Effectiveness and sustainability of national security sector reform and governance processes focus of OSCE-supported regional workshop in Chisinau

CHISINAU, 7 July 2017 – Some 30 security sector professionals from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine gathered for a three-day regional workshop on security sector governance and reform which concluded today in Chisinau.

Representatives of the Defence and Interior Ministries, national Intelligence Services, national Parliaments, civil society and international organizations engaged in informed discussions on security sector governance and reform, drawing on practical examples from the region.

“This workshop has been an excellent opportunity to discuss the effectiveness of national reform and governance processes at the regional level,” said Stephen Young, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. “The OSCE is dedicated to supporting national security sector governance and reform, and to this end launched last year a set of internal Guidelines that provide practical information for OSCE officials towards supporting national efforts in this sphere.”

The regional workshop was the first such event to promote the OSCE’s role and activities in the field of security sector governance and reform. A similar regional event will take place later this year in South-Eastern Europe. Both are part of an extra-budgetary project that aims to support, build capacity and raise awareness of security sector governance and reform within the OSCE. In addition to the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship, this project is supported by Germany, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland.

The workshop was organized by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, in co-operation with the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship, the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces, the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.