POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
to thoroughly review and finalize the draft of the strategy
and action plan based on the EU model. All comments and
recommendations proposed by the Mission to the working
group prior to the workshop were taken into consideration.
The Mission will take part in the implementation of the
strategy and contribute to its future annual reviews.
On 19 September, the DHRC organized a one-day workshop
to raise awareness of local municipal officials and civil society
representatives about the Strategy on Prevention of VERLT
2015-2020.15 The activity aimed to discuss achievements
and challenges related to the implementation of the VERLT
Strategy, as well as to improve co-operation between
religious communities and municipalities in combating
violent extremism. The workshop gathered 20 participants
(16 men and 4 women), including members of MCSCs
religious representatives16, communities’ representatives,
local youth action councils and civil society representatives
from Lipjan/Lipljan and Obiliq/Obilić municipalities. A
representative of the KSCS presented the most pressing
challenges and opportunities in the implementation of the
strategy. Participants agreed on a set of recommendations,
including the need to strengthen the role of municipalities in
implementing the related action plan on P/C VERLT, while
also emphasizing the necessity to allocate specific funds to
ensure the implementation of the strategy at the local level.
From 10 to 13 October, the Mission’s representative attended
the workshop in countering VERLT online for CSOs,
organized by Facebook and the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna.
The workshop addressed enhancing capacities of local CSOs
to challenge hate speech and violent extremism in their work
with marginalized communities, as well as using Facebook’s
products and tools to develop campaigns to counter hate
speech. In consultation with the Mission’s representative,
the OSCE Secretariat and Facebook principally agreed to
support the organization of the same event in Prishtinë/
Priština in the near future.
On 2 November in Prishtinë/Priština, the DHRC, in cooperation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, the Faculty of
Fine Arts of the University of Tirana and the Faculty of Arts
of the University of Prishtinë/Priština, organized a forum
discussion for students and a visual arts exhibition on the
topic of violent extremism. The activity aimed to encourage
youth and the general audience to reflect on effects of VERLT
and ways to counter it. The forum discussion involved
approximately 100 students from different private and public
universities in Prishtinë/Priština, youth representing different
religious communities and NGO representatives. During the
15
Available at: http://www.kryeministri-ks.net/repository/docs/STRATEGY_
parandalim_-_ENG.pdf.
16
The Islamic Community and Serbian Orthodox Church.
discussions, participants had a chance to address questions
to Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Head of the OSCE
Presence in Albania, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Tirana
and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts in Prishtinë/Priština, as
well as two NGO representatives from Tirana and Prishtinë/
Priština. The forum discussion was followed by a visual arts
exhibition at the Gallery of the Faculty of Arts in Prishtinë/
Priština, which gathered more than 200 participants.
On 9 and 10 November, in an effort to further build the
capacities of the KP in effectively addressing issues related to
P/C VERLT, the Mission organized a training workshop on
early indicators of VERLT for 21 officers of the community
policing and regional police directorates. The workshop aimed
to equip participants with skills in identifying behaviours or
expressions that portray the intent of individuals or groups
to commit potential acts of terrorism. Facilitated by police
trainers from the counter-terrorism unit, the workshop
served as a forum to discuss various police cases, outline
the challenges, and highlighted KP results in prevention
and investigation of terrorism and other related crimes.
Associated indicators and real case scenarios presented
during the workshop will enable participants to directly
contribute to early detection and prevention of home-grown
terrorist plots, and serve as trainers on this topic at their
stations in the future.
From 13 to 15 November, the Mission supported the Office
of the Prime Minister (OPM) in facilitating a workshop to
evaluate the annual implementation of the Strategy and
Action Plan on Prevention of VERLT. During the workshop,
the government working group estimated that 61 per cent
of activities foreseen in the action plan for the second year
have been fully implemented, with 14 per cent partially
implemented and 25 per cent not implemented. Some
challenges identified during the process covered the lack
of inter-institutional co-ordination and the budget line for
implementation of the Strategy’s activities, non-participation
in international and regional initiatives, lack of institutional
memory as a result of the appointment of political staff as
implementing, co-ordinating and reporting officials, and
lack of specific programmes for de-radicalization and
reintegration. The remaining activities foreseen in the action
plan will be used as a guide for setting priorities for the next
three years. Recommendations were submitted to the Prime
Minister to better co-ordinate donations and projects of
international partners in order to address the real needs and
avoid duplication, approve the Law on Religious Freedom,
further capacitate and strengthen respective institutions and
prepare the budget of the action plan for the next three years.
From 5 to 9 December, the Mission facilitated the participation
of two senior officers of the KP Counter-Terrorism Directorate
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