OSCE convenes first meeting of Multi-Agency Committee in North Macedonia for combating gender-based violence in South-Eastern Europe

On 23 November 2021, the OSCE convened the first meeting of the Multi-Agency Committee in North Macedonia, established as part of its project Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe.

The OSCE project aims to enhance the capacities of criminal justice systems in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to prevent and combat gender-based violence and increase the public’s trust in criminal justice responses

The Committee will ensure that the project activities comply with national strategies and other existing programmes and minimize duplication of efforts. The first meeting focused on the project’s strategy and implementation with local stakeholders to help tailor its activities’ to the countries’ needs.

Representatives of the OSCE Secretariat, the OSCE Mission to Skopje, North Macedonia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs - Police Training Centre and Public Security Bureau, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje and Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, attended the meeting.

The project is currently being implemented with the financial support of Germany, Norway, Finland, and France, and will run until 2024.