- OSCE to donate equipment to Kosovo Centre for Public Safety, Education and Development

PRISHTINE/PRISTINA, 16 December 2010 - The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Werner Almhofer will donate on Friday equipment for specialized driving training to the Kosovo Centre for Public Safety, Education and Development (KCPSED) in Vushtrri/Vucitrn.

The equipment will enable the Centre to provide driving training courses in extreme weather conditions and black frost for staff of public safety agencies, such as customs, fire and rescue and correctional services. Hundreds of employees will be able to benefit from the courses using the equipment.

The equipment will be demonstrated using the Skid Car System, which is also a part of the donation.

Director of Department for Security and Public Safety of the OSCE Mission, Carsten Twelmeier; Acting Executive Chief of KCPSED, Sheremet Ahmeti; senior representatives of the police and customs services, as well as of correctional service and the Emergency Situation Management Agency will also participate in the ceremony.

Media representatives are invited to attend the ceremony on Friday, 17 December at 11.00 in the premises of the Kosovo Centre for Public Safety, Education and Development in Vushtrri/Vucitrn.

Note: Transport for media representatives is provided. Buses will depart on Friday, 17 December, at 09.30. Departure point: OSCE Mission Headquarters in Prishtine/Pridtina.

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- OSCE Chairmanship says Geneva Discussions have been strengthened

GENEVA, 16 December 2010 - The Geneva Discussions resulted in steps towards gradual normalization of the situation on the ground said Bolat Nurgaliyev, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, following a meeting in Geneva today.

Nurgaliyev and the other two Co-Chairs of the Geneva Discussions, Pierre Morel of the EU and Antti Turunen of the UN noted progress has been achieved during 2010.

"The unilateral commitment by the President of Georgia formalized in official letters addressed to five international organizations and the President of the United States, should be seen as a major step in the right direction. Formal reactions from Tskhinvali and Sukhumi testify to this," said Nurgaliyev. "Another positive development was the resumption of the Dvani/Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism."

Urging the participants to continue efforts in a constructive approach Nurgaliyev reminded of the Commemorative Declaration "Towards a Security Community", adopted by the 56 OSCE participating States at the Astana Summit which says: "Increased efforts should be made to resolve existing conflicts in the OSCE area in a peaceful and negotiated manner, within agreed formats, fully respecting the norms and principles of international law enshrined in the United Nations Charter, as well as the Helsinki Final Act. New crises must be prevented. We pledge to refrain from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations or with the ten Principles of the Helsinki Final Act."

In welcoming significant steps to resolve the supply of basic utilities to the affected communities, Nurgaliyev said: "Providing gas and water will make a real difference to the quality of life for the affected people. I am happy that the OSCE can contribute concretely to these important matters."

The Co-Chairs and the participants welcomed Giedrius Cekuolis who will be Lithuanian Special Representative for Protracted Conflicts during his country’s OSCE Chairmanship next year.

The discussions took place in two parallel working groups. One group dealing with security and stability and the other with humanitarian questions, including internally displaced persons and refugees.

The next meeting will be in Geneva on 4 March 2011.

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- OSCE Centre supports anti-trafficking training for border guard officials and transport police

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 17 December 2010 - An OSCE-supported training seminar for border guards, transport police officers and civil society representatives on the identification of human trafficking victims and inter-agency cooperation took place today with the support of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

The training course was jointly organized by the Centre and an Osh-based non-governmental organization Golden Goal. The seminar participants discussed various aspects of anti-trafficking action, including victims’ identification, crime detection and inter-agency referral mechanism; shared experiences and good practices.

"Border and transport police officers are key players in the fight against trafficking in human beings," said Graziella Pavone, Human Dimension Officer of the OSCE Field Office in Osh. "The tragic events which have affected the south of the country in June left people more vulnerable, thus prone to fall easier prey to exploiters, including traffickers. Effective detection of victims, matched with dynamic inter-agency cooperation, is crucial to address this challenge. Today’s seminar also offered an opportunity for frontline law enforcement officers and civil society activists to discuss main trends in human trafficking in Kyrgyzstan, which is crucial for our joint efforts in combating the crime."

Major Gulsara Ismailova from the Passport and Visa Information Department of the Border Guard Services in Osh highlighted the importance of holding such events, noting that "human trafficking is a crime difficult to detect, thus challenging to deal with. Applying victim-oriented approach can help us further increase effectiveness of our work in preventing this crime."

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- International election observers to present findings at press conference in Minsk on Monday

MINSK, 17 December 2010 - The observers deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) to monitor the presidential election in Belarus will present their preliminary post-election statement at a news conference on Monday, 20 December 2010, in Minsk.

The preliminary statement will be delivered by Tony Lloyd who leads the short-term OSCE observer mission and heads the OSCE PA delegation, followed by Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR long-term election observation mission.

This common endeavour comprises a total of 456 observers from 47 countries, including 63 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE/ODIHR, 328 short-term observers seconded by participating States upon request by the OSCE/ODIHR, and 65 parliamentarians and staff from the OSCE PA.

Journalists are invited to attend the news conference on Monday, 20 December, at 14:00 at Hotel Belarus, Minsk.

For further information contact:

Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, OSCE/ODIHR, +375 29 3931456 or +48603683122, jens.eschenbaecher@odihr.pl

Petra Jezkova, OSCE PA, +375 293951797 or +45 6010 8173, petra@oscepa.dk

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