Special Co-ordinator Erhard Busek informed an OSCE meeting in Vienna today, that the Stability Pact - through its Working Table on Security Issues - has been extremely active in fostering and coordinating international action on combating terrorism, organized crime, the illicit trafficking in human beings and small arms and light weapons in South Eastern Europe. The Working Table has also been active in developing a regional approach to capacity building in the area of police training (full statement below).

Busek highlighted the recently established Clearinghouse on Small Arms and Light Weapons known by its acronym, SEESAC, located in Belgrade, the ongoing activities of Stability Pact Task Force on Trafficking on Human Beings, the regional Police Training Program and the Initiatives on Organised Crime and Migration and Asylum as prime examples in this field. Additionally, the work being done by the Pact-affiliated Regional Crime Centre for Combating Transnational Organized Crime, based in Bucharest, has assisted in the investigation and prosecution of criminal elements operating in South Eastern Europe. The Regional Crime Centre will be hosting next month a workshop for South Eastern European police and legal officials on developing a more coordinated response to the threats of terrorists and terrorism.

The Stability Pact is currently also working with NATO, the European Commission and Council, and with the OSCE Secretariat and its Conflict Prevention Centre in developing a more comprehensive approach to border security and management issues.

All this is to say, Busek concluded, that the Stability Pact, which operates under the auspices of the OSCE, is fully committed and active in this area, and can fairly be judged one of the leading actors in South Eastern Europe.

The OSCE invited the Stability Pact along with several sub-regional organizations and initiatives active in South Eastern Europe and beyond, to gain a better coherence on the vital topic of combating terrorism. This aligns well with the Stability Pact’s own efforts initiated in the beginning of this year, to step up communication among sub-regional initiatives on practical issues.