Secretariat

In December 2001, the OSCE participating States declared their intention to strengthen police-related activities with the goal of providing better protection against the emerging new risks and challenges posed by transnational and organized crime, arms, drugs and other forms of trafficking, the failure to uphold the rule of law and human rights violations. The OSCE's Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU), based at the Secretariat in Vienna, has a network of police advisers in several of its missions or field operations, who frequently respond to requests from participating States for expert advice on policing and police-related activities.

The setting up of the SPMU underlines the fact that good policing plays a vital role in preventing conflict (particularly secondary conflicts), in preserving social stability during political crises, as well as in supporting countries or regions during the rehabilitation period following the end of a conflict. It is equally apparent that without effective law enforcement and genuine respect for the rule of law and the institutions responsible for upholding it, there can be little prospect of social, political or economic stability.