Publications

This report provides a comprehensive overview of all police-related projects, activities and events, which draw on the combined strength of the OSCE’s Institutions and its network of field operations, often cutting across the OSCE’s three security dimensions.

The Annual Progress Report on the Implementation of the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality highlights the main achievements of the Organization regarding gender parity, capacity of staff, organizational culture and overall gender mainstreaming improvements within the organization. The report includes information about the support the OSCE executive structures provide to participating States in promoting gender equality.

This paper explores the intersections between human trafficking and terrorism by analysing activities of terrorist groups through the lens of trafficking in human beings. Through a critical analysis of legal and policy regimes, the paper provides a comparative study of two crimes – human trafficking and terrorism – based on a series of illustrative examples collected from throughout the OSCE region. The outcome is a set of targeted recommendations to challenge the trafficking practices of terrorist groups by leveraging existing preventative and protective mechanisms in the anti-trafficking field. The intent of these recommendations is to support participating States in preventing the crime of trafficking by terrorist groups, hold the perpetrators fully accountable and protect victims.

Deployed in response to an evolving crisis, the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) faced numerous challenges in its first five years of operation. The OSCE was able to identify a wealth of valuable lessons from the SMM’s rapid deployment and expansion in the wake of the Minsk agreements as well as its use of sophisticated technological monitoring tools, among others. This study examines how the SMM was able to implement its mandate in an increasingly complex security environment, drawing lessons to inform future peace operations, for both the OSCE and the international community at large.

This Occasional Paper highlights the importance of addressing the demand that fosters trafficking for sexual exploitation, in particular the exploitation of the prostitution of others. In doing so, it puts a spotlight on the role of demand in encouraging exploitation and causing harm to victims; outlines the scope of the international obligations and commitments of States to discourage demand; analyses the ways in which States have responded to these obligations and commitments in their criminal justice and prevention practices; and offers recommendations on how to better incorporate demand into national efforts. The primary aim of the paper is to support and enhance the implementation of State-led responses to demand.

The document provides tools to ensure preparedness for cross-border implications of crises, which is vital to facilitate a speedy and effective response to humanitarian emergencies.

The OSCE supports the implementation of the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA Protocol) through joint capacity building activities in close collaboration with the UNECE Secretariat, and also through the role that the OSCE-supported Aarhus Centres can play in promoting public participation under environmental assessment procedures.

The OSCE Secretary General’s Annual Report gives an overview of the Organization's activities and its co-operation with partner states and other organizations.

This Occasional Paper is based on findings from a multi-method research project, including surveys, expert interviews, and expert group meetings carried out with participants from more than half of the OSCE’s participating States. By bringing together the voices of survivors, anti-trafficking experts, service providers, and law enforcement, this paper offers a comprehensive account of gender aspects in trafficking in human beings. It also provides a basis for discussion about possible ways to apply gender-sensitive approaches. The report, therefore, explores a range of gender aspects that are often not addressed in existing prevention, protection, and prosecution strategies.