Police Reform

Annual Police Experts Meeting in Austria (full text)

The global problem of transnational organized crime cannot be effectively addressed without close cross-border cooperation between the police and other constituents of the criminal justice system, such as border and customs authorities, prosecutors and judges.

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its protocols provide a solid legal basis for promoting and enhancing cross-border cooperation of the criminal justice system. Various OSCE Ministerial Council (MC) and Permanent Council (PC) Decisions essentially call for the OSCE to promote the implementation of the UNTOC provisions. In particular, MC Decision No.3/05 tasked the Secretary General to provide support and technical assistance to the States, including ensuring the necessary expertise and resources by relevant competent international organizations in order to implement the UNTOC Provisions and its protocols in support of and in close consultation with the Conference participants and the UNODC.

Paragraph 15 of the OSCE Strategic Framework for Police-Related Activities (PC. Decision/1049, 2012) reiterates a great role of the OSCE to support the full implementation of the UNTOC and as appropriate it’s Protocols in close co-ordination with UNODC; and calls upon the OSCE to enhance the institutional capacity of the relevant stakeholders and strengthen law enforcement co-operation at the international, regional and national levels.

As the transnational nature of felonies requires immediate, effective and professional cooperation, there is a need to develop quick and smooth cooperation mechanisms, not only between police authorities, but also involving a thorough and well prepared follow-up and coordination between law enforcement agencies and justice system. Despite significant efforts have been undertaken in recent years to achieve a certain streamlining between police and judicial cooperation, many challenges remain yet to be resolved.

In this respect, from 17 to 18 June 2014 Annual Police Experts Meeting was held in Vienna (Austria), which was organized by the OSCE Secretariat in close cooperation with the Swiss Chairmanship. The roundtable was dedicated to discussion of issues related to enhancing cross-border cooperation of the criminal justice system in combating transnational crime in the OSCE space.

Annual Police Experts Meeting is organized annually in accordance to MC Decision No.9, MC (9).DEC/9, the OSCE Strategic Framework on Police-Related Activities, Ninth Ministerial Council Meeting in Bucharest, 4 December 2001 and MC Decision No.4/12. The Decisions call upon the OSCE to convene, as appropriate and preferably annually, police experts meetings from the OSCE participating States and representatives of other relevant specialized international and regional organizations.

The meeting was attended by representatives of relevant criminal justice agencies of participating States (police, prosecutors, courts) from 37 countries and international organizations.

Tajikistan was represented by the Deputy Head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Soghd region of Tajikistan Colonel Nuridin Pirumshoev, by the representative from the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Mr. Mahmadzohir Davlatyarov, by Police Reform National Liaison Officer of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan (OiT) Mr. Khaydar Mahmadiev and Office Assistant for Police Reform of the OSCE OiT Mr. Abdumannon Saidov.

During the event, Mr. Pirumshoev made a speech and mentioned that despite the civil war and economic devastation and later occurrence of new borders, Tajikistan rather quickly established cooperation with the law enforcement agencies of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China and Afghanistan.

"As early as in 1998, a Cooperation Agreement between the law enforcement agencies and specific authorities of boundary districts was signed between the Governments of the Republic of Tajikistan and of the Kyrgyz Republic. In 2003, an Advisory Council for Development of Cross-Border Trades of the Boundary Regions of neighboring countries was established, which consisted, on the one hand, of the representatives from the  governmental agencies, public organizations and businesses community of Soghd region of Tajikistan, and on the other hand, of Osh, Jalalabad and Batken regions of Kyrgyz Republic.

We have the same Agreement with the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, and with the law enforcement authorities of Islamic State of Afghanistan," outlined Mr. Pirumshoev.

Further Mr. Pirumshoev noted that cross-border cooperation in the law enforcement activities of internal affairs agencies of Tajikistan with neighboring countries is carried out in the following areas in particular:

- engage in concerted actions aimed to prevent, detect, suppress, investigate and solve crimes and other offenses; - the law enforcement cooperation for establishment of whereabouts of missing persons, criminals, hiding from trial, decision-making on approval of petition for extradition issuance and execution of the detained criminals;   - cooperate in the field of traffic safety, fire safety, fight against transnational organized crime and terrorism, smuggling and illicit drug trafficking;

Mr. Pirumshoev, at the end of his speech, made several suggestions. In particular, due to the fact that under international law a fundamental document, which defines a legal framework of border areas cooperation, is the European Outline Convention on Trans-frontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities from 21 May 1980, Mr. Pirumshoev proposed to discuss in the frame of dialogue a possibility of preparing such Outline Convention in the OSCE space. In such area each OSCE participating State would be committed to encourage cross-border cooperation between territorial communities or authorities and facilitate addressing the legal, administrative and technical issues that may impede trans-border cooperation. "Adoption of such Convention would let create a trusting environment, mutual understanding and good neighborly relations amongst the population, government authority and business community of border areas," emphasized Mr. Pirumshoev. He also stressed that the law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan and the OSCE participating States should develop cooperation in the framework of the OSCE police reform project in Tajikistan.

"For this purpose, it is necessary to organize meetings on cross-border cooperation between the relevant regions of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. We could also discuss the organization of working meetings of the internal affairs management from cross-border regions on a regular basis. Particularly, to organize a joint analysis and foresee the development of crime situation in the bordering regions; to implement coordinated investigative & operational activities on specific criminal cases and operational records; to organize an exchange of intelligence on criminal gangs active participants and organized groups; to carry out joint development of international criminal groups operating within our country; and to conduct jointly large-scale operational and preventive operations", concluded Mr. Pirumshoev.

Upon completion of the event, the members of the meeting adopted a number of conclusions and recommendations.