Kosovo: ICITAP Recognized for Mentoring Women in Police Leadership

From March 7 to 10, 2020, the Kosovo Police (KP) and the Association of Women in Kosovo Police (AWKP) hosted an annual early Board Meeting of the International Association of Women in Police (IAWP), followed by a two-day conference, in partnership with ICITAP, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The focus of the event was the role of women police officers in response to transnational threats. The event represents the first IAWP board meeting and conference held in the Balkans region and is the third such conference to be held in Europe. It attracted 180 participants including those from government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Civil Society, media and 37 female law enforcement leaders representing 12 nations. The U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission spoke at the conference and recognized the contributions of the AWKP and KP leadership in their success with targeted recruitment, gender diversity, equality, professional development and advancement opportunities for women within the Kosovo Police. He said “their accomplishment serves as a shining example of effective diversity to not only other Kosovo institutions but regional and international colleagues as well”. ICITAP-Kosovo Attaché Riffe provided remarks as a keynote speaker in the panel focused on recruitment, and an ICITAP-Kosovo Senior Advisor also served on a panel. The Kosovo Police recognized the ICITAP-Kosovo Attaché and two members of the ICITAP-Kosovo staff for their contribution and assistance in the successful event. Women in Policing is a core objective for ICITAP in 2020.