POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE a MoU outlining the goals and responsibilities of the new coordination mechanism. They also elected their co-ordinator for the upcoming year, the municipal officer for gender equality. This event, which gathered 21 participants, resulted from targeted advocacy activities of the Mission. to ODIHR to contribute to a better picture of the situation of hate crimes in the area. Participants embraced the idea of employing a similar platform and database in Kosovo, for which they requested the Mission’s support as a driving force in sharing expertise on hate crimes. On 6 December, the DHRC of the Mission organized an informative session in the primary and lower-secondary school “28 Nentori” in Zllapek/Zlopek, as part of the activities organized in support of the campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.” Presentations were delivered by the Mission and the KP officer on raising the awareness of children of domestic violence and gender-based violence, the established help line on which cases can be reported, and the work of institutions tasked with prevention. Following the presentation, a painting activity was organized on the topic of countering domestic and gender-based violence and promotional T-shirts marking the campaign were distributed. On 7 and 8 May, the Mission facilitated training on understanding and combating hate crimes for 15 inspectors and investigators of the PIK. The training focused on relevant international standards and the legal framework in Kosovo, investigating hate crimes by using bias indicators and barriers, solutions to effectively prosecuting hate crimes, and the use of motive evidence. Furthermore, through the use of case studies, the participants identified gaps in the current police investigation and recording system, which prevents the KP from accurately recording incidents with bias motivation. The training concluded with a set of findings and recommendations for additional actions in increasing the capacities of this police oversight body to proactively address public complaints on the grounds of discrimination. Hate Crime On 21 February, representatives of the Mission attended the regular regional co-ordination meeting on issues related to hate crime, alongside OSCE SEE focal points and ODIHR. The meeting was hosted by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and focused on hate crime data recording, an under-reporting survey and the preparation for the annual regional hate crime conference to be held in Warsaw in October. At this meeting, the Mission presented an inter-agency agreement between the KP, MoI, Prosecution and the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), which it helped develop in 2017; its ongoing advocacy efforts to have it approved soon; as well as its plans to strengthen this co-ordination mechanism in 2018. Furthermore, the OSCE field operations in SEE elaborated on the idea of developing a regional survey on under-reporting of hate crimes. The outcome of this survey would help to obtain a comprehensive picture of the under-reporting situation in each region, including reasons of reluctance to report these cases to relevant institutions. On 23 April, the Mission facilitated a workshop on the creation of a joint platform to monitor hate crimes for representatives of civil society in Kosovo and the OI. This activity builds on a training delivered in the previous year to representatives of the OI and six NGOs on the concept of hate crime and the difference between discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes. It aims to ensure sustainability in monitoring hate crimes in the future. The audience was introduced to the hate crime monitoring platform used by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia, which consists of a hate crime database to which initial incidents are reported online, with an option to include photos and videos. Participants were also guided on following up cases through this platform, reports of which are then submitted annually On 11 May, the DHRC of the Mission, in co-operation with the Gjilan/Gnjilane Basic Prosecution Office, organized a workshop on deficiencies and best practices in addressing hate crime cases. The event was attended by 36 participants, including judges, prosecutors, police officers and lawyers. The Mission’s presentation highlighted the institutions’ obligations for tracking and reporting on hate crimes; the current legal framework, focusing on the application of international human rights standards; and best practices of handling hate crime cases. The participants noted that since most victims of hate crimes belong to non-majority communities, such cases negatively affect the security perceptions and hamper the return process. On 4 June, the Mission facilitated a workshop attended by the KP, Prosecutors’ Office and KJC to discuss the recent developments related to the inter-agency agreement on treatment of hate crimes in Kosovo, approved in March 2018 at the Mission’s recommendation to improve the recording of such crimes. During this workshop, all representatives agreed to develop a joint action plan and follow up on the planned tasks in the agreement, which include amendments to the police initial incident recording form, an update of the police database with all relevant legal provisions, and the development of guidelines for prosecutors in adequately treating bias-motivated crimes. The workshop concluded with a number of issues that need to be followed up with the police legal unit and the MoI. From 9 June to 10 July, the Mission, in co-operation with the KP, organized eight one-day workshops with LPSCs and community police officers from all KP regional directorates. 69