BELGRADE — Six civil society organizations from the Western Balkans, gathered around POINTPULSE project, have opened a new chapter in their cooperation in the field of monitoring police integrity through formalising the network by registering it as an association in Serbia: Balkan Security Platform.

By obtaining legal personality and setting up of the management structure, six civil society organizations has opened up new possibilities for a more streamlined cooperation between its founding members.

The founding act was singed in Belgrade on 7 March, during the kick-off workshop of the second year of the POINTPULSE project.

The main impetus for formalising the cooperation was the idea to move to a more strategic approach towards dealing with the issues of police accountability and integrity, with the view to eventually expanding the network’s portfolio by addressing the closely related issues of fight against organised crime, criminal procedure and prosecution, and other security related issues from the citizens-oriented point of view.

Balkan Security Platform is founded by:

  1. Analytica, Skopje;
  2. Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Belgrade;
  3. Centre for Security Studies, Sarajevo;
  4. Institute Alternative, Podgorica;
  5. Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Tirana;
  6. Kosovar Centre for Security Studies, Pristine.

The main objectives of the Balkan Security Platform are:

  1. To increase the role of civil society and citizens by strengthening external oversight of the security sector in the Balkans;
  2. Expansion of the civil society network to strengthen cooperation in analysing, monitoring and advocating good governance of security policy and security sector reform;
  3. Empowerment of citizens, institutions, regional initiatives and partners across Europe to apply tools which ensure security sector reform;
  4. Ensuring greater commitment to integrity in the Balkans.

TAGS: BelgradeCivil SocietyExternal OversightNewsWestern Balkans