POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
the Mission provided support to the authorities in bolstering border management and cyber
security, advancing gender equality, youth, and ethnic mainstreaming, and securing freedom
of assembly in line with international standards.
Activities Related to
General Police Development
and Reform
Police Monitoring and Confidence-Building
From 20 to 25 October, in co-operation with and under
the auspices of the BiH Council of Ministers’ (CoM) InterMinisterial WG for monitoring implementation of security
policy of BiH, the Mission facilitated the “5th annual Youth
and Security School” in Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Konjic. In
total, 20 students from the fields of law, political and security
studies at the universities of Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Mostar,
Tuzla and Zenica developed their knowledge and skills
regarding the security policy framework and security sector
actors in BiH. The School was aimed at increasing trust
and confidence in security and defence institutions among
young aspiring security experts. As part of the programme,
students visited the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, BiH
MFA, BiH Ministry of Security (MoS), BiH Armed Forces,
as well as police agencies and media. The students engaged
in discussion with representatives of authorities, experts,
and practitioners, gaining valuable insights on the current
security challenges, such as VERLT, terrorism, and cyberattacks. For their part, security sector partners highlighted
the importance of youth engagement and gender equality in
enhancing security and security sector governance.
Police Development and Reform
In 2019, in co-operation with criminal intelligence
representatives from law enforcement and securityintelligence institutions, agencies and bodies in BiH,
the Mission conducted an “Intelligence-led Policing
Needs Mapping”. With a view to developing a coherent
and tailored approach towards future OSCE support,
the findings of survey questionnaires, interviews, desk
research, consultations and conclusions were presented
and discussed. Participants expressed their priorities and
provided recommendations for future co-operation in a
range of areas, also endorsing the Mission’s methodology,
which focused on ensuring comprehensiveness and national
ownership. In addition, the Mission pledged to integrate in
its programmatic support the views, needs and strategic
priorities of partner institutions in BiH, with a focus on
strengthening law enforcement co-operation in addressing
current and emerging security threats.
On 16 July, in partnership with the CPC/FSC Support Section
and BiH MoS, the Mission organized a meeting in Sarajevo
to determine OSCE support to BiH in the implementation
of the “Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal
possession, misuse and trafficking of SALW and their
ammunition in the Western Balkans by 2024”. The meeting
involved some 50 national and international stakeholders,
including representatives of state, entity and cantonal
MoI’s, court police, UNDP, EUFOR and SEESAC. Pursuant
to the objectives of the BiH Strategy for SALW Control
and its respective action plan, five areas of potential OSCE
expertise and assistance were duly identified and endorsed
by the BiH SALW Control Co-ordination Board. The Mission
also supported the participation of BiH law enforcement
representatives at the first and second regional co-operation
meetings on the Roadmap, enabling them to contribute to
the discussions, information sharing and joint planning
with representatives of other countries in the region on the
Roadmap and implementation of SALW control strategies.
From 27 to 29 November, the Mission organized the
“Annual Security Review Days” event in Sarajevo for MoI
representatives at the entity level, and police agencies from
different levels of authority. All participants took part in a
joint assessment of the implementation of relevant OSCE
commitments and agreed on recommendations to address
challenges in democratic oversight, arms control, cyber
security, combating terrorism, and preventing and countering
radicalization and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
On 10 and 11 December, with the support of the Austrian
MoD and the BiH MoD’s Peace Support Operations
Training Centre, the Mission organized a course on SSG/R
in Sarajevo. More than 30 senior- and middle-management
representatives in the BiH Armed Forces, police agencies,
judiciary, government institutions, civil society and academia
discussed the challenges and opportunities in achieving an
inclusive Security Sector Reform (SSR). All stakeholders
discussed ways to achieve an optimal balance between
security, democratic control, and development, while
improving security sector governance as a whole.
Gender Mainstreaming
During 2019, the Mission continued its co-operation with the
law enforcement structures by supporting the state- and the
Republika Srpska (RS) level of the Network of Women Police
Officers (NWPO) of BiH, with the aim of expanding their
network and increasing their visibility. Throughout 2019, both
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