Yerevan / Police officers, investigators, and civil society representatives from Armenia, Montenegro, and Serbia joined forces to strengthen co-operation and improve their capacity to identify, investigate, and prevent hate-motivated crimes against national, ethnic and religious communities.

Organised with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe, the peer exchange brought together law enforcement professionals and civil society organisations alongside EU and Council of Europe experts. The four-day event fostered inclusive policing practices, and strengthened dialogue and trust between authorities and minority communities.

Building on the regional workshop held in Durres (Albania) in June 2025, the event combined practical peer learning and training sessions. Participants explored how to: recognise and record bias indicators, combat intolerance through domestic strategies and internal procedures, collect and analyse hate-crime data, strengthen community policing approaches, and ensure the effective investigation of hate-motivated crimes. Discussions centred on how to develop close and structured interaction with communities and civil society organisations, exploring practical ways to open institutional channels for dialogue, consultation, monitoring, and joint actions.

Two Council of Europe experts – a police officer and a human rights lawyer – translated into operational policing the principles contained in the ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 11 on combating racism and racial discrimination in policing and the Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2024)4 on combating hate crime.

A field visit to the Armavir region offered first-hand insights into community policing in action. Meetings with the Yezidi and Assyrian communities and the Armavir General Department of Community Police illustrated how local dialogue and trust-based collaboration can reinforce the protection of minority groups.

The exchange reaffirmed the shared commitment of police and civil society to inclusive and human rights-based policing, further consolidating the regional network of practitioners working to combat discrimination, hatred and intolerance across the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions.

This workshop is organised within the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” and the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans”, which are part the joint European Union and Council of Europe programmes “Partnership for Good Governance” and “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.