Mainstreaming Gender Perspective into Crime Prevention focus of OSCE-supported events in Uzbekistan

Roundtable discussions on national and international good practices and challenges in engaging women in activities aimed at preventing violent extremism and other crimes among women took place in Tashkent and Ferghana on 10 and 12 December 2019, respectively. Members of the Senate of Oliy Majlis (parliament), representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, civil society organizations and international experts attended the events.

Effective national legislation combined with well-functioning policy measures is key to preventing female criminality, including radicalization of women. The debate focused on Uzbekistan’s experience in the re-integration of women returning from conflict zones and existing international practices. The Committee on Women and Gender Issues of the Senate of Oliy Majlis and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan in co-operation with the OSCE Secretariat organized the discussions.

“Ensuring the rights and interests of women and increasing their economic, social and political participation were identified as an important direction of Uzbekistan’s state policy. In recent years, specific measures have been taken to ensure an effective mechanism to advance women’s interests. At the same time, special attention is paid to the prevention of crime among women through the promotion and employment of women in difficult social situations, and addressing their housing problems”, said Svetlana Artikova, Deputy Head of the General Prosecutor’s Office.

John MacGregor, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, congratulated “female public servants – and so many of the other allies and partners here today who are doing invaluable work in establishing trust and relationships with the communities they serve in order to prevent crimes linked to violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT), drug- and human trafficking.”

International experts Dr. Tracy C. Ostertag, the Gender Adviser from the Canadian Police Mission in Ukraine, Seran de Leede, an independent researcher at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in the Hague and Camilla Bognoe, a Counter Terrorism Officer, from the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, presented international practices.  “The OSCE Gender Section strongly supports discussions providing guidance to police and tools to better understand gender dynamics in VERLT,” said Martin Dexborg, Adviser on Gender Issues at the OSCE Secretariat.

The OSCE Guidebook on Understanding the Role of Gender in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization That Lead to Terrorism - Good Practices for Law Enforcement is a useful resource for representatives of national authorities, especially for police investigators, as well as for other stakeholders involved in crime prevention.

The roundtable discussions were part of the OSCE extra-budgetary project “Support to Women’s Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan” and received financial support from the Governments of Finland and Norway.