OSCE launches project on increasing and supporting participation of women at all levels of policing with pilot activities in Montenegro

The OSCE launched a new project on 24 July 2020 aimed at increasing and supporting the participation of women at all levels of policing, with the first pilot activities taking place in Montenegro. The project was developed to raise awareness at policy and police levels about the under-representation of women in the police across the OSCE area.

The launch saw the first meeting of the Steering Group. This  online meeting brought together representatives of the OSCE Secretariat, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, the Ministry of Interior, the Police Directorate, civil society and international partners from the Norway Center for Integrity in the Defence (CIDS) and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF). This Steering Group will ensure local ownership and co-ordination of activities at the national level with all relevant stakeholders and seek to avoid overlapping.

Arnar Jensson, the manager of the project, underlined the benefits of increasing the number of women police officers for effective policing and highlighted the role the OSCE could provide play in further enhancing women’s role in the Montenegrin Police.

Following this meeting, a situational analysis and needs assessment are to be conducted over the course of the following months. Based on the main findings of these analyses, a set of tailored, concrete recommendations will be proposed to the national authorities.

The project is led by the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department and implemented in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, with financial support from the Italian government.