POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE responses to bias-motivated incidents and hate crimes in the local community. The workshops were attended by more than 40 participants including Roma representatives, the police and local government officials. On 18 April, the Mission, in co-operation with the Tuzla Canton Ministry of Interior, organized a roundtable in Tuzla on hate crimes for around 40 law enforcement officers from Tuzla Canton. The event focused on recognizing bias-motivated incidents and the importance of proper investigation and prosecution. On 26 June, the Mission, in cooperation with the RS Ministry of Interior, held a roundtable in Jahorina on hate crimes for 33 East Republika Srpska police officers. On 11 and 12 May, the Mission delivered a presentation on hate crimes at the Advanced Specialised Course on the Security Policy of BiH in Brčko. The presentation included findings from hate crimes monitoring and touched on the importance of proper investigations into hate crimes. On 17 May and 4 December in Istočno Sarajevo, the Mission held a hate crimes presentation for 37 State Investigation and Protection Agency officers. The presentation focused on the concept, legal framework and importance of investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. On 20 and 21 September and 18 and 19 October, the Mission held two 2-day training courses in Jahorina on hate crimes for chief prosecutors and chiefs of police administrations and commissionaires in Republika Srpska (RS) and Federation of BiH (FBiH). The training was implemented in co-operation with the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres. In total, 47 prosecutors and police officers in managerial positions from RS and FBiH attended. The focus of the training was on the concept, legal framework and importance of investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. The Mission held several presentations on the definition of hate crimes, its findings on the situation surrounding hate crimes in BiH, the legal framework relevant to hate crimes, and the importance of proper investigation and prosecution at local events around the country, bringing together the police and other relevant stakeholders. These events included a roundtable organized by civil society organizations in Tuzla on 19 October, Civil Justice Day event in Vitez on 26 October as well as at series of meetings on preventing security incidents and ensuring stability in Prijedor on 25 May and 25 December and in Doboj on 27 November. Other, including co-ordination and co-operation In 2017, the Mission initiated more intensified co-operation with law enforcement agencies in BiH on freedom of assembly-related topics. Using relevant ODIHR-developed methodologies, the Mission monitored and reported on over 20 public assemblies in 2017. The reports consisted of relevant information on policing public assemblies, gathered directly from appointed focal points in each Canton in the FBiH as well as in the RS Ministry of Interior. On 30 May in Brčko, 26 September in Sarajevo and 22 November in Vitez, the Mission organized three training courses for law enforcement agencies. This series of training courses, attended by some 100 police officers, sought to train the participants on international human rights standards governing freedom of assembly and to encourage discussion on the legislative and practical challenges related to policing public assemblies in different parts of BiH. The Mission actively participated in the legislative process for the draft FBiH Law on Public Assemblies developed by the FBiH Ministry of Interior in 2017. The Mission supplied its preliminary comments to the draft law in August 2017 and participated in four subsequent meetings where comments were discussed and the final draft produced. Activities Related to Threats posed by Criminal Activity Counter-Terrorism and P/C VERLT The Mission assists relevant institutions in BiH in their efforts to effectively counter terrorism and P/C VERLT, coordinating action at all levels of authority through capacitybuilding and awareness-raising on relevant international and domestic regulatory and institutional frameworks. This is largely achieved through supporting the BiH Council of Ministers’ Monitoring Body for Implementation of the BiH 2015-2020 Strategy for Prevention of and Fight against Terrorism (the Monitoring Body) and its Action Plan, as well as enabling relevant BiH representatives to participate at OSCE and other international and regional forums dealing with counter-terrorism and P/C VERLT-related issues. The main aim is to build national capacities to address issues, by raising awareness within the country and facilitating the exchange of international and national expertise and best practices in this field. 49