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This Opinion was prepared by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) following a request from the People’s Advocate of the Republic of Moldova.

The article-by-article Commentary to the Housing Code of the Republic of Tajikistan No. 1852 of March 18, 2022, which has taken effect on September 1, 2022, clarifies legal and practical issues arising in the application of the housing legislation. The NGO “Huquqi Dastras” (“Accessible Right”) and independent experts on the right to adequate housing participated in the development of the commentary. The commentary was also based on the findings of the review on the implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Strategy in the Republic of Tajikistan for the period up to 2030 and the Action Plan for its implementation for the first phase (2021-2025) to improve legislation aimed at combating corruption in the field of housing and land legislation (hereinafter- monitoring report, 2022-2023). The findings of the monitoring report were taken into account in the preparation of the comments. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe supported the drafting of the monitoring report (2022-2023) as well as the publication of the commentary (2024). These activities were a part of the OSCE's continued support to Tajikistan in promoting good governance and implementing the State Anti-Corruption Strategy in line with international standards. The publication is available in Tajik.

In 2022-2023, a civil society expert conducted an analysis of data collected on the implementation of the State Strategy for Combating Corruption in the Republic of Tajikistan for the period up to 2030 and the Action Plan for its implementation for the first phase (2021-2025) to improve the legislation on combating corruption in the sphere of housing and land legislation (hereinafter – monitoring report, 2022-2023). The analysis revealed that one of the factors that can lead to corruption in housing issues is the lack of a unified approach to judicial practice in cases related to housing legal relations. As a preventive mechanism, recommendations were made to improve the practice of enforcement of legislation by lower courts. A resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic was drafted to ensure correct and uniform application of the law by the courts, with participation of experts from the NGO “Huquqi dastras” (“Accessible Right”). The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (POiD) supported the drafting of the monitoring report (2022-2023), the holding of two meetings of the Supreme Court working group on the draft resolution (2023), and the publication of the resolution (2024). These activities were part of the OSCE's continued support to Tajikistan in promoting good governance and implementing the State Anti-Corruption Strategy in accordance with international standards. In addition, as part of its human dimension activities, the POiD supported a gender analysis for the preparation of the draft resolution (2023). The resolution is available in Tajik and Russian.

This publication presents findings of the two new surveys conducted in 2022, exploring the situation with the sexual extortion as gender specific form of corruption in the higher education and public administration sectors in North Macedonia. This empirical data will contribute to the policy discussion and raise awareness among policy makers about the need to institutionalize and criminalize gendered forms of corruption in the national legislation.

The OSCE Presence in Albania is launching a new call for committed and motivated young people from all over Albania to join its Youth Advisory Group (YAG). 8 young individuals aged 18-25 years will be selected as new members of its Youth Advisory Group in the upcoming months. They will support the existing YAG members to prop up Presence's efforts to integrate a youth perspective into its planning and programmatic activities.

This document is a product of Youth Trail No.8 “What Can Youth Do On Environmental Governance” activity in light of the "Youth in Focus II: Promoting the role of Youth in Peace and Security in Albania" project implemented by OSCE Presence in Albania. Young activists from the Western Balkans (WB) gathered in Tirana in October 2022. They built their capacities, discussed with various stakeholders and worked on designing some key actions and measures on how to expand youth engagement in environmental governance in the region.

The Municipal Anti-corruption Initiative (MAI) of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, launched in 2018 as part of the Mission’s programmatic focus to fight corruption at all government levels, included monitoring anti-corruption trends and processes within the sector of public management in local governance units (LGUs) across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and presenting the main findings and recommendations in the form of thematic reports. The first report, completed in 2019, assessed spaces for corruption in the provision of grants and in-kind support to civil society organizations. This report’s focus lies on presenting the key features of asset management system at the local level and identifying corruption risks in current procedures and practices in the management of immovable assets in 22 selected LGUs.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina commissioned a state-wide survey on the electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina in summer 2021. The aim of the survey was to identify citizens’ perceptions, experiences and understanding of elections, their views on the importance of voting, their