ACTIVITIES OF THE TRANSNATIONAL THREATS DEPARTMENT and other executive structures in the pursuit of activities related or relevant to counter-terrorism, in order to maximize the use of resources and available expertise. Furthermore, the Consolidated Framework mandates the OSCE Secretariat to continue ensuring the facilitation of cross-dimensional and crossinstitutional co-ordination of all OSCE counter-terrorism activities, without prejudice to the mandates of other OSCE executive structures. To this end, other OSCE executive structures are tasked to proactively inform the Secretariat about planned and ongoing activities as they relate to anti-terrorism. The TNTD/ATU is staffed with a total of 12 people. Its activities are addressed by a broad spectrum of professionals, including the police, relevant to the preventing and combatting of terrorism. One of the highlights in 2015 was the Chairmanship OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Expert Conference on “Countering the Incitement and Recruitment of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs)”, convened in Vienna, Austria by the Serbian OSCE Chairmanship. The main objective of the conference was to contribute to the furthering of high-level discussions on countering violent extremism, in the margins of the UN General Assembly in September 2015. In this regard, the Serbian Chairmanship concluded the conference with a list of recommendations to the participating States, Partners for Co-operation and the OSCE executive structures. The conference also announced the Organization-wide communications campaign “OSCE United in Countering Violent Extremism”, which highlights the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to preventing terrorism. The conference attracted more than 300 participants from over 50 participating States, all 11 Partners for Co-operation, 20 international and regional organizations, and included over 50 participants from civil society, academia and the private sector. Activities Related to Threats Posed by Criminal Activity Counter-Terrorism & VERLT From 24-26 February, TNTD/ATU and the OSCE Office in Tajikistan organized a Regional Counter-Terrorism Expert Workshop to implement the Ministerial Council Declaration No. 5/14 on “The OSCE Role in Countering the Phenomenon of Foreign Terrorist Fighters in the Context of the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2170 (2014) and 2178 (2014)”. The workshop was organized in consultation with the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and UNODC, and was the first of its kind in Central Asia to raise awareness and facilitate an exchange of views on the requirements of these resolutions. The workshop as attended by over 150 participants, including government and civil society representatives from 14 participating States and two Partners for Co-operation, as well as representatives from UN entities, the Anti-Terrorism Centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS-ATC), the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCORATS), and NATO. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan were represented by capital-level senior government officials. On 26 May, in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia, TNTD/ATU organized a briefing by the non-governmental organization Centre for Democratic Culture/EXIT Germany (ZDK) in Belgrade, Serbia for 12 stakeholders from three municipal safety councils, the police, the Ministry of Interior, and a local research centre in Serbia. ZDK presented their “community coaching methodology”, which aims to empower local level action to prevent and counter violent extremism centred on an evidence-based and joint problem-solving approach. ZDK provided examples of how the methodology has been implemented in different municipal districts in Germany to address right-wing and Al-Qaeda inspired violent extremism. TNTD/ATU briefed participants on its joint guidebook with ODIHR on “Preventing Terrorism and Countering VERLT: A Community-Policing Approach”, which is available in Serbian. From 24-25 June, in co-operation with the National Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, TNTD/ATU organized a national seminar on “Strengthening Rule of Law Compliant Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism” in Skopje, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Some 30 criminal justice practitioners from Skopje, including prosecutors, judges, investigators, security and law enforcement authorities as well as representatives from central authorities and relevant ministries, participated in the event. The seminar aimed to strengthen rule of law compliant criminal justice responses to effectively prevent and combat terrorism, and to share best practices. On 20 August, TNTD/ATU organized, jointly with UNODC, a two-day regional workshop for Central Asia in Almaty, Kazakhstan on “Preventive Obligations and Criminalization 25