies and prison officials involved in providing psychological support to inmates in Ashgabat. The seminar addressed the rights of prisoners and how to integrate these rights in the daily work of prison staff, in particular when providing prisoners with health and social services. Two experts from the Norwegian correctional service shared their experiences on how to protect the right to physical and moral integrity of inmates, treatment of prisoners who are under stress, suffer from mental health problems or display anti-social behaviour. Participants also exchanged views on the challenges in rehabilitating inmates and preparing them for life upon release, with the aim to achieve full reintegration into society. From 7 to 9 December, the Centre organized a training course on international human rights standards at the pre-trial and trial stages of criminal proceedings and investigations for fifty students of the Institutes of the MoIA and MFA. The course examined the concept and system of international human rights standards in the context of criminal justice and the pertinent national legal framework. Gender-based and Domestic Violence On 21 June, the Centre discussed with the representative of the UN Women in Turkmenistan co-operation in promoting 108 gender equality and prevention of domestic violence in 2017, as well as planned activities for 2018. From 29 to 31 October and 5 to 7 and 22 to 24 November, the Centre, in co-operation with the local NGO “Keyik Okara”, which is supported by the OSCE, conducted three seminars on raising awareness of domestic violence for the general public, especially young people, who are interested in learning about domestic violence, its prevention and mitigation of causes, as well as referral mechanisms. Activities Related to Threats Posed by Criminal Activity Counter-Terrorism and P/C VERLT From 10 to 13 May, the Centre facilitated the participation of a representative from a local public organization in the Central Asian Workshop on Youth and Countering VERLT in Almaty, Kazakhstan. On 23 and 24 May, the Centre supported the participation of two senior government officials from Turkmenistan’s Ministries of National Security and Internal Affairs in the 2017 OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference on “Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism” in Vienna. From 5 to 8 June, the Centre facilitated the participation of two officials from the General Prosecutor’s Office in a joint OSCЕ-UNODC Training on Strengthening Co-operation and Preparedness to Prevent and Fight Kidnapping for Ransom at the premises of CARRIC in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Illicit Drugs and Chemical Precursors From 20 to 24 February, the Centre, in close co-operation with the Embassies of Italy in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, facilitated the participation of two drug enforcement police officials from the MoIA of Turkmenistan in the CounterNarcotics Training Course in Rome, organized by the Central Counter-Narcotics Directorate of Italy. The training