OSCE organizes workshop on strengthening effective security sector governance in Albania through partnerships between security institutions and civil society

A two-day workshop on strengthening effective security sector governance through partnerships between security institutions and civil society concluded on 23 November 2021 in Tirana. The workshop was jointly organized by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence. It brought together some 28 representatives from Albanian state security institutions, civil society, and the media.

The event aimed to raise awareness about good governance of the security sector. Discussions were held on opportunities and challenges for co-operation between state security institutions, such as the Police, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence, and with the media and civil society, including women and youth organizations. Recommendations from the workshop will serve as a basis to further strengthen partnerships between state security institutions and civil society to ensure an accountable, effective and inclusive security sector that respects human rights, adheres to the rule of law and promotes gender equality.

Megi Fino, Albanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, said: “Civil society organizations serve as an essential partner for security sector reform in its aim to strengthen the effectiveness, transparency and integrity of security and defence actors and institutions, which is important for the national development of Albania”.

"The world does not stand still. Digitalization, globalization, global warming, the COVID-19 pandemic and illegal migration bring new complex security threats. The OSCE addresses them through initiatives like this. Comprehensive security and inclusive governance are approaches we don’t preach, but live, everyday", said Clarisse Pasztory, Deputy Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania.

The event was implemented through the extra-budgetary project “Support, capacity-building and awareness-raising for Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R) within the OSCE: Phase II” and funded by Austria, Finland, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, and Switzerland.