In Southeast Europe, despite the encouraging achievements, more progress is needed in the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime, and freedom of the media and the safety of journalists, said the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Helga Marija Šmid.
In an interview with the MINA agency, Šmid said that Montenegro has made progress in the development of democratic institutions and in the areas of good governance and media freedom, but that more needs to be done.
"Montenegro is an active and constructive partner of the OSCE and an advocate of cooperation and stability in the entire region," said Šmid, who completed her first official visit to Montenegro on Friday, during which she met with high-ranking government officials and representatives of civil society organizations.
As she stated, OSCE field work in the region began more than 30 years ago, at a time when the region was still under the cloud of conflict.
"Today, fortunately, a lot has changed: the Western Balkans plays a strong role in the OSCE - whose countries preside over the organization, host field missions and are integral partners in building security in the entire OSCE region," said Šmid.
As an organization, she emphasized, they are proud to have contributed to the extraordinary progress the region has achieved, among other things, in building stable democratic societies and stronger institutions, strengthening the rule of law and preserving media freedom.
"All with the contribution of thousands of dedicated colleagues from the OSCE, mostly from the region itself," added Schmid.
However, as she said, Southeastern Europe continues to face complex challenges, which are often exacerbated by the broader geopolitical context.
"Despite the encouraging achievements over the years, more progress is needed in key areas, such as the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime, media freedom and the safety of journalists," said Šmid.
She stated that, given this background, the "brain drain" the region is suffering is worrying.
"In addition, I am deeply concerned about the increase in cases of violence against women," said Schmid.
Progress, as she said, is not a simple process.
"It never was - but we are committed to continuing cooperation with the authorities to implement reforms that will benefit all citizens," said Šmid.
She emphasized that she remains optimistic about the future of that region.
"During my travels and visits to field missions in Southeast Europe, I was repeatedly impressed and encouraged by many examples of citizens who chose to cooperate, despite national and administrative divisions, for the good of their communities and their country," added Šmid.
She said that they will continue to encourage this constructive approach.
Šmid, speaking about her visit to Montenegro, stated that they are in regular contact with Montenegrin partners, but that nothing replaces direct, personal meetings.
"Montenegro is an active and constructive partner of the OSCE and an advocate of cooperation and stability in the entire region," said Šmid.
She said that during the visit she had good meetings with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, as well as the Prime Minister and the coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dritan Abazović.
"Your country is currently in the process of forming a government. In our discussions, I reaffirmed the continued commitment of the OSCE to providing support in accordance with Montenegrin priorities - especially strengthening the judicial system, the rule of law and promoting freedom of information," said Šmid.
She said that she also met with a team of employees of the OSCE Mission in Podgorica.
Field missions, as she said, really form the core of the Organization.
"Their work plays an important role in promoting local and regional cooperation, whether with public administration, police services, parliamentarians or young people," added Šmid.
She said that she also met with representatives of civil society, and that it is important to hear their views on current challenges, in order to better adapt the support that the OSCE can provide.
"I also visited the shelter for women in Podgorica, because recent events in the region have shown us that it is urgently necessary to invest more efforts to ensure the protection of women in need and prevent domestic violence," said Šmid.
She pointed out that civil society is doing a great job in that field and said that they can count on the constant support of the OSCE.
Šmid said that she is proud of the excellent cooperation that the OSCE Mission in Montenegro achieves with ministries and key state institutions, such as the Assembly, the State Election Commission, the Electronic Media Agency, the Forensic Center and the Ombudsman.
"Part of our work is to help in the ongoing fight against organized crime," said Schmid.
The OSCE mission, as she stated, is a long-standing partner of the Montenegrin police.
"We promote intelligence-based police work and support law enforcement institutions, we encourage close cooperation with the prosecution, especially with the special state prosecutor, as part of the judicial system, which should be independent," added Šmid.
She said that they are also working to strengthen good management in the security sector and promote the employment of female police officers.
Šmid stated that the OSCE is currently implementing a project to monitor court proceedings and trials in the field of organized crime and high-level corruption, in order to help strengthen the response of the justice system.
