OSCE convenes first meeting of Multi-Agency Committee in Serbia for combating gender-based violence in South-Eastern Europe

On 26 October 2021, the OSCE convened the first meeting of the Multi-Agency Committee in Serbia established as part of its project, Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe.

The project, which is run by the OSCE’s Strategic Police Matters Unit, aims to increase the public’s trust in criminal justice responses and the level of reporting of cases by enhancing the capacities of criminal justice systems in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to prevent and combat gender-based violence.

The Committee will provide guidance to the project team to help ensure that the project activities comply with local strategies and other existing programmes and minimize a duplication of efforts.

The focus of the first committee meeting was to discuss the project’s strategy and implementation with local stakeholders to help tailor its activities’ to the countries’ needs.

Representatives of the OSCE and its Mission to Serbia, the Police Directorate and Police Training Center, Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office, Higher Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, and Autonomous Women’s Center attended the meeting.

The project is currently being implemented with the financial support of Germany, Norway, Finland, and will, pending continued funding, last until 2024.