OSCE event in Albania encourages law enforcement co-operation in fight against trafficking and organized crime

TIRANA, 27 September 2007 - The OSCE Spanish Chairmanship and the OSCE's Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU) is holding a discussion forum this week in Albania on the challenges in the fight against transnational organized crime and human trafficking.

Representatives of the judiciary, the public prosecutor's office and the police took part in the discussion, which aimed to enhance the co-ordination between these bodies and give participants an opportunity to discuss best-practices and areas for improvement.

"Establishing rule of law requires not only law enforcement capacity and institution-building, but comparable and synchronized improvements across the entire criminal justice sector," said Anette Keloneva, Police Affairs Officer at the SPMU. "In this context we think this project may serve as a model for others within the OSCE family."

As a follow up to the discussion and a similar event that was held on 20 September in Montenegro, participants from both countries will meet on 14-15 November in the Albanian city of Shkodra to discuss ways to better co-ordinate their fight against transnational trafficking and organized crime.

On 12 December, focal points from the two countries will meet with OSCE experts in Vienna to present a final paper on good practices, which will be made available to all OSCE participating States. The project is being implemented with the assistance of the OSCE Presence in Albania and the OSCE Mission to Montenegro.