"I am grateful to the Montenegrin authorities for their excellent support for the project since its beginning in 2021 and to our partners in the justice system for their trust and cooperation," said Šmid.
As she said, another area in which they have great expertise is the fight against human trafficking.
"Here, our Mission is helping to shape a victim-centered approach that has proven more effective in the fight against organized crime networks," Schmid said.
According to Schmid, the abuse and trafficking of small arms and light weapons is another issue of concern throughout the region, and they are working to address it, among other things, by supporting campaigns that promote home security and encouraging people to surrender their weapons to the police.
She said that they also help strengthen the capacity of the police to investigate cases where firearms have been used, but also support the police sniffer dog unit in detecting firearms at border crossings.
"I hope that people will realize that there are still too many small arms in circulation in the region and that reducing that number will lead not only to greater security, but also to fewer tragedies," Schmid said.
In the media sector, as she stated, the Mission carries out a whole series of activities to support the work of journalists, as well as the fight against hate speech.
"I would especially like to highlight the publication of the Manual on Media and Digital Literacy, created for elementary school students, which has become a reference tool for schools and families, and is also used by the Ministry of Education," added Šmid.
She said that, regarding the empowerment of women, the Mission closely cooperates with the Parliamentary Committee for Gender Issues and the Ministry of Finance on gender budgeting.
"Also, we work with young people, because the involvement of future generations in issues related to security, gender equality and the environment is an important tool for ensuring sustainable development and fostering cohesive societies. These are just some of the examples - our Mission does much more," said Schmid.
In response to the question of how challenging it is to preserve and defend the foundations and principles on which the Organization is based in a situation where the war in Ukraine is ongoing and there is a threat to European and global security, she said that the war had caused enormous human suffering and a humanitarian crisis that feels far beyond its limits.
"But the norms, principles and obligations on which our organization is based remain relevant. We must continue to support them - and I am grateful to our current chairman, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, for his tireless work on this," said Šmid.
According to her, in order to respond to some of the immediate challenges for civilians imposed by the war, and at the request of the Ukrainian authorities, most of the OSCE participating States are contributing to the new Support Program for Ukraine, which is fully funded by donors.
In this way, as she said, they help both the government and the people, for example in humanitarian demining and management of environmental damage caused by war.
She said they also deal with the disproportionate impact war has on women and children, with increased risks of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and sexual violence.
Schmid added that she participated in a conference on gender equality and women's empowerment organized in Tetovo, where this important topic was also discussed.
She reminded that last Sunday it was 500 days since the detention of three Ukrainian OSCE officials in Donetsk and Luhansk.
"These detentions are a flagrant violation of their rights and the chairman of the OSCE and I will continue to constantly call for their immediate release and we will do everything we can to ensure their freedom," said Šmid.
According to her, the catastrophic consequences do not stop at the borders of Ukraine, but have repercussions in neighboring countries and Southeast Europe.
"We have 12 field missions in Central Asia, Southeast Europe and Moldova, where we cooperate with governments and civil society to solve issues ranging from border security and terrorism, through corruption and connectivity, human rights and gender equality, to environmental security and climate change" , stated Schmid.
She pointed out that this close regional cooperation, including the one in Southeast Europe, is one of the key advantages.
"We will continue to build on this kind of work in the future," said Schmid.
Asked what her assessment and forecast for the future of the OSCE is, she said that she is convinced that their comprehensive approach to security, which takes into account not only traditional political-military issues, but also economic, environmental and human dimensions, will remain necessary in of the future.
As she stated, the signing of the Helsinki Final Act half a century ago opened a channel of dialogue, which significantly improved security in Europe and beyond.
"With 57 countries representing XNUMX billion people on three continents, we are the world's largest regional security organization and have a unique and vital role in this area," Schmid said.
She said that, since its foundation, the OSCE has brought together countries that do not always agree.
"We are not an organization of like-minded people, but this inclusive approach makes us an essential part of the European security architecture," emphasized Šmid.
Over the past 49 years, she said, that approach has been extremely successful.
"In the XNUMXs, the OSCE established the world's most advanced set of rules for arms control and confidence-building measures. Our Organization has contributed to the removal of thousands of heavy weapons from South-Eastern Europe," said Schmid.
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