Skip navigation

0Meta Navigation

× Close search

Navigation

Home Where we are Mission to Montenegro What we do
OSCE Mission to Montenegro

What we do

The Mission helps the country with reform processes to further democratic transition and in support of its strategic goals of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. This includes such activities as legislative reform and institution-building; the fight against corruption and organized crime; reform of the judiciary and police and prison system; strengthening human and minority rights; building media professionalism and establishing independent public broadcasting; and the promotion of economic development and environmental protection.
Arms control
The Mission assists the country to dispose of toxic substances and destroy heavy weapons, arms, and unstable, obsolete conventional ammunition. It does this together with the Defence Ministry and the United Nations Development Programme under the umbrella of the Montenegro Demilitarization Programme. The Mission also helps to upgrade the infrastructure of military storage depots by raising funds for modernization through donor conferences. It works with the Interior Ministry to promote efforts for the reduction and control of small arms and light weapons in possession of the public.
Combating human trafficking
The Mission works with the police, prosecutors, civil society, and the media to strengthen the national capacity to combat human trafficking. It runs public awareness campaigns to increase understanding of the problem, and organizes training for law enforcement officials on ways to identify and protect victims and prosecute the perpetrators.
Elections
In line with the relevant international standards and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights recommendations, the Mission supports the enhancement of the capacities of the Montenegrin election administration bodies in improving the preparation and administration of the electoral process. The Mission provides expertise on strategic and operational issues as well as capacity building opportunities for members and staff of the State Elections Commission. It also supports the work of the authorities in developing election legislation and procedures. Attention is also put on advancing the outreach capacities of the institution and on promoting the exchange of regional expertise.
Environmental activities
The Mission provides support to representatives of the Parliament, government agencies, municipal authorities and civil society organizations on a number of environmental issues. Environmental activities that the Mission implements, be they training events, workshops or public campaigns, have a strong awareness-raising component, in line with the international standards and practice in this field. In light of that, the Mission also supports a network of four Aarhus Centres in Montenegro, which serve as a platform for public participation in decision-making and access to information about the country’s environmental policies.
Gender equality
The Mission supports gender mainstreaming awareness and capacity-building activities in co-operation with relevant institutions, as well as civil society, to include promoting the participation of women in public and political life. In particular, the Mission supports the further strengthening of the Municipal Gender Focal Point Network and the development and implementation of the Local Action Plans.
Good governance
The Mission supports the Parliament, its committees and the parliamentary services with capacity-building activities, expertise and facilitates bilateral and regional exchanges of best practices. Special focus is given to furthering implementation of the Parliament’s gender action plan, strengthening environmental protection and raising the Parliament’s education role and work with youth.
Human rights
A key priority for the Mission in this area is to build the capacities of human rights institutions to help them protect those rights more efficiently. The Mission provides legal advice on how to strengthen legislation on tolerance and non-discrimination, in line with international standards. To help Montenegro meet its commitments with regard to displaced persons, the Mission monitors and provides advice on the implementation of the Regional Housing Programme (RHP). It also assists with initiatives that confront discrimination against vulnerable groups by sharing best practices among state bodies and by raising public awareness on human rights issues as well as on hate crime.
Media freedom and development
The Mission provides expert support to the relevant authorities - such as Montenegro’s public broadcasting service Radio i Televizija Crne Gore, the Agency for Electronic Media and the Agency for Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information, with the aim to strengthen the media legal framework. It also organizes specialized training courses and runs advocacy initiatives that aim to assist the institutions on becoming effective and fully functioning in line with OSCE commitments and principles.
Policing
To help develop a professional, democratic police service that is trusted by citizens and can investigate corruption and organized crime effectively, the Mission works with the Interior Ministry and law enforcement agencies on police reform and in devising sustainable police education curricula. It provides specialized training in such areas as crime and cybercrime investigation, covert surveillance, irregular migration and gender-sensitive policing and helps develop action plans to prevent and combat terrorism. The Mission supports regional police co-operation, particularly in contacts between criminal intelligence units. It also hosts meetings with Montenegro and its neighbours to strengthen border security and combat cross-border crime through joint patrols and joint border crossing points.
Roma and Sinti
In support of a national strategy to improve the situation of displaced Roma in Montenegro, the Mission helps them to obtain documentation from their country of origin, which they need to legally reside in Montenegro, and in obtaining access to public services.
Rule of law
The Mission’s key priority in the field of the rule of law is strengthening the professionalism, effectiveness and independence of the judiciary. It helps educate legal practitioners in criminal and civil justice, harmonizes existing legislation with international standards and promotes utilizing mediation as an alternative in resolving disputes. It also supports improvements to the work of the State Prosecutor’s Office in the area of public relations. In the fight against corruption and organized crime, the Mission supports the development and implementation of a new legislative framework. The Mission also trains judges, prosecutors, and the police on detecting, investigating, and prosecuting corruption and organized crime, in particular high-profile cases.
See all publications
See all documents
See all multimedia