ACTIVITIES OF THE TRANSNATIONAL THREATS DEPARTMENT From 15-26 June, upon request from the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMIK), TNTD conducted an assessment of the community policing programme of OMIK, holding interviews with some 50 local and international stakeholders. The assessment analysed achievements and lessons learned of OMIK’s community policing-related assistance projects implemented since 2011. From 5-7 October, TNTD/SPMU delivered training sessions on “International standards in public assembly management and policing in multi-ethnic societies”, during the training seminar on “Strengthening Capacities of the Police Service in Multi-ethnic Societies” in Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The seminar, attended by some 20 senior-level law enforcement officers, was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. The training was based on the HCNM recommendations on policing in multiethnic societies and the ODIHR Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, developed jointly with TNTD. From 16-17 November, TNTD, upon invitation from UNODC and UNICRI, participated in the UNICRI/UNODC Expert Group Meeting on Community Policing to Enhance Urban Security - Lessons Learned in Turin, Italy. The meeting gathered some 23 community policing experts from different regions of the world to exchange experiences in preventing, detecting and countering urban violence and crime by adopting a community-oriented approach to policing. From 17-29 October, TNTD conducted a field study visit to Kyrgyzstan under the framework of the fourth assessment of the OSCE Community Security Initiative (CSI) project, together with the CPC and in close co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and Kyrgyz authorities. The main goals were to take stock of the project’s achievements since the last assessment in 2013, with a specific focus on the accomplishments of the CSI Handover Programme in 2015, and to provide evidence-based input to reshaping a potential follow-up project of the CSI in 2016, which would reflect the changing needs of Kyrgyzstan. Public Order and Crisis Management On 24 February, the Head of ODIHR’s Human Rights Department visited TNTD to discuss TNTD’s revision of the final draft of the Human Rights Handbook on Policing Assemblies. The handbook, which was jointly developed by ODIHR and TNTD and in close consultations with some 30 police practitioners from the OSCE executive structures and the participating States, aims at strengthening the policing of assemblies in compliance with human rights standards in OSCE participating States. From 23-28 September, TNTD attended two sessions of the ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) on “Freedom of peaceful assembly and association” and “Humanitarian issues and other commitments” in Warsaw, Poland. Activities Related to Threats Posed by Criminal Activity Organized Crime On 4 February, a meeting was held at Europol Headquarters in The Hague to discuss closer co-operation between the two organizations in the areas of serious and organized crime, counter-terrorism, strategic analysis and threat assessments. As a follow up, TNTD met with the Deputy Director of Europol on 19 March to further discuss these areas and a potential format of co-operation. Representatives from all TNTD units participated in this meeting, which was chaired by Head of TNTD/SPMU. From 13-14 May, TNTD participated in the Second Informal Expert Working Group on UNODC Tools on Mutual Legal Assistance in Vienna. The new functionalities and future directions of UNODC’s Mutual Legal Assistance Request Writer Tool (MLA tool) were discussed. The purpose of this Expert Group meeting was to provide feedback on an advanced version of the MLA tool, as well as to share good practices for effective mutual legal assistance. On 15 October, TNTD participated in the Joint Meeting of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Commission on Harmonisation of Legislations on Security and Combating Transnational Threats in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The purpose was to obtain an overview of the latest developments in harmonisation of the CIS legislations on security and TNTs and to contribute to the final documents of the Conference. From 27-28 October, TNTD took part as an observer in the sixth Session of the Working Group on International Cooperation, Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) in Vienna, Austria. The meeting focused on subjects related to gathering and sharing of electronic evidence. The Secretariat’s background paper on these subjects as well as UNODC’s basic tips for investigators and prosecutors for requesting electronic/digital data and evidence from foreign jurisdictions were presented. 19