OSCE Border Management Staff College concludes its 31st Staff Course

The OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) concluded its 31st Staff Course on 18 March 2022 in a face-to-face format in Dushanbe.

Twenty-five mid-to-senior level officials from border, migration, internal affairs, customs, maritime security, and drug control agencies participated in the course. They represented thirteen OSCE States and Partners for Co-operation, namely Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Portugal, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

In his opening remarks, Richard C. Niebusch Ph.D., Director of the BMSC, said: “Consistent with its mission to promote open and secure borders, over the past twelve years, the OSCE Border Management Staff College serves as a point of knowledge delivery, potential building and fosters high standards in border security and management through its courses.”

Topics covered during the course included, among others, risk assessment, human rights in border security, trade facilitation, countering terrorism and trafficking in persons as well as combatting illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons and conventional ammunition. Interactive classroom sessions were complemented by two study visits to the K-9 Centre of Tajikistan Drug Control Agency and the Tajik-Uzbek border.

Nisara Panchang, a graduate of this Staff Course from Thailand, emphasized that the course had allowed her to broaden her knowledge and exchange ideas on various topics, particularly the promotion of gender equality. “I have discovered that the integration of a gender perspective and border management services can boost the efficiency of border agencies and ensure the human rights of individuals crossing borders.”

Stojanche Volkanoski, a graduate of this Staff Course from North Macedonia added that he particularly enjoyed the practical exercises during the session on leadership and management as well as the concept used to explain how to perform practical risk assessment in BSM.

Within the framework of the course, a roundtable discussion on Countering Heightened Cybersecurity Threats to Border Security and Management was organized. Participants and experts identified the challenges faced by States and border agencies in relation to the growth of cybercrime, provided solid recommendations for facilitating border security, and addressed countermeasures to cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime.