OSCE Community Security Initiative experts discuss confidence-building in southern Kyrgyzstan

On 27-28 April, two senior managers of the OSCE’s Community Security Initiative (CSI) working in southern Kyrgyzstan participated in a round table discussion in the city of Uzgen on the role of young people in promoting stability in the Republic.

The event was a part of the Youth Forum organized by the Uzgen Province Police and Uzgen Deputy Mayor’s office with the OSCE CSI team’s support.

CSI representatives Celal Bodur and Alvydas Sakocius said in their welcoming speeches that the purpose of their team’s work in Kyrgyzstan is to help local communities create a safer environment, to build trust between the public and the law-enforcement bodies, as well as to foster peaceful coexistence among multi-ethnic communities.

The CSI experts discussed with the Mayor of Uzgen and his Deputy, the Chief of the police, the Imam of Uzgen Province and head teachers of Uzgen secondary schools a potential project aimed at crime prevention. They paid special attention to the sensitive topic of working with youngsters and preventing youth delinquency, including bullying at schools.

The CSI experts reiterated their readiness to support local authorities in their efforts aimed at raising respect for human rights, and to share policing best practices from other countries in the OSCE region.