Border security experts, meeting in Vienna, discuss common approaches in the OSCE region

VIENNA, 27 March 2017 - The Annual Meeting of the OSCE Border Security and Management National Focal Point Network opened at the Hofburg Conference Centre in Vienna today. The two-day meeting is organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in co-operation with the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Clemens Koja, Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council, underlined: “Security threats in the 21st century do not stop at national borders. Thus, we have to increase co-operation across the region in order to address these threats, while at the same time maintaining open borders for the legal movement of people, goods and services.”

The meeting gathers National Focal Points from national border guards, the national police, customs services, ministries of interior and finance and national and international experts, as well as representatives of international and regional organizations such as the European Union’s Frontex, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Issues such as the role of border and security management services in addressing trafficking of human beings, weapons, ammunition and explosives, and cultural property, preventing and countering terrorism, as well as migration-related tasks and challenges, will be discussed at the meeting.

Moreover, it is expected that the National Focal Points agree on joint activities in these thematic areas to be supported by the OSCE in the future. There will also be a field trip to the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Laxenburg, just outside Vienna. At the IACA, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the mandate and activities of the Academy in facilitating international co-operation on anti-corruption issues and providing education and training for practitioners.

The OSCE is committed to striking a balance between open and secure borders, and promoting co-operation between border security and management services in the region. The OSCE Annual Meeting of the Border Security and Management National Focal Point Network is an essential tool in this regard, as it provides a platform for sharing information, best practices, and ideas on how to address modern challenges faced by border security and management agencies.