OSCE and Kyrgyzstan agree on principles for OSCE Police Advisory Group

ASTANA, 16 July 2010 - The OSCE and Kyrgyzstan have agreed on principles and modalities for an OSCE Police Advisory Group that is to be sent to Kyrgyzstan pending a decision on deployment, an OSCE official said today.

Ambassador Herbert Salber, the Director of the OSCE Secretariat's Conflict Prevention Centre, said the agreement marked a major step forward toward the deployment of the OSCE Police Advisory Group. A consensus decision by the OSCE Permanent Council, which comprises ambassadors from the 56 participating States, is needed before the deployment can take place.

The agreement said the group would comprise 52 police officers with the possibility to send an additional 50 officers at a later stage. The group would be in Kyrgyzstan for four months, with a possibility to extend as needed and agreed.

"The tasks of this mission is first of all advising the Kyrgyz police. The Police Advisory Group will have contact with all parts of the population in southern Kyrgyzstan," Salber said. "They will be assisting and also monitoring the Kyrgyz police. They will accompany them in their work with the communities there with the objective of strengthening the confidence in this area, in particular between the police and the population."

Salber spoke on the sidelines of the OSCE Informal Ministerial, held in Almaty today and tomorrow. About 50 ministers and deputy ministers are set to take part in the meeting, which also will address the future of European security and possible topics for an OSCE summit.