News and press releases

From 19 to 21 November 2024, the OSCE Presence in Albania, in co-operation with the General Directorate of Prisons, organized a training-of-trainers seminar for 35 senior prison staff. The focus was on the Nelson Mandela Rules, the revised UN standards for the treatment of prisoners, which aim to protect the rights of people in detention, including protection from torture and ill-treatment.

From 12 to 15 November, the second module of the OSCE training course on “Combatting Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), Ammunition and Explosives for Border and Customs Services” took place at the Advanced Training Faculty under the Customs Committee of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

On 4 October 2024, in a significant step toward reforming the judicial system, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana (Office) and the Court Administration of Kazakhstan convened a roundtable discussion on the draft Strategy for the development of court administration for 2025-2029. This landmark event, following the 9th Congress of Judges, marked the culmination of months of progressively collaborative work aimed at enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and public trust in Kazakhstan’s judicial system, in line with host country reform priorities.

The 3rd In-Person International Training Board (ITB) Meeting concluded successfully in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (POiD) in partnership with the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and OSCE Forum for Security and Co-operation (FSC) the meeting aimed to enhance co-operation and knowledge-sharing between Central Asia and international partners within the framework of the Integrated Co-operation on Explosive Hazards (ICExH) project.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, in co-operation with the Conflict Prevention Centre/Forum for Security Cooperation of the OSCE Secretariat, successfully concluded the second module of the training course “Combatting Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), Ammunition, and Explosives” in Osh. Held from 18–21 November 2024, the training aimed to strengthen the capacities of Kyrgyzstan's Border Service officers in SALW identification, post-seizure record-keeping, information sharing, and tracing.

On 21 November 2024, Ambassador Antti Karttunen, Head of Office of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan participated in the International scientific and practical conference titled "Global Challenges and Threats in Law Enforcement: Modern Strategies and Solutions" held at the Law

From 12 to 14 November 2024, prosecutors and investigators of the Asset Recovery Committee of Kazakhstan (ARC) participated in an event on open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques and tools to counter illicit financial activity associated to corruption and organized crime. Participants learned, among others, how publicly available data can be leveraged to trace the ownership and location of assets and how this evidence can be used in subsequent criminal proceedings.