The OSCE Office in Tajikistan

Background

The OSCE presence in Tajikistan has been mandated to promote the implementation of OSCE commitments, support the development of common approaches to addressing problems and threats to security, facilitate the exchange of information, and build national capacity and expertise.

The OSCE Office in Tajikistan (OiT), upon request from the Republic of Tajikistan, introduced an overall police reform project and supported Tajikistan in addressing threats posed to the country’s security emanating from organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism and violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism.

Thus, the OiT’s police-related activities aimed at assisting Tajikistan “in the development of common approaches to problems and threats to security, taking into account the commitments of the Republic of Tajikistan to contribute to stability and security, to prevent conflicts and take measures for crisis management, as well as in the areas of, inter alia, police-related activities…” as envisaged in the Permanent Council decision No. 852, 19 June 2008, on the Mandate of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

The Office continued to support law enforcement agencies in the fields of police reform, training, drug control and counter-terrorism. In 2012, particular emphasis was put on enhancing a strategic management approach towards the implementation of police reform, combining training and operational needs, projected into the planning efforts of senior law enforcement personnel. In 2012, support for the Drug Control Agency was built on the acquired data from the 2011 drug prevention campaign, aimed at developing a partnership with all citizens through a community outreach programme that would enhance the fight against drug trafficking.

Leadership and Management

At the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the OiT supported the Senior Staff of the Ministry to enhance their capacity for implementing reform, by delivering ToT on Management and Leadership in line with the principles of democratic policing. The workshop focused on leadership principles, motivation and solution-based change management and included gender and human rights matters. The training also aimed at developing skills and structures to better respond to the crime situation and to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the police which was considered a pre-requisite for a successful police reform.

On 23 February 2012, an MoU on Police Reform was ratified by the Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan. The MoU obliges the Ministry of Internal Affairs to implement the police reform activities outlined in the MoU. At the end of 2012, the draft Police Reform Strategy was under consideration by the Ministry of Justice and Finance. Prior to this, it had been approved by all other relevant agencies. It was envisaged that in the first quarter of 2013 the Police Reform Strategy would be adopted and ratified by the Parliament.

From 18-21 April, the OiT organized a study tour to Croatia for the MIA Senior Management headed by the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. The visit aimed to learn from the reform experience of the Croatian Police. At the end of the visit a joint statement between the MIA of Tajikistan and the MoI of Croatia, focusing on the sharing of Croatian know-how and experiences in the training of police officers, was signed.

According to the draft Police Reform Strategy, one of the key elements of the Police Reform Programme was the inclusion of Tajik civil society into the police reform process. Therefore, a Dushanbe-based Civil Society Working Group (CSWG), consisting of influential and active representatives of the Tajik civil society, was created. In co-operation with civil society groups, local representatives from Rasht, GBAO, Sughd and Khatlon regions were selected to liaise with the CSWG, in order to ensure equal and balanced representation of other regions of the country in the CSWG.

Human Rights and Police

From 19-29 January, within the frame of the ODIHR/OSCE Project on Human Rights and Terrorism, a study tour to Croatia was organized for the Working Group consisting of Instructors from the Academy of the MIA, the Police Training Centre and the Higher School of the State Committee on National Security. This event marked an important step in integrating a full course on countering terrorism while protecting human rights into the regular curriculum of key national institutions in Tajikistan. The initial course was a key element of ODIHR’s mandate to provide technical assistance and support participating States in the development and implementation of effective counter-terrorism strategies. It was also a good fit for the OSCE OiT police reform activities to foster the skill development of operational managers dealing with counter-terrorism. Participants brainstormed on identifying the challenges and different approaches to teaching human rights to law enforcement officers in Tajikistan. The Tajik Delegation was introduced to curricula in the area of Human Rights and Terrorism by the Police Academy of Croatia. During the study tour, the Tajik and Croatian Delegations agreed to exchange knowledge and practice from both sides.

Gender-sensitive Policing

In all of the OiT’s police-related activities, the selection of participants equally targeted male and female officers. Female participation was promoted in the Host country. The Counter Terrorism and Police Unit constantly researched new approaches to integrate gender mainstreaming in police reform and utilized the recommendations of the OSCE Gender Section.

In January, the MIA announced new appointments to some of the senior positions in the Ministry. For the first time, a woman was appointed Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs.

This female officer was also a member of the MoIA-OSCE working group on gender-sensitive policing.

Cybercrime

On 19-21 September, the OiT supported the participation of the Head of the Organized Crime Department of the MIA, together with the Deputy Head of the International Department, at the “OSCE Annual Police Experts Meeting” on “Fighting the Threat of Cyber Crime” in Vienna (see also chapter 2.2).

Counter-Terrorism and Police

In support of the counter-terrorism approach of the MIA in responding to violent extremism and terrorism, the OiT focused on strengthening the capacity of law enforcement operational managers to conduct and apply professional counter-terrorism measures and examine strategic approaches to violent extremism and terrorism. Furthermore, the Office continued to develop awareness-raising and training activities addressing broader issues of VERLT, such as situation analysis, needs assessment and capacity building, targeting officials from the MIA, the State Committee for National Security as well as civil society.

From 4-11 April, the OiT Counter Terrorism and Police Unit organized a “Hostage Negotiation and Tactical Training” for the senior and mid-management police staff of the various anti-terrorism and specialized units of the MIA. The training was conducted based on real case scenarios and the findings of a training needs assessment focusing on rules of engagement in dealing with terrorists. During the training, importance was given to human rights aspects in the context of combating terrorism and special operations based on democratic policing principles. As a result, the training enabled the Anti Terrorism Unit to develop a Standard Operating Procedure for hostage situations and the division of operational responsibility between the hostage negotiators and the tactical team.

On 12-13 March, the OiT funded the participation of the Director of the Academy of Dialogue in the OSCE expert round table on the “Role and Empowerment of Women in Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism”, held in Vienna. The Office views the Academy of Dialogue as a partner and an important stakeholder in the field of VERLT, which is in a position to facilitate an effective involvement of civil society in countering VERLT. Therefore, the participation of the Director of the Academy strove not only to reinforce his ability to address VERLT through the identification of good practices which could be replicated in Tajikistan; it also served to improve gender mainstreaming in the manner in which the issue of VERLT is tackled in the country.

Drug Prevention Campaign

The Drug Control Agency printed and published its 2011 Annual Report, financed and supported by the OSCE, within the OiT’s programme to combat illicit drug trafficking. The Annual Report describes the efforts of law enforcement agencies in 2011; reports on the drug situation in the country; the situation in Afghanistan; analyses drug abuse and drug prevention efforts; as well as international co-operation of the DCA. It was distributed among law enforcement and other Government agencies, as well as international organizations and other partners of the DCA. The dissemination of the Annual Report is part of a larger public outreach approach of the DCA in drug prevention and to identify the future focus of investigations.

In 2012, as part of the State Target Programme on Drug Prevention and Fight against Illicit Drugs in the Republic of Tajikistan for the Period of 2008-2012, a Tajikistan-wide Drug Prevention Campaign was successfully completed. The campaign aimed to reduce the scale of drug demand-related crimes and law offences by mobilizing the population in drug prevention and adopting a healthy lifestyle. In 2012, drug prevention campaign activities took place in Dushanbe, and the Bobojon and Gafur districts of the Sughd region.

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