OSCE Office in Baku

The Politico-Military Unit co-operates closely with law enforcement, security-sector agencies and civil society on the implementation of OSCE commitments and related international standards in Azerbaijan on issues of policing, public-assembly management, counter-terrorism and organized crime, democratic control of armed forces, and combating trafficking in human beings and forced labour.

Policing and the Public

In close co-operation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Unit promotes good practices of police-public partnership, beneficial police-media relations, crime prevention, road safety and traffic management, prevention of domestic violence and gender mainstreaming through its programme of assistance to the police and other elements of the security sector. The Office promotes dialogue and exchanges of best practices between the police and security services of Azerbaijan and other OSCE participating States. In recent years, the Office has facilitated co-operation between the police and security services of Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Office also promotes dialogue and co-operation between the police, media and civil society throughout Azerbaijan. 

Public-assembly management and the intersection between security and human rights

The Unit provides training for the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ patrol police, special response units and internal troops in public-assembly management techniques consistent with OSCE human rights commitments and related international good practices. These techniques emphasize police use of proportional and measured responses in support of the public's right to peaceful assembly. So far, the Unit’s training on public-assembly management has reached over 2,000 members of the police and internal troops in Baku, Ganja, Guba, and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. In addition, the Unit is developing a series of Azerbaijani-language books that address human rights and fundamental freedoms of armed forces personnel.

Counter-terrorism and organized crime

The Unit advises and supports the government in countering terrorism by providing training on risk assessment and investigation for the Office to Combat Organized Crime at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Special Investigation Unit at the Ministry of National Security. Further, the Unit assists the State Border Service in implementing an integrated border management strategy and in countering cross-border crimes, such as drug smuggling. The Unit also addresses legal aspects and provides analysis of cyber-security in Azerbaijan through workshops for cyber-crime investigators on cyber-security and cyber-defence. In addition, the Unit supports Azerbaijan’s membership in the International Bomb Data Centre Working Group.

Countering human trafficking and forced labour

At the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Unit is implementing a comprehensive capacity-building programme for the prevention of trafficking and forced labour, prosecution of perpetrators, and protection of victims. Further, the Office supports the Government’s implementation of the National Action Plan to Fight Trafficking in Human Beings and national referral mechanisms. With the major focus on identification of victims of trafficking and forced labour and investigation and prosecution of trafficking, the programme includes ongoing training activities, workshops and study visits. In many cases, the Unit co-sponsors these activities with other OSCE institutions and international counterparts.