OSCE, Montenegrin Culture Ministry to open regional workshop for South-east Europe on countering trafficking in cultural property
PODGORICA, 25 September 2018 – Some 50 participants from the police, border and customs services, and the Ministries of Justice and Culture from South-east Europe and the South Caucasus are taking part in a five-day regional workshop in Podgorica next week on combating the illicit cross-border trafficking in cultural property.
The workshop will feature sessions on the structures and capacities required for the fight against the illicit trafficking in cultural property, the international legal framework and best practices in criminal justice responses, co-operation, and the monitoring of archaeological sites and museums. It will draw heavily on case studies and be led by international experts from a wide range of security, police and cultural bodies.
The initiative also aims at fostering co-ordination and co-operation among relevant agencies, international organizations, the private sector, and educational institutions.
The workshop, which begins on 1 October, is organized by the Italian OSCE Chairmanship, in co-ordination with the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro.
Opening the workshop will be Minister of Culture of Montenegro, Aleksandar Bogdanović; Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to the OSCE, Ambassador Luca Fratini; Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Ambassador Maryse Daviet; and the Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats, Rasa Ostrauskaite.
Media representatives are invited to cover the workshop’s opening session from 09:45 to 10:30 on Monday, 1 October, at the Conference Room of the Centerville Hotel, Podgorica. Media representatives wishing to attend are required to send an e-mail confirming their attendance to Karen.Gainer@osce.org and Marina.Zivaljevic@osce.org, no later than 15:00, 28 September 2018.