Assistance to the Government of Uzbekistan in the field of combating terrorism

The main objective of this long-term project is to support the efforts by the Government of Uzbekistan to fight terrorism, violent extremism and other transnational threats and challenges. The project was developed based on the recommendations of relevant OSCE documents and action programs in the area of counterterrorism, as well as on a preliminary analysis of the priorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan in this field, conducted in order to provide targeted support.

In September 2008, the PCUz organized a regional workshop on "Police and Inter-agency Co-operation in the Fight against Terrorism in Central Asia". Representatives from the OSCE Action Against Terrorism Unit (ATU) and Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU), Interpol, the Turkish National Police, the Anti-Terrorism Centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States (ATC CIS), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and the National Anti-terrorist Committee of Russia took part in the workshop.

Fight against illicit drug circulation and expansion

The goals of the project are:

• to support the work and increase the technical capacity of the National Information-Analytical Centre on Drug Control (NCDC) to perform its tasks as the primary anti-drug agency;
• to create an Interagency Library in order to ensure that available drug-related information is accessible to a wider audience, including government agencies, researchers, and NGOs;
• to facilitate specialized training to improve the knowledge and professional skills of regional representatives of the NCDC.

In November 2008, PCUz, in co-operation with the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan, organized the OSCE Regional Seminar on Cross-border Co-operation in Central Asia with Afghanistan to Combat Illicit Drugs Trafficking. The event brought together more than 90 experts from OSCE participating States, the Organization's Partners for Co-operation, including Afghanistan, and international organizations.

Support in advancing professional police training

The PCUz continues to provide assistance to the Uzbek Police Academy under the Ministry of Internal Affairs through a wide range of activities:

• co-operation in the area of improving training and the exchange of experience regarding the training, retraining and professional development of specialists for enhancing public security and preventing and fighting crime, in particular transnational crime such as terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and human trafficking;
• providing support for the introduction in the training process of high-end information and pedagogical technologies, advanced international experience of training of law enforcement officers, strengthening and improvement of material and technical facilities of the Academy in line with modern requirements and standards;
• assistance in examining the experience of internal affairs agencies of other countries in the OSCE area, development and publication of textbooks, training aids and other training and instructional literature;
• ensuring the participation of the Academy in international conferences and OSCE seminars on topics related to the enforcement of security and stability.

Support to capacity building of socio-political organizations of Uzbekistan

The project aims at increasing the capacity of socio-political organizations through training courses on effective working methods. Course participants will learn about increasing the effectiveness of civil society organizations and the legal framework regulating their operation, the structure of the state authorities, their functions and possibilities for interaction. They will also examine political institutions' work with young people and women and develop their skills in elaborating short-term and long-term strategic plans, defining priorities, using team work and effectively managing human and financial resources.

A number of international expert roundtables will be convened to provide a platform for discussion among experts, Uzbek officials and civil society. The hope is that these will generate new ideas leading to important new steps in the process of Uzbek socio-political transition. The events will also create an opportunity to address the issue of increasing citizens' participation in political processes and public and state affairs, as well as to share opinions on future perspectives for new democracies.

International conference: "Problems of Ensuring Security and Sustainable Development in Central Asia"

From 29 April to 1 May 2008, Tashkent hosted the international conference "Problems of Ensuring Security and Sustainable Development in Central Asia". The event was organized by the Foundation of Regional Policy (Uzbekistan), with assistance provided by PCUz, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Institute for New Democracies (U.S.). The conference was attended by more than 40 political scientists and security experts from 20 countries in Asia, America and Europe.

Presentations and discussions focused on current challenges in ensuring security and sustainable development in the Central Asian region and Afghanistan, including the fight against terrorism, violent extremism, illegal drug trafficking, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, biological terrorism and other transnational threats. The participants underlined the role of international and regional security organizations such as the OSCE, NATO, SCO and CSTO, and recommended that co-ordinated actions would be desirable and efficient in addressing these issues.

In his opening remarks, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, Ambassador Istvan Venczel, remarked that the conference reflected Uzbekistan's adherence to and support of the international community's efforts to promote stability and sustainable development in Central Asia. Therefore, it provided a solid platform for expert discussion and defining possible measures and ways to further promote peace and sustainable development in Central Asia and in particular, in Afghanistan.

Within the framework of the event, special attention was also paid to the current state of affairs in Afghanistan and issues related to border security. It was noted that achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan was not only of regional but also of global importance, as the threat emerging from opiates production, financing of terrorism and transnational organized crime has security implications in broader geographical terms.

It was emphasized that drug trafficking from the so-called "northern corridor" was one of the most acute security problems in the Central Asian region. Apart from traditional methods of strengthening borders to address drug trafficking, experts also pointed to the importance of youth upbringing, improving the level of education, achieving rule of law, fighting corruption, improving the role of law enforcement bodies and the social security of the Afghan population.

High-level OSCE officials' visits

In June 2008, the Senior Police Advisor to the OSCE Secretary General and Head of the Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU), Mr. Kevin Carty, visited Uzbekistan together with the SPMU's Political Officer, upon invitation of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the OSCE. The main purpose of the visit was to discuss further joint initiatives in enhancing law enforcement co-operation in crime prevention and control and the fight against the trafficking of drugs and chemical precursors with the relevant authorities. The visit also aimed at reviewing the current status and future perspectives of the ongoing Police Academy Assistance Project. The Senior Police Advisor had official meetings with representatives of the Interior Ministry, the National Information-Analytical Centre on Drug Control (NCDC), under the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Police Academy of Uzbekistan.

As a follow-up to the PCUz' activity in the field of travel documents security and in light of the Presidential Decree of 23 June 2009, "On measures for further improvement of the passport system of the Republic of Uzbekistan", and based on the OSCE Secretariat's Note to the Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the OSCE in Vienna in July 2009, the PCUz facilitated meetings of the OSCE Senior Border Adviser to the Secretary General, Mr. Henry Bolton, with officials of relevant authorities in Uzbekistan to define areas where the OSCE could best support the process of introducting new biometric passports in Uzbekistan.