Foreword by the Secretary General
The OSCE’s police-related activities form a significant
contribution to the Organization’s mandate on conflict
prevention,
crisis
management
and
post-conflict
rehabilitation. Policing activities cut across all three OSCE
security dimensions and draw on the combined strength of
the OSCE’s institutions and its network of field operations.
Based on a comprehensive set of mandates and tasks –
provided by various Ministerial Council and Permanent
Council decisions since 1998 – the OSCE continues to share
best practices throughout the OSCE region and to engage
in initiatives to develop professional skills that will prepare law enforcement for current
and future challenges. The OSCE promotes innovative, proactive and transparent policing
methods to address a range of security issues, including those emanating from transnational
threats such as organized crime and terrorism, cybercrime, trafficking in human beings, arms
and illicit drugs. All these security issues transcend national borders, and addressing such
challenges requires effective international co-operation and co-ordination. The OSCE also
contributed to such co-operation through a number of events and training activities where
law enforcement officials from different countries meet to share ideas and best practices.
In 2018, the Annual Police Experts Meeting on “Future Policing Strategies: Addressing Trends
and Changes in a Globalized World” and the OSCE Conference on “Strategic Approaches to
the Reduction of Supply and Demand of Illicit Drugs” attracted strong interest. These events
brought together experts and practitioners from OSCE participating States and Partners
for Co-operation, OSCE executive structures, international and regional organizations and
civil society.
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