OSCE and UNODC deliver train-the-trainer course to enhance Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capabilities to disrupt terrorist financing

A three-day train-the-trainer course focused on furthering the skills of officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to disrupt terrorist groups through the application of financial techniques concluded on 19 October 2022 in Vienna. The OSCE Transnational Threats Department organized this initiative as part of an ongoing training programme on countering terrorist financing, in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The team of eight trainers from the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the BiH Prosecutor's Office, the State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Ministry of Interior of the Federation of BiH, the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska, and Brčko District Police tailored the training material, including an elaborate exercise scenario, to the local context together with OSCE expert trainers. The inter-agency team additionally prepared the delivery of this course, which examined the terrorist groups 'business model' and presented tools to design appropriate disruption strategies.

Ivana Veselčić, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, addressed the group during the opening session and reiterated the important role the OSCE plays in countering terrorist financing in the country. She highlighted the ongoing support in the process of developing risk assessment on money laundering and terrorist financing, the drafting of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, awareness raising on prevention of abuse of non-profit sector for terrorist financing, as well as regional co-operation in the implementation of financial sanctions.

The train-the-trainer module is part of the OSCE-UNODC multi-year training programme on countering terrorist financing for Bosnia and Herzegovina, funded by the United States of America, which aims to increase the capacity of local beneficiaries to detect and combat terrorist financing, and strengthen compliance with international commitments and standards in this area. These include relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF)'s standards, UN norms and OSCE commitments that promote human rights-based approaches in countering terrorist financing. ​