OSCE holds regional workshop on social re-use of confiscated assets in South-Eastern Europe

The OSCE, together with Libera, an Italian civil society organization working on social re-use of confiscated property, organized a two-day online workshop on social re-use of confiscated assets on 8 and 9 June 2021.

Aimed at strengthening the involvement of civil society organizations in the asset recovery and social re-use process, the workshop gathered representatives of civil society organizations and asset management agencies from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

In her introductory remarks, Anita Ramasastry, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Corruption, stated: “As organized crime continues evolving and becoming more sophisticated in conducting its operation, involving all relevant actors and engaging civil society organizations in the efforts to combat organized crime is more relevant than ever.”

Experts from Europe and South America shared different experiences on the implementation of social re-use in their national context, highlighting why a collaborative relationship between civil society and government agencies is of crucial importance for a successful social re-use result.

The regional workshop was organized as part of the OSCE extra-budgetary project on Asset recovery in South-Eastern Europe, led by OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, the donors of which are the United States Department of State, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.