4.12 Programme Office in Nur-Sultan to support the work of the newly established PVE Network of experts. PVE experts from Lebanon and UK also shared their experiences in establishing such networks in their own countries. From 25 to 27 March, the Office supported the participation of three representatives from the MFA, Anti-Terrorist Centre in the National Security Committee and GPO at an OSCEwide “Counter-Terrorism Conference” in Bratislava. The event brought together political representatives, national counter-terrorism co-ordinators, technical experts and practitioners from participating States and Partners for Co-operation to take stock of efforts made in countering terrorism and VERLT in the OSCE area. Illicit Drugs and Chemical Precursors On 20 and 21 June, the Office facilitated the participation of two representatives from the MFA and civil society at an OSCE High-Level Inter-Regional Conference “Wholeof-Society-Approach to Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism” in Ulanbaatar, Mongolia. From 26 February to 1 March, the Office attended the regular meeting involving the international anti-drug operation “Channel” – “Channel-Centre” held in Almaty. The meeting was attended by 60 representatives from more than ten countries and international organizations involved in countering the international drug trade41. From 24 to 26 July, as part of a UNODC, UNOCT and UNCTED initiative, the Office supported a workshop organized in Nur-Sultan, which focused on P/C VERLT in prisons, facilitating the rehabilitation of prisoners convicted of violent extremism, including FTFs, through risk assessments and effective classification measures. Some 48 participants from the law enforcement agencies, including the MoIA’s Penitentiary System Committee, academia and civil society, discussed methods and practices applied in penitentiary systems in the treatment of prisoners convicted of violent extremist crimes, exchanging also their ideas with national experts alongside with experts from both Canada and Kyrgyzstan. Furthermore, the event included sessions on the development of a prisoner classification system, risks and needs assessments, as well as rehabilitation and probation for released prisoners. On 3 and 4 June, the Office supported the participation of a senior-level government representative to the OSCE-wide “Conference on Combating the Threat of Illicit Drugs and the Diversion of Chemical Precursors” organized in Vienna by TNTD/SPMU, during which the representative delivered a statement in the opening session. On 22 November, the Office organized a seminar in NurSultan to publicly present manuals explaining how to work in the rehabilitation of returning FTFs and their families. Both manuals were developed with the support of the Office, Regional Office of Penal Reform International in Central Asia and UK Government. In total, 30 officials from the Anti-terrorism Centre of the National Security Committee and the Committee on Child Protection in the Ministry of Education and Science discussed the methods and practices applied in the rehabilitation of returnees from conflict zones where terrorist organizations currently operate. From 26 to 28 November, aimed at building border agencies’ capacities to P/C VERLT, in co-operation with the US 124 Embassy, Border Service of the Committee for National Security and TNTD/BSMU, the Office organized a training course on countering transnational crime and identification of potential FTFs in Aktau. International experts from Georgia, INTERPOL, TNTD/BSMU, and Regional AntiTerrorist Structure of the SCO delivered presentations to some 25 border security officers. The overall focus of the course was on international, regional and national legal frameworks, the use of INTERPOL databases, and document security. Participants also discussed the importance of applying risk analysis models in identifying potential FTFs at the borders and in engaging in exercises to detect forged documents and impostors. From 12 to 16 August, in co-operation with the US Embassy and CARICC, the Office organized a seminar in Almaty on investigation of drugs related crimes committed using the Internet. In total, 15 police officers responsible for investigating drug related crimes were familiarized with Belarus’s experience in this field and also participated in a number of practical exercises developed by a team of three police officers from Belarus MoIA’s Main Directorate for Drug Control and Counteracting Human Trafficking. Attendees also learned more about commonly used internet resources and financial instruments used in the drugs trafficking trade, including cryptocurrency. On 16 October, in partnership with US Embassy, the Office organized a donor co-ordination meeting in Nur-Sultan. During the meeting, participants discussed programmes and projects on drug-demand reduction, countering cybercrime, anti-narcotics, and border security. Attendees from government, law enforcement agencies, international organizations, including IOM, UNICEF, UNODC, CARICC, 41 The key findings included: an increase of the consumption and trafficking of psychoactive substances, reduction in the use and trafficking of opioids, and increase in the use of online resources for trade and trafficking of illicit drugs, including the ‘Darknet’